Kumquat Refresher Drink

Happy new year, everyone! Let's hope for a great year ahead with lots of joy, happiness, and new cooking ideas. Thu and I spent last Christmas in Melbourne with his family. There were plenty of Vietnamese food, family gatherings, and kids running around.  I mostly enjoyed eating the apricots and purple plums from my in-laws' backyard. Mum and Dad also packed a full box of purple plums and a bag of kumquats for us to bring back to Sydney. Here is a photo of happy kumquat tree in the backyard.

I recently tried to make kumquat syrup for a refresher drink. It is easy and only requires sugar, water, and lemon juice. This drink is very refreshing but has a very subtle bitterness. It's very weird but gives you a 'little kick'. If you have a kumquat tree and don't know what to do with the fruits during harvest time, try to make this kumquat syrup!

Ingredients:

• 700 grams peeled kumquat fruits
• 1.5 cups sugar
• 2 cups water
• juice from half lemon 

Preparations:
Peel the kumquat fruits (keep the kumquat rinds for baking purpose)

Add all ingredients in the sauce pan.

Set a low heat to boil for 30 mins or until the kumquat fruits are very soft and turned transparent.

Remove the seeds floating on surface. Keep the syrup in an airtight container. Add 3 tbs of kumquat syrup, ice cubes and water to dilute the sweetness in each cup.