Fresh Lychees, Lychee in Syrup
One of the best things I like about summer, besides the long days of sunshine, is the seasonal fruits like lychees.
These fresh ones have a unique flavor, sort of like grapes but not really, although their fleshy textures are pretty similar.
You can eat fresh lychees the same way as fresh longans, by peeling the skin and chewing around the seed. Although lychees are usually less expensive than longans, I prefer them because I think they’re juicier and have a better level of sweetness. (You may be wondering why I don’t have photos of peeled lychees. Well, the ones I took made the lychees—flesh and seeds—look gross and other sorts of wrong; I blame my developing photography skills. The lychee isn’t a gross fruit, and I didn’t want to convey that it is.)
Anyway, like longans, lychees also come in canned versions.
I don’t like lychees from cans nearly as much as I like the fresh ones because I find them mushier, and the accompanying syrup way too sweet. (I always drain the syrup first before serving the lychees from the can; the fruit will still be plenty sweet.)
So while I don’t like canned lychees as much, there are other ways to enjoy the fruit and syrup besides on their own, like in stir-fries, fruit salads, sorbets, and martinis.
P.S. I added more photos to my Flower’s Kiss Candy post of the different flower designs—I think the candy tastes like lychees.
They remind me of raspberries for some reason. I would love to try them fresh.
My favorite Chinese restaurant has a dish with lychees and pork chops. It is so yummy!
Yum! I love fresh lychees! The texture is very similar to a large firm grape but the taste is so different. One of the unexpected benefits of living in North Queensland is that we are so close enough to get fresh Asian produce. Not a lot of variety but we do get lychees and rambutans (which I also love). The big grocery store up the street even has whole durian at the moment.
I’ve always been reluctant to buy them in a can though. I think it’s because I ate a lot of canned fruit salad as a kid and I’m not a big fan of that because all the different fruits turn into the same texture and the syrup is so over sweet. But it never occurred to me to drain them and put them in a fruit salad! That’s a great idea! I’ll have to buy a can next time I make fresh fruit salad if they’re out of season.
(Thanks for the extra pictures on the candy!)
I agree, fresh lychee tastes sooo much better than canned. Canned takes away the fresh sweet (naturally sweet) slightly crisp plumpness and makes it sort of rubbery and sugar syrup soaked to the point of….*can of lychee behind me, jk!* I like lychee jello cups though. Those little ones with squares of lychee.
Like lychee but like longnan more. They taste sweeter to me for some reason. We used to get several pounds every few nites from the nite markets or from vendors on the street. Yum.
Juju: Do you local Asian markets not have them available fresh? I thought lychees were a common item at this time of the year.
Dianne: I’ve never really been a fan of fruit plus meat dishes, but I may change my mind with the right dish.
Pademelon: It’s great that you’re still able to have access to Asian produce and fruits, especially the more ‘exotic’ ones you named.
I was just thinking the other day about how I could tackle durian for a post, because that’s what it’d literally be—a tackle (and trouble with a capital T). You may see durian in a future post, but likely not in its fresh form. We also get fresh rambutans here, but rarely.
You’re welcome.
Lian: I agree! I guess canned lychees are all right if fresh ones aren’t available and you drain the syrup before eating them. Oh, and I’ve had lychee coconut jelly before (same brand as the Mango Coconut Jelly).
Slammie: I think longans taste sweeter, too. I prefer lychees, though, because I find them juicier. I can only eat a little bit of either one before I start feeling side effects like a sore throat.
A sore throat, really? Are you a little allergic then? I’m a little allergic to cantaloupe. And honeydew definitely. And kiwi seeds (JUST the seeds!) but not the Golden Kiwi variety. And pineapple (but not the dried kind covered in sugar). And the pink part of spinach….(The list stretches so far, haha.) But I don’t get a sore throat. I get an uncomfortable feeling…not quite like itchiness. Hard to explain. But this is a food site! Not a food allergy site! I’ll let you carry on.
What a timely post! I actually just went to an Asian market for the very first time yesterday and bought lychees! I got the canned ones, though, and now wish I hadn’t. I like the flavor, but they have that “canned fruit smell” and are a little rubbery. I was wondering… Do you have any good recipes for lychee? I love how you showcase the different ingredients found in Asian markets, but what do I do with them after I buy them? Do you suggest a food blog or website that contains good Asian recipes?
Lian: Wow, those are some specific allergies you have! I’m not allergic to anything as far as I know (which is a great thing for this site!). I think the sore throat I get comes from the belief that some people, including myself, have that certain foods negatively ‘heat’ the body. (And so you need to eat or drink things—like grass jelly—to ‘cool’ down.)
Ellen F.: Oh dear, I knew this kind of question was going to come up sooner or later; your Google is as good as mine.
This site has a long list of lychee recipes.
A couple of food sites I enjoy visiting for their amazing photos and abundance of Asian recipes are White on Rice Couple and Steamy Kitchen.
I hope this helps!
I spotted these at our grocery store this weekend. I recognized them and wanted to try them, but… um… I wasn’t sure how to eat them. My daughter thanks you for the tutorial. And hopefully they’ll still be there when I return to the store tomorrow.
Tonggu Momma: Just peel, chew around the seed, and then discard the seed. I found a link to this step-by-step, lychee-peeling tutorial on Steamy Kitchen’s site. I do have to disagree about the part in the tutorial that says to pick only lychees with pink skin. I’ve seen this fruit in two colors—the all-over red in the tutorial and the light-red, light-green in my photos. Lychees in the latter color are perfectly ready to eat, and can be sweet and juicy. This fruit (as well as longans) should be eaten soon after purchasing, because its taste deteriorates quickly while being stored in the refrigerator.
On a boat going down the Yangtze several years ago, we had a dessert of wonderful lychees that had a sticky, crisp, tanish colored and delicious coating. You just broke off a chunk of this delightful concoction and it was wonderful. Does anyone have a recipe for such a thing? Linda
Linda: That dessert sounds interesting. I wonder if it’s a native one? I’ve never heard of it.