Here's our little discovery for the day.

Some time back at Psaar Thmei a little yeay with a gleam in her eye sold us a little bag of what looked to be black seeds for a couple of thousand Riel. We had no idea what it was and even thought it might have been a mild opiate. A Khmer friend told us today that it is gro-ub jee (my translit) and to mix some in water with sugar.

We did so, and it quickly turned into frog spawn. We're now sitting here watching it, waiting for the tadpoles to hatch.

...

...

Kidding, it's a drink, similar texture to bubble tea. Anyone know an English name for this, and anything more about it? Here's a before and after photo.

I loved to drink this as a kid and now to add them in desserts. When we were children, my sister and I would say that these were frogs' eyes and we would drink it in front of disgusted friends.

The seeds were sold in Asian im-ex shops in France. Probably imported from China. Can't recall the Latin name then.

Do you just soak them in a little water to add to a dessert, Joon?

And is that the correct pronunciation?

Does it mean herb seeds? Krorp jee?

rick_o'shea wrote:Does it mean herb seeds? Krorp jee?

That sounds right - thanks rick.

We Cambodian like it so much. We normally eat it with sugar and ice. We believed that it can cool down our body ( inside).

It's a lot like tapioca once it's soaked, too

StroppyChops wrote:Do you just soak them in a little water to add to a dessert, Joon?

And is that the correct pronunciation?

Yes and yes, Stroppy
Although when I say dessert, it's actually a topping for the shaved ice with fruits, jellies, sweet condensed milk and syrup dessert! I don't think it would match well in a warm pudding or something.

Joon wrote:

StroppyChops wrote:Do you just soak them in a little water to add to a dessert, Joon?

And is that the correct pronunciation?

Yes and yes, Stroppy
Although when I say dessert, it's actually a topping for the shaved ice with fruits, jellies, sweet condensed milk and syrup dessert! I don't think it would match well in a warm pudding or something.

Nice - should work with vanilla ice cream as well then.