Gac fruit originates from Southeast Asia, a climbing plant grown quite a lot in Vietnam.
The fruit is round, has small thorns, is about 10-12cm in diameter, weighs from 600 - 2,500g, has a pointed tip and hard stem, inside the fruit is pulp and large seeds.
Gac is known as the fruit from heaven because it is rich in active ingredients: lycopene, beta carotene, vitamin E and vegetable fats. Therefore, gac has the effect of helping to slow down the aging process, beautify the skin, good for eye and cardiovascular health.
When young, the gac fruit is green and gradually turns a deep orange-red when ripe. The brown seeds are surrounded by a dark red membrane.
In addition, it can be used to prepare many dishes, add color, contribute to beauty and increase taste stimulation for dishes.
Prevent cancer and cardiovascular disease
Gac contains many nutrients that help prevent cancer and slow the spread of cancer cells.
Thanks to the high amount of antioxidants, when you supplement a lot of these fruits, for example eating sticky rice with gac fruit, you will contribute to improving cardiovascular health more effectively.
Prevent anemia and reduce cholesterol
Gac dishes contain a lot of iron as well as vitamin C and folic acid, so they are extremely beneficial in fighting anemia.
Nutritional composition in 100g of gac fruit:
Calories: 70 Carbs: 17.4g Fat: 0.3g Protein: 2.1g Calcium: 36mg Other vitamins and nutrients: vitamin E, vitamin Q, vitamin C, lycopene, beta-carotene, iron...
Nutritional composition in 100g of cooked sticky rice:
Calories: 150 Carbs: 34g Fat: 0.3g Protein: 3g.
Improve eyesight
Eating dishes made from gac fruit can help you supplement many vitamins and beta-carotene along with many other beneficial substances in improving eyesight.
These nutrients help prevent cataracts and many other vision problems.
Gac is also recommended for people with higher than normal cholesterol levels as well as those with a family history of high cholesterol.
If consumed weekly, this fruit will help lower cholesterol and maintain healthy levels.
Reduce depression
Depression is a serious medical condition. When you have depression, you often feel sad, hopeless, question your worth, and often want to find a way out. Many people around the world are suffering from this problem.
If you eat gac fruit regularly, you will be provided with selenium and many other vitamins and minerals, contributing to strengthening the nervous system and fighting depression.
Slows down the aging process
Gac fruit, a wonderful ingredient in sticky rice with gac fruit, not only improves health but also has beauty benefits.
The high amount of antioxidants, especially vitamins and minerals in gac helps slow down the aging process, as well as reduce stress.
You can maintain youthful skin, rebuild collagen structure and prevent wrinkles from appearing when using gac regularly.
Support treatment of prostate disease
Gac fruit extract is often used in the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia. The membrane surrounding the seeds contains 70 times more lycopene than the corresponding serving of tomatoes, so it is especially effective in improving prostate-related diseases.
Sticky rice with gac fruit is no longer strange in Vietnamese cuisine. But besides its impressive red color, this sticky rice dish made from gac fruit also has many health benefits!
Xoi gac is usually a sweet sticky rice dish used for breakfast or ceremonies, parties, especially big family occasions such as engagements and weddings.
Many people only think that sticky rice will make them fat without paying attention to the "main character" of this dish - gac fruit, which actually brings a lot of nutrition and surprising health benefits.
How to cook some simple but delicious dishes from gac
Gac sticky rice
Ingredient
4 cups sticky rice340g gac powder or 1 - 2 fresh gac fruits
2 – 3 tablespoons olive oil or coconut oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup brown sugar (optional)
2 cups coconut water 15ml white wine
Ingredients to eat with sticky rice with gac fruit (optional 1 type):
Pork roll
Fresh shredded coconut
Mashed green beans
Coconut milk
How to cook
Wash and soak sticky rice for about 5-6 hours in cool water or 2-3 hours in warm water. Drain and mix well with salt and a little cooking oil.
Cut the gac fruit in half, use a knife or spoon to scrape off the red membrane around the seeds and mix well with the wine.
Add the gac fruit to the sticky rice, stir until the rice is evenly colored, let stand for about 10 minutes. During this process, boil some water in a pressure cooker or ½ steamer.
Put the sticky rice and gac mixture into a steamer, you can line the steamer with banana slices. Spread the rice evenly, reduce the heat to medium, cover and steam for about 10-15 minutes.
Next, use wooden chopsticks to stir well and add the sticky rice layer below. Cover and cook for another 20 minutes. Mix coconut water with sugar (increase or decrease the amount of sugar according to your desired sweetness).
Mix the coconut water into each portion of sticky rice to ensure it is completely absorbed. Cover and cook for another 5 minutes then turn off the heat.
If you want to shape the sticky rice, you can let it cool for about 10-15 minutes and then apply a little oil to the mold.
Scoop in the sticky rice and press firmly to shape the sticky rice. Serve the sticky rice with sausage, cold cuts, shredded coconut or coconut milk depending on whether you want it salty or sweet.
Preserving sticky rice with gac fruit properly
After successfully cooking sticky rice with gac fruit, you can leave the sticky rice in the pot, store at room temperature and eat during the day.
If you want to keep the sticky rice delicious longer, divide it into small portions, wrap it in plastic wrap or put it in a sealed container and store it in the refrigerator. You can remove the plastic wrap, add a little boiling water and then steam the sticky rice with a steamer or heat it in the microwave before eating!
Gac green bean cake
Ingredient:
1 Gac fruit
Glutinous rice flour 600 gr
Green beans, peeled 200 gr
Shredded coconut 100 gr
White sesame 50 gr
1 tube of vanilla
Sugar 200 gr
Salt 1 teaspoon
Cooking oil 1 little
White wine 1 teaspoon
Banana leaves 1 little
Making:
First, wash the mung beans and soak them in warm water for 2-3 hours.
Next, cut the gac fruit in half and put the seeds in a bowl with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of white wine. Use your hands to squeeze the mixture until the gac flesh separates from the seeds.
For fresh coconut, use scissors to cut it into small strands.
Add 600gr of glutinous rice flour and the gac seeds that have just been mixed into a new bowl, use your hands to mix well until the mixture is completely blended. Then, pick out the gac seeds from the flour bowl.
Next, slowly add 200ml of boiling water to the flour bowl and continue kneading until the dough forms a smooth, elastic mass. Then, cover the dough and proceed to make the filling.
Once the beans are soaked, drain the water and put the beans in the pot. Next, add a little more water until it covers the beans.
Next, add 1 teaspoon of salt to the pot of beans and cook over medium heat for about 15 - 20 minutes until the beans are soft. Next, use chopsticks to stir the beans continuously until the beans are soft and mushy, or you can use a blender to puree them.
Place the pan on the stove, then add 1 tablespoon of cooking oil, shredded coconut and stir-fry for about 5 minutes over medium heat until the coconut is firm.
Next, add mashed mung beans, 200g sugar, 1 tube of vanilla, mix well and simmer over low heat until the filling becomes a soft mass, no longer sticks to the pan, then turn off the heat and let cool.
Divide the dough and filling into 24 equal parts and roll into balls.
Next, flatten the dough slightly, put the filling in the middle and pinch the edges of the dough, roll it into a ball. Do the same until you run out of the remaining ingredients.
Next, place the cake on a large banana leaf and continue to roll it lengthwise. Then, fold the 2 remaining leaves on both sides down to the bottom of the cake.
Finally, arrange the cakes in a steamer, place the steamer over a pot of boiling water and steam the cakes over medium heat for 25 - 30 minutes until cooked.
When the cake is cooked, let it cool completely and then you can enjoy it.
Beef stew with gac fruit
Ingredient:
Beef shank with tendon: 500 grams
Ripe gac fruit: 1 fruit
Carrot: 1 root
Potatoes: 4 tubers
Onion: 1 bulb, ginger: 1 piece, 1 chili pepper, seeds removed and chopped
Red wine, or white wine or hawthorn wine: 1 cup
Spices: garlic, seasoning powder, pepper, five-spice powder, fish sauce
Making:
The step of choosing ingredients is quite important, you should choose beef shank, remember to choose the part of beef with some tendons.
When making red wine sauce, the beef and tendons will be very tender and delicious. Choose fresh beef, rub with salt, wash clean, and use a clean towel to dry the beef.
Next, cut the beef into bite-sized pieces. Do not cut the beef too thin or the meat will be crushed and not sweet. Prepare the ingredients: peel the ginger, crush it, and mince it.
Peel the carrots and potatoes, wash them, and cut them into bite-sized cubes. Peel the onions, wash them, and cut them into 6 pieces lengthwise. Cut the ripe gac fruit in half, take out the pulp, and discard the seeds.
To make the beef in red wine sauce rich, tender and fragrant, it needs to be marinated. Marinate the beef with ginger, minced garlic, 1 tablespoon of good fish sauce, 1 teaspoon of sugar, 1 teaspoon of pepper, 1.5 teaspoons of five-spice powder, minced chili, 3 teaspoons of wine, 2 teaspoons of seasoning powder and the seedless gac pulp.
Put on gloves, mix and squeeze the above ingredients well so that the beef absorbs all the spices. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and marinate for at least 1 hour so that the beef is tender, flavorful and flavorful.
Put the pan on the stove. Wait for the pan to heat up, then add 2 teaspoons of cooking oil to the pan. Wait for the cooking oil to heat up, then add minced garlic and saute until fragrant. Next, add the marinated beef into the pan, stir-fry over medium heat for about 5 minutes, add 1 bowl of water, bring the water to a boil, then reduce the heat to simmer to soften the beef.
When the beef is cooked, add potatoes, onions, and carrots to stew together. During the stewing process, if the water dries up and the beef is not tender enough, add more water, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and continue stewing until the beef is tender as desired.
When the water in the pot is still thick, the sauce is red, the beef is soft but not tough, the potatoes are rich, and the aroma of the spices is released, taste it. If it is bland, add a little seasoning to taste.
With beef stew, I usually season it a little stronger than my taste, so it goes well with rice or bread.
On the last day of the year, why hesitate to show off your cooking skills by cooking a delicious and beautiful dish from gac fruit for the whole family to enjoy and hope for good luck in the new year!
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