Snacks

Ô mai (candied apricots)

Ô mai is fruit cured with sugar, salt, ginger and liquorice, then dried until it turns sticky and chewy, coated in glittering sugar. Apricot, plum, sấu, tamarind, kumquat, each with its own taste; Hàng Đường street in Hà Nội is famous for rows of ô mai in glass jars.

At Tết, a box of ô mai sat next to the candied fruit and melon seeds on the table for guests, and every child passing by sneaked one. On ordinary days, paper twists of ô mai and preserved plums were school-gate treats, sucked secretly in class, sour enough to squeeze one eye shut.

Do you remember? Were you an apricot, sấu or tamarind ô mai person?

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