“Chess doesn’t have to be competitive, it can also be beautiful.” Beth the 20-year old chess genius says in the trending Netflix series, “The Queen’s Gambit”. I took a bite of the Honey Nangka from Bulk Buy. My tongue was floored with heavenly sweetness.
“This Nangka is a natural beauty, just like Beth!” I was mesmerised by Beth’s intense speaking-silent eyes as she surveys the white-haired elderly male chess champion in front of her – fearlessly and steely. I bit into another piece of Nangka, my eyes were glued to the screen. One chess move. Another rapid chess move. Another bite of Nangka. Its juice was Just Beautiful.
The chess tournament scenes, reflect women’s ability to break the glass-ceiling– my favorite empowerment concept. A joy to watch with my new found evening snacks – Nangka!
The mount of Nangka in the container was dwindling in size, steadily, as the episode unravels the gripping story. I became compulsive like Beth — she wants to win every chess tournament; I can’t stop eating the Nangka. One after another.
In the finale, she plays against world chess champion, Borgov the Russian. The Russian offers her a draw. She refuses. And looks at him with that INTENSE EYES! I stopped chewing on the Nangka…….the bear is going to clobber her! She looks up at the ceiling and sees in her mind’s eyes — the various strategic moves that can corner her opponent. The two then embroil in a battle. Another piece of Nangka. Sweet. Firm. Chewy. Joy.
Beth then gracefully lifts a chess piece from the board and strikes. She smiles coyly at Borgov. I chucked a whole piece of Nangka into my mouth to ease the tension rising in my body. Has she won the game? I chewed on the Nangka. Its sweetness mellows me within seconds……… The older man looks at the chess board for what seems a long time….. then his face twists into a shocked expression……..
“It is your game, take it.” He says. A burst of honey-like juice hit my throat. She won!!!
The story in the final episode is just as captivating as the last six. I never thought chess games can be so interesting for someone like me who have little knowledge of chess!
“The night before her round with Borgov, she finally overcomes the demons from her past that led to her drinking problem after her adopted mom passed away. Then she won and finds her place in the world.” I declared to my 81-year old neighbor, Ivan– an avid consumer of knowledge, thinker, and a student of history.
“And it was refreshing to watch the whole TV series while I savoured several containers of Nangka.”
“Looks like Nangka finds a place in your tummy now!” he chided, always the “humour monger” (his words) in the jiran chat group on the street.
“Ya, ya, I have grown to like it very much since we get this direct from the Shah Alam Farm! You like it too?”
“Of course! I like Nangka since childhood. Trees in the compound of the house provided fruits all year round. We even ate the seeds. Nowadays, people throw the seeds away. So sayang ( Malay: pity)!”
“I like the boiled seeds, dip in mango chilli sauce! Yummy! A former intern from Maluku Island, Indonesia, showed me that boiled Nangka seeds with chilli sambal is the best! The seeds are for bone growth. They reduce anaemia, and lower blood pressure according to local beliefs. The unripen fruit are use as meat substitute in cooking.
“When I was working in Sri Lanka, my house boy used to make curries with Nangka seeds, he hid the seeds so well in the creamy curries that Daisy, my housemate from Luxemburg, didn’t know she was eating a seed, she thought she was chewing on some kind of rare tropical foods.”
I giggled, Daisy’s smiling face popped into my mind, her eyes closed, “Uuum, I love these nuts!” Daisy had many exciting food discoveries when we were together. Fond and amusing memories. Nangka was one of them.
“Yup, they taste like nuts. So creamy…. Uummm…” Ivan nodded in agreement. He told me about his childhood after the Japanese left Malaya. “After World War II ……. cooking was still done over charcoal stove. After a meal was cooked, the pieces of burnt charcoal in the old-fashioned clay stove were still burning hot so we, kids, buried the Nangka seeds in the hot ash and dying charcoal to roast them.
“We huddled around the stove squatting on our skinny legs, watching the Nangka seeds being roasted in the embers! The more we looked, the hungrier we became. There wasn’t much food then, everything we could get tasted heavenly!” Ivan recalled.
“It is a rich source of dietary fibre! Great for the elderly,” I nudged Ivan.
“Ya, I wish I can enjoy a roasted Nangka seed now!”
“Me too……… I don’t have a Nangka toasting charcoal stove! Too bad!! But, I found a new recipe to eat Nangka seeds- blend the boiled seeds with lemon juice, coriander leaves and tahini into a dip for fresh vegetables like cucumber, carrots, and boiled pumpkin! Delicious way to go for a diet!” Tahini is a Middle Eastern spread made of ground and roasted sesame seeds.
“Once you makan yr tahini, you dream of being a Wahini (a beautiful woman in South Pacific legends) in Tahiti!” Ivan gave me his classic word game humour.
Seeing that I wasn’t roaring with laughter, he lamented, “ Oh, what a bad joke!”
I laughed.
Ivan sent me this after he told his joke
I love my Nangka and my life, with my neighbors.