Green Mango & Spicy Shrimp Paste, Fla. Style

It’s mango season again in South Florida. And that means Thai sour, unripe, green mangoes are available to satiate my Asian treat tooth.

Florida grown sour, green, unripe mango and spicy shrimp paste,
Copyright 2016 by Helen A Lockey

I spent part of my childhood in Thailand where I learned to love sour, spicy, salty food combinations. One that I picked up, and kept, was eating sour green mangoes with spicy shrimp paste.

Thai mangoes have several names, depending on the nursery that grows them, but basically they have a thin, wavy shape with green skin on the outside. Inside, their flesh ranges in color from slightly pale green to yellow.

Their flavor ranges from very tart lemon/granny smith apple taste to slightly tart. And their texture is crisp and juicy.

The shrimp paste has a strong fishy smell to it and is very spicy if eaten straight.

But sour, unripe, Thai mangoes have a very high starch content which equalizes the heat of the chili peppers in the shrimp paste.

I bought my mango at a Lantana fruit stand and shrimp paste (Ginisang Bagoong brand) at Kabayan Oriental Mart in Royal Palm Beach, Fla.

Both the salt and spice bring out the flavors of the mango, but it’s really the spice that matters. I’ve tried going non spicy but the flavors were not the same.

So if you are into adventurous food pairings then check out this one. I think you will be amazed at how well they go together.

Unbelievable Acres Botanic Garden, Rainforest, WPB, Fla.

West Palm Beach, Fla.—Tour Unbelievable Acres Botanic Garden and save yourself a plane ticket to Brazil. Gene Joyner started his botanical garden in 1970 with the intention of making it into a self-sustaining rainforest. It is situated on 2.5-acres of land, with a one-mile path, and a collection of over 2000 plants, 150 of which are tropical fruit trees.

Unbelievable Acres Botanic Garden, Tropical Rainforest, West Palm Beach, Fla.
Copyright 2016 by Helen A Lockey

I’m walking with a diverse group of people, on a warm May afternoon, through a thick forest of plants with Joyner. Mulch crunches underfoot and the only other sounds are those of Joyner as he points out plants telling us about their histories, growing challenges and tips.

Gene Joyner of Unbelievable Acres Botanic Garden,
Tropical Rainforest, West Palm Beach, Fla.,
Copyright 2016 by Helen A Lockey

Grabbing hold of a thick piece of bamboo he says, “Indian bamboo can grow 80 feet in one season.” Many people in our group have questions, which he answers with ease.

“A lot of these plants haven’t seen fertilizer in 25 years,” says Joyner. He adds he only gives fertilizer to new tree plantings. And as for pesticides, he uses none except for lizards. “They are very good at controlling pests,” Joyner says with a smile.

Bamboo grove, Unbelievable Acres Botanic Garden, West Palm
Beach, Fla. Copyright 2016 Helen A Lockey

The soil was originally sugar sand but with years of mulching and allowing the plants to naturally decompose their leaves and other parts, the land now has a rich layer of dark topsoil. “I’ve built up six inches of topsoil in 30 years,” said Joyner.

Some of the results are a 80-foot tall Kapok Tree, a 40-year old cashew Nut Tree, a 40-year-old Baobab Tree and a 35-year old bamboo stand started from a single section of bamboo.

Joyner has travelled the world to source his plants for his garden. Now he also travels to educate people about plants.

Sausage Tree pods at Unbelievable Acres Botanic Garden,
West Palm Beach, Fla.
Copyright 2016 by Helen A Lockey

At the front entrance there is a large Sausage Tree with large, brown colored, hard shelled sausage shaped fruits hanging from long chord. These are inedible for humans, Joyner says but in Africa where the tree is from Giraffe and Hippos love the fruit. And the local women use it in the fermentation process of their honey beer.

If you want to go to the garden it is open to the public on the second Tuesday of every month and costs $10 a person.

But if you want to visit at any other time you have to call the garden 561-242-1686, and leave a message for a reservation.

The Unbelievable Acres Botanic Garden is located at 470 63^rd Trail N, West Palm Beach, FL 33413.

Parking is limited so if you can car pool then do so. They have mosquito spray and water available at the kiosk where you pay to get in.

Florida Grown White Asian Eggplant

Wellington, Fla.--Fresh Florida grown white Asian eggplant is delicious. They are a unique, slim, cucumber-like shaped eggplant with pale white, thin skin. Their sweet, delicate flavor lacks the bitterness usually associated with purple, Italian eggplant.

Florida grown white Asian eggplant, Wellington, Fla.
Copyright 2016 by Helen A Lockey

I bought some earlier this month, which had been picked the day before, from the Seed To Bloom booth at the Wellington Green Market in south Florida. I choose the tiniest eggplant I could find. They cost $4 a pound.

I took them home and immediately started preparing them for dinner.

I preheated the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and lined a backing sheet with aluminum foil. Next I cut off all the green tops off each eggplant and slit them, lengthways, in half from top to tail making them look like thick string beans.

Then I tossed them in safflower oil (a high smoke/heat oil). 

If you are allergic to daisies do not use this safflower oil. Instead use another high smoke oil like coconut, macadamia nut or grape seed oil.

I placed each oiled eggplant strip on the aluminum foiled baking sheet leaving about a quarter inch of gap between each strip.

Oven baked Florida grown white Asian eggplant, Wellington,
Fla. Copyright 2016 by Helen A Lockey

I put the tray into the oven and cooked the eggplant for 30 minutes until they were golden brown.

They were creamy, crunchy and slightly sweet in flavor.