Green Papaya & Snow Fungus Dessert

Fruits, especially local fruits like bananas, papayas, dragon fruits (my favourite is the deep ruby red variety) are cheap and plentiful in Banting. That's where I was last week. I went home to visit my parents for a few days and decided to teach my mom a new dessert recipe.

I bought an unripe papaya at the Banting Sunday market. My mom chided me saying that it's not palatable. I told her I was going to cook it, instead of waiting for it to ripen.

The fruit vendor was smart enough to tell my mom that she knew what I was going to do with the unripe fruit. Hmmm!

After I made it, mom took some over to our longtime neighbour, Mrs Chan. Mom told me the unripe papaya tasted a lot like sweet potato after it's been simmered.

So here's a green papaya and snow fungus dessert recipe you can try:

1 unripe papaya (a bit green with blushes of orange, signs of going to ripen), cut into bite size chunks
8-10 dried red dates
a few pieces of snow fungus, soaked and cut up into smaller pieces
rock sugar to taste
1 litre water

Into a pot, bring to boil water. Add papaya chunks and red dates. Simmer for 30 minutes. Add rock sugar and snow fungus. Simmer for another 15 minutes. Serve warm.

A quick and easy dessert you can whip up any time!

This dessert soup is for smooth and clear complexion. Papaya has lots of nutrients while snow fungus nourishes the lungs.

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