Ladies and gentlemen, I bring you mango chow, Trinidadian style.
I know it sounds strange, but trust me. It’s addictively sublime. I’ve been eating a lot of this lately, and I’m telling you, it’s impossible to get tired of this. It’s sweet, salty, tart, spicy, and oh by the way, incredibly healthy too.
Here’s what you do. Take a half-ripe mango and cut it into bite-sized slices. Take one clove of garlic, minced, and tablespoon or so of cilantro chopped roughly, and a sliver or two of your favorite hot pepper. Here at home, we use either a homegrown Caribbean red pepper or a congo pepper (also known as Scotch bonnet). Add in a teaspoon or so of kosher salt, some ground pepper if you want it, and lightly toss everything in a bowl to mix.
Then grab your weapon of choice and enjoy. I’m usually too impatient to reach for a fork by now, and just start picking the slices up from the bowl.
Excuse me while I go make this for breakfast.
You can do this with other fruits, like orange slices, halved grapes, or plum slices. It works best with tart or semi-tart fruits. And if you put the whole thing in a blender, you end up with a really fresh tasting fruit chutney. Excellent with grilled meats or curry dishes!
Excuse me while I go make that for lunch.
P.S. If someone can please tell me why those crazy Trinidadians name this chow, I’ll be forever grateful. (I’m allowed to call them crazy. I’m married to one.)
Oh great! I was already starving, and looking at this picture.. and reading your post.. certainly didn’t help! Looks delicious!
I still can’t pick a good mango. Bought one last week and it was too hard and sour for me. Yours look luscious.
oooooooooo….
This looks WAY too good! I would never have thought of mixing fruit with garlic, peppers, and cilantro, but I’m game for a try. It sounds a lot like Pico de Gallo…except with fruit instead of tomatoes, and I could eat that every meal for the rest of my life. I’m guessing I’ll like this too.
*adding mango to my grocery list*
Add a squeeze of fresh lime juice the chow makes even better, I am a Trini living in California and we get the best mangoes here, yum
KD, that’s exactly what I thought when I first saw it. I thought, “What? Garlic and salt with fruit??” But then I saw the cilantro, and was suddenly reminded of pico de gallo, which I LOOOOOVE.
Karen, I pick a mango that is still firm, with some hint of red on the skin. The mangoes back home have an intensely sweet smell from the stem, which tells you that a mango is fully ripe. But for chow, I don’t want ripe mangoes. Hard and sour will work for me too. I just add a little bit more salt.
Michaela, I just made myself hungry too. :)