There is a type of apple tree in Guangdong that stays green all year round and blooms in March or April, with fruit ripening in July or August. The ripe fruit is also known as "Phoenix Eye Fruit" because the cracked fruit looks like a phoenix eye or the eye of a phoenix bird! "Phoenix Eye Fruit" is mentioned in the novel Journey to the West.
Image of Phoenix Eye Fruit
【Phoenix Eye Fruit in Journey to the West】
The original name of the apple tree is "Ping Po," which is a transliteration of the Sanskrit word "Bimba." It is said that when the Tang Monk was in India, he often sat under the apple tree to read scriptures. In 646 AD, he brought back the tree and planted it in the Nan Hua Temple in Shaoguan. According to the early Qing Dynasty book "Nan Hai Zhi," "Ping" can also be pronounced as "Pin," which means "forest" in Sanskrit because the leaves of the tree grow in clusters.
"Phoenix Eye Fruit" is edible and people in Guangdong use it to cook soup and dishes. It has a taste and shape similar to chestnuts. In the past, our company's canteen would occasionally serve dishes made with Phoenix Eye Fruit, but we "northern swallows" didn't recognize it and thought it was chestnuts. Oh, I miss the old canteen!
In the 100th chapter of Journey to the West, when Tang Monk and his disciples return from their journey to the West, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty treats them to a feast, which includes "Ping Po" fruit. The passage goes as follows: "...Several vegetarian dishes were good, but the rare fruits were even better. Walnuts, persimmons, longans, lychees, Xuanzhou chestnuts, Shandong dates, Jiangnan ginkgo nuts, rabbit head pears. Hazelnuts, pine nuts, lotus meat grapes, melon seeds, water chestnuts. Olives, apples, Phoenix Eye Fruit, tender mushrooms, crispy plums, and bayberries. Everything was prepared, and nothing was missing."
Image of Phoenix Eye Fruit
【How to Cook Phoenix Eye Fruit】
Cooking Phoenix Eye Fruit Soup
Ingredients: 500g of chicken, 150g of water caltrop, 25g of dried scallops, 2g of dried tangerine peel, 3g of ginger
Instructions:
- Make a cross-shaped incision on the Phoenix Eye Fruit and blanch it in boiling water for five minutes. Remove it and peel off the black skin until only the yellow meat remains. Rinse the Phoenix Eye Fruit and pat it dry, then mix it with the marinade.
- Remove the chicken feet, wash them, and boil them in boiling water for ten minutes. Remove and wash them, then drain the water. Stuff the Phoenix Eye Fruit into the chicken belly.
- Soak the dried tangerine peel in water until soft, scrape off the pith, and wash the dried scallops.
- Add 1 cup of water or an appropriate amount to the pot, add the soaked tangerine peel, dried scallops, ginger, and chicken. Bring to a boil, then simmer over low heat for three hours. Add salt to taste.
Although Phoenix Eye Fruit is nutritious and has excellent health benefits, there are some taboos when consuming it. The most important point is that people with weak spleen and stomach should not eat it, as it may cause abdominal discomfort and be detrimental to their health.
Image of Phoenix Eye Fruit
【Nutritional Value of Phoenix Eye Fruit】
Phoenix Eye Fruit can detoxify, relieve nausea, improve immunity, provide energy, enhance vision, and aid digestion.
1. Phoenix Eye Fruit is rich in vitamin A, which promotes eye health, assists in the treatment of various eye diseases, strengthens the immune system, eliminates free radicals, promotes growth and development, and protects the function of the stomach and respiratory tract mucosa.
2. It is an important component of the body, storing and providing thermal energy, maintaining the necessary energy for brain function, regulating fat metabolism, providing dietary fiber, detoxifying, and enhancing intestinal function.
3. The nutritional value of Phoenix Eye Fruit is suitable for people with night blindness, prone to acne, boils, and other skin diseases, as well as people with pulmonary emphysema and hyperthyroidism.
