Mango Chow
Chows are the traditional and most favorite snacks of the inhabitants of the Twin Islands Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. During summer break, when parents are away working and children have to care for themselves, it is not rare to see a group of kids sitting next to a fruit tree in their back yard sharing a big bowl of chow. It is also an all-time enjoyed snack at our home brought to the mix by none other than Cavita.
But what is chow?
Chow is a snack made of any seasonal tropical fruit (at the half ripe stage) marinated in lime/lemon juice, salt, black pepper, garlic, cilantro (or shado beni the Trinidadian local version of it) and hot pepper. The usual ones in T&T are mango chow (with a ripe mango), green mango chow, pommecythere chow, local plum chow and pineapple chow. Tune the pepper level to your taste buds and try it. Without realizing, you will start craving for it every time you pass by some tropical fruits!
This recipe is for 2 medium servings.
INGREDIENTS
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1 mango
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1/2 cup of finely chopped cilantro
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1/2 lemon or lime juice
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2 cloves of garlic
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1 hot pepper (habanero pepper or chili)
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Black pepper
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Salt
DIRECTIONS
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Wash and peel the mango. Slice into sticks.
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Finely chop the cilantro and the garlic. Chop the hot pepper (roughly if you want to be able to see it so that you do not eat it or finely if you want to eat it).
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Mix the garlic, pepper, cilantro, salt, black pepper in a large bowl with the mangoes and squeeze the lemon or lime juice over it before tossing together.
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Enjoy your spicy, juicy snack or save some for later in a mason jar.
