Remember when I wrote about the rambutan, or hairy fruit? In that post I noted that the rambutan is part of the lychee and longan family, at which point faithful reader Emily noted that she wasn't sure what those were either.
Well, today I had both fruits which are native to Southeast Asia. I wasn't exactly a newbie to the lychee. Tim and Nicole introduced Brian and me to lychees upon one of our first visits to San Francisco's Chinatown (obviously I did not live there yet!) before we were married.
A longan, which means "dragon eye," is similar in both shape and taste. I bought some at the nearby fruit stand a few days ago and finally decided to dig in this morning. Typically I don't like to work for my fruit. This is why I'm a big fan of seedless grapes, pears, apples, peaches - things you don't have to peel and might slice at best. It's also why I typically cut up my fresh fruit at home and just store it for as long as it will last (remember the post about Brian eating the entire pineapple?), just to get some variety.
Anyway, I digress. So I dug in, and longans are sweet and juicy. They have a high water content so they're refreshing, and once you get the little peel under your finger nail, it's pretty easy to eat. Much easier than a rambutan, as you can imagine. Here's what the longans looks like at very different stages of my breakfast...
Well, today I had both fruits which are native to Southeast Asia. I wasn't exactly a newbie to the lychee. Tim and Nicole introduced Brian and me to lychees upon one of our first visits to San Francisco's Chinatown (obviously I did not live there yet!) before we were married.
A longan, which means "dragon eye," is similar in both shape and taste. I bought some at the nearby fruit stand a few days ago and finally decided to dig in this morning. Typically I don't like to work for my fruit. This is why I'm a big fan of seedless grapes, pears, apples, peaches - things you don't have to peel and might slice at best. It's also why I typically cut up my fresh fruit at home and just store it for as long as it will last (remember the post about Brian eating the entire pineapple?), just to get some variety.
Anyway, I digress. So I dug in, and longans are sweet and juicy. They have a high water content so they're refreshing, and once you get the little peel under your finger nail, it's pretty easy to eat. Much easier than a rambutan, as you can imagine. Here's what the longans looks like at very different stages of my breakfast...
Then tonight I met my new friend Whitney at the St. Regis for happy hour, where we had lychee martinis. I didn't take any photos there but here's one I found online. Yum!
3 comments:
I love lychees! I can't wait!
Huh... Very interesting! They look sort of like Pearl onions. They have pits? I'm very curious now. I wonder if you can get them here.
the bar above thai basil has a lychee something or another (mojito maybe?). it's delicious. they are rather odd looking fruit, aren't they? - Carm
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