the four-tastes tamarind sweet of Thailand: ripe tamarind pulp kneaded with sugar, salt, and chilli into soft, chewy pieces at once sour, sweet, salty, and hot, sold in every Thai market
Origin: Thailand
From the journey of Tamarind.
Makham klook, 'tossed tamarind', is one of the most beloved sweets and snacks of Thailand, and it captures in a single mouthful the four-way balance of sour, sweet, salt, and heat that defines the whole of Thai taste. It is made from ripe tamarind, makham, the great sour fruit that Thailand grows both as the sharp cooking variety and, uniquely, as the mild sweet dessert tamarind makham wan eaten fresh from the pod. For makham klook the pulp is worked and kneaded with sugar, salt, and a little dried chilli until it becomes a soft, chewy, glistening sweet, sometimes rolled around the seeds and sometimes seeded, that is sold by weight in every fresh market, at bus stations, and by roadside vendors across the country. It is the kind of sweet that Thais love above all others, not sugary and one-note but complex and grown-up, the deep sourness of the fruit meeting the sugar and the salt and the slow burn of the chilli in a way that keeps the hand returning to the bag. Sharp, sweet, salty, and hot, it is Thailand's national palate in miniature.
If you can find the Thai sweet tamarind (makham wan), it makes a milder, more date-like sweet that needs less sugar; the ordinary sour tamarind makes a sharper, more bracing one, which many prefer. The balance of sugar, salt, and chilli is entirely to taste and varies from vendor to vendor. Some versions add a little ginger or five-spice; others leave the chilli out for children. The same seasoned pulp, thinned with water, makes an excellent tamarind dipping sauce for fruit.
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