''O-aew'' ( th, โอ้เอ๋ว, , , from zh, t= 薁蕘, poj=ò-giô) is a shaved ice dessert known as a local specialty of

Phuket Phuket (; th, ภูเก็ต, , ms, Bukit or ''Tongkah''; Hokkien:普吉; ) is one of the southern provinces (''changwat'') of Thailand. It consists of the island of Phuket, the country's largest island, and another 32 smaller islands o ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

. Introduced by

Hokkien Chinese The Hokkien () variety of Chinese is a Southern Min language native to and originating from the Minnan region, where it is widely spoken in the south-eastern part of Fujian in southeastern mainland China. It is one of the national languages ...

settlers, it is known after its main ingredient, a jelly made from seeds of the o-aew plant (a variety of the creeping fig, ''Ficus pumila'' var. ''awkeotsang''), an ingredient now most commonly found in Taiwan where it is known as

aiyu jelly Aiyu jelly (; or ; or simply ), known in Amoy Hokkien as ''ogio'' (), and as ice jelly in Singapore (), is a jelly made from the gel from the seeds of the awkeotsang creeping fig found in Taiwan and East Asian countries of the same climates an ...

History and preparation

''O-aew'' originated from aiyu jelly, an ingredient in Hokkien Chinese cuisine, and was introduced to Phuket by Hokkien immigrants who settled there during the boom in the tin mining industry from the mid-19th to early 20th centuries. While the jelly is found today in various locations with significant Hokkien diaspora such as Taiwan and Singapore, the variety found in Phuket was most influenced by nearby

Penang Penang ( ms, Pulau Pinang, is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the M ...

. Several well-known vendors in Phuket's

Old Town In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins after thorough renovations. There are ma ...

have sold ''o-aew'' as a family business over multiple generations. The dessert's main ingredient is the jelly made from seeds of the o-aew plant. The seeds are soaked and squeezed to extract a gel, which is mixed with extracted juice from the '' nam wa'' banana. Calcium sulphate is added as a gelling agent, and the jelly left to set overnight. It is served with crushed ice and syrup, and with toppings commonly including red

kidney bean The kidney bean is a variety of the common bean ('' Phaseolus vulgaris''). It resembles a human kidney and thus is named after such. Red kidney beans should not be confused with other red beans, such as adzuki beans. Classification There ar ...

s and

grass jelly Grass jelly, also known as leaf jelly or herb jelly, is a jelly-like dessert eaten in East and Southeast Asia. It is created by using Chinese mesona (a member of the mint family) and has a mild, slightly bitter taste. It is served chilled, wit ...

. It is often ordered by referring to the colours white, red and black as a code for the ingredients: white for the ''o-aew'' jelly, red for the kidney beans, and black for the grass jelly. For example, white-red would refer to an order of ''o-aew'' with a topping of kidney beans.

Notes

References

* * {{Thai cuisine Thai desserts and snacks

History and preparation

See also

Notes

References