Sweet nothings: Blackpink's Rosé declares love for 'mamuang nampla wan'

SUNDAY, JANUARY 08, 2023

Thailand’s ubiquitous raw mango with sweet fish sauce (“mamuang nampla wan”) will soon win “soft power” status now that a member of the K-pop band Blackpink has announced she loves it.

In an Instagram post on Saturday night, Blackpink’s Rosé said mamuang nampla wan was her “absolute favourite thing to eat here in Bangkok”.

She posted this remark just before taking to the stage at the Suphachalasai National Stadium for the first of two shows of the Bangkok leg of the “Born Pink World Tour”. Blackpink is back on stage today at 7pm.

Mamuang nampla wan is a favourite among most Thais and historians date it as far back as the reign of King Rama IV (1851-1868).

Apart from raw mango, sweet fish sauce is also used to complement other sour fruit like tamarind, mayom (Malay gooseberry), krathon (santol) and taling pling (bilimbi fruit).

The sauce can also be adapted to become part of entrees like sadao nampla wan (neem flower with sweet fish sauce) and miang kham (betel leaf wrap).

Mamuang nampla wan regained its popularity in 2018 with the release of the historical television series “Love Destiny”. The series, which ran on Channel 3 from February 21 to April 11, 2018, also made other Thai foods popular like moo sarong (crispy pork meatballs), barbeque pork and grilled shrimp with seafood dip.

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