Ambarellas, also known as golden apples, grow in tropical climates around the world.
In Caribbean kitchens the fruit is often stewed, with brown sugar, to an intense crimson. These Vietnamese trai coc (about $4 per pound) were peeled, then pickled with vinegar and chili; the result is firmer and retains more of the fruit's natural color. The pit is fibrous, regardless.
Also shown: fresh spring rolls with pork (three rolls, about $3), banh mi fixings and a pork banh mi (about $4), and the shop exterior, including a closeup of the sign. They may have had no affection for colonial rule, but in matters of food, for Vietnamese-Americans "French" is still a mark of quality.
Banh Mi Ba-Le
1052 Dorchester Ave. (at St. William St.), Dorchester
617-265-7171
(From visits in September 2011, and previously)
