“Your tangy earthbound pulp, a portal to biological brilliance.”
Tamarind is a key ingredient to the wheelhouse of many equatorial chefs. This week, Jessamine gathers in conversation Sam Fore of Tuk Tuk Sri Lankan Bites in Lexington, Kentucky; Parnass Savang of Talat Market in Atlanta, Georgia; and Maricela Vega of Chico, also in Atlanta. All three chefs are combining their familiar homeland foods—from Sri Lanka, Thailand and Mexico—with their current surroundings in the American South. Despite using the same fruit, the different ways tamarind manifests in their unique recipes is a fascinating testament to their ingenuity.
Topics covered in this episode:

Min 0:00: Tamarind Love Letter & Intro
Min 2:26: Description of Tamarind
Min 3:37: Meet Sam Fore
Min 4:07: Sam discusses her Sri Lankan heritage & introduction to cooking
Min 6:04: Sam shares how she uses tamarind
Min 8:14: How to make seeni sambol
Min 9:18: Tamarind as a tenderizer
Min 11:09: Meet Parnass Savang
Min 12:10: Parnass shares his journey to owning his restaurant
Min 13:50: Thai food from scratch
Min 15:47: Tamarind in Thai cuisine
Min 16:42: Massaman curry recipe
Min 18:39: Access to tamarind in Atlanta
Min 19:44: Meet Maricela Vega
Min 21:17: Chico’s efforts to bridge the gap between Mexico and American South
Min 23:00: How Maricela cooks with tamarind
Min 24:55: Mangonadas, tamarind straws and ponches
Min 26:39: How to make ponches
Min 27:47: Tamarind Cayenne Honey

Learn more about this episode of Fruit Love Letters at www.whetstoneradio.com, on IG and Twitter at @whetstoneradio, and YouTube at /WhetstoneRadio.
Guests: Sam Fore (@tuktuklex), Parnass Savang (@talatmarketatl), Maricela Vega (@chicoooatl)