One of the great things about travel is exploring the local fresh food. Southeast Asia has an abundance of great tropical fruit to enjoy. Here is a quick guide to some fruits of SE Asia, their nutritional value, and ways to enjoy them.
12 Fruits To Enjoy In Southeast Asia
1. Dragonfruit
The first on my list is dragonfruit (aka pitaya). It's a very popular fruit in Southeast Asia and in other parts of the world due to it's health benefits.
Nutrition/Benefits: Dragonfruit is low in calories, high in fiber and antioxidants. It is known to encourage growth of probiotics in your gut. It can help with digestion and strengthen your immune system.
Taste: It is a combination of kiwi and pear. It can have a faint, sweet taste, much like a watermelon.
How To Eat: You can slice dragonfruit, scoop it with a spoon, put it in a smoothie, or use in fresh salsa. If you choose to slice it, slice down the middle stem to root, then slice the halves.
2. Passion Fruit
One of my favorite fruits from Southeast Asia is the very tasty passion fruit. It is an exotic purple fruit with a soft pulp and lots of seeds.
Nutrition/Benefits: Passion fruit is filled with vitamin A, important for skin, vision, and the immune system. Also is enriched in Vitamin C, an important antioxidant.
Taste: Citrusy, tangy, and tart. Delicious!
How To Eat: Simply cut the passion fruit in half and eat with a spoon! Mix with your smoothie or add to your water to make a drink.
3. Pomelo
An ancestor of the grapefruit, the pomelo is often used at festive occasions in Southeast Asia. It is a large fruit with a thicker rind than a grapefruit. Sometimes these fruits can get very large.
Nutrition/Benefits: Pomelos are high in potassium and lots of Vitamin C. They are cholesterol-free, fat-free and low in sodium.
Taste: A sweet/sour taste much like a grapfruit.
How To Eat: Depending on the size of the pomelo, most slice the fruit and cut into sections.
4. Mangosteen
Mangosteen is the queen of fruits in Thailand. The round, purple, and smooth fruit has a delicious taste and are highly nutritious. These are found in markets all around Southeast Asia.
Nutrition/Benefits: This fruit is high in fiber, low in calories and a powerful antioxidant.
Taste: A slightly sweet and sour taste.
How To Eat: Mangosteen can be eaten raw and are very juicy when ripe. These are great in smoothies as well.
5. Jackfruit
Jackfruit is popular in Southeast Asia and can be seen often hanging from trees. It's in the same family as figs and mulberries. It is the largest fruit grown from a tree in the world and can get up to 40 lbs. It has a thick bumpy green rind with a stringy yellow flesh inside.
Nutrition/Benefits: Like many other fruits, it has very little fat and is high in fiber. It is full of Vitamin C, B, calcium, and potassium.
Taste: Unripe jackfruit is popular as a vegan substitute for meat. It's stringy texture make it resemble pulled pork or chicken. Ripe jackfruit has a sweet, tropical flavor often resembling bananas, mangos, and pineapples.
How To Eat: Sliced like a watermelon and cut into smaller pieces.
6. Lychee
These little red-ruby fruits are popular and delicious! They appear as hard-shelled strawberries, but are a distant cousin to the rambutan fruit family. Lychee can be found around the world, not just in Southeast Asia.
Nutrition/Benefits: Lychee is a great source of Vitamin C and minerals. They are high in carbs and sugar, and relatively low in fiber.
Taste: Lychee are full of flavor, like a strawberry with a hint of citrus.
How To Eat: Peel with your fingers, then eat the flesh around the seed.
7. Longan Fruit
Longan fruit is popular in Southeast Asia, but relatively rare in the rest of the world. These fruits are often mixed up with lychee. They are in the same group and appear like a large grape, but are surrounded with a tough leathery tan skin.
These fruits are one of my favorite to pick up at the fresh street markets and enjoy.
Nutrition/Benefits: According to Web Md, one serving of longan can provide a day's worth of Vitamin C. It is also high in potassium.
Taste: A musky, sweet taste, similar to lychee. They have a translucent look.
How To Eat: Simply peel and eat flesh from around the seed.
8. Durian
Durian is known as the "smelly fruit", but are suppose to be very delicious. (I have never tried this fruit due to the hotel restrictions). There are signs around Southeast Asia, "no durian allowed", especially in airports and hotels. The smell of the fruit can linger for days.
Nutrition/Benefits: Durian does have a long list of health benefits including immune system, digestion, bones, anemia, blood pressure, and cardiovascular diseases.
Taste: A sweet custardy vanilla taste withe texture of cheesecake.
How To Eat: It is best to open a durian's hard, spiky shell with gloves or mitts to protect your hands. You need to cut the shell with a knife and pry it open with your hands before gently removing the durian flesh.
9. Rose (Wax) Apples
Nutrition/Benefits: Rose wax apples have many health benefits. One of them is the benefit to the liver and kidneys. Often referred to as a cleanse, this fruit will make you pee. The juice of the fruit helps to get rid of the toxins. The high potassium and sodium levels in the apples is also known to help cholesterol levels. Add to the list heart and high blood pressure benefits and this is one healthy fruit!
Taste: The taste is similar to a snow pear with the juice of a watermelon. The flesh of the apple is crisp with a sweet/sour taste.
How To Eat: Can be sliced or eaten as an apple.
10. Starfruit
The starfruit has distinct ridges running down its sides and is shaped like a star. This fruit has been cultivated for centuries in Southeast Asia and easy to find.
Nutrition/Benefits: Starfruit is 91% water and 7% carbohydrates. These fruits are often cooked, made into juices, relishes, garnishes, or preserves.
Taste: Mix of an apple, grape, pear and citrus fruit.
How To Eat: The entire fruit is edible, including the skin. It is very juicy and similar to eating a grape.
11. Rambutan
The rambutan fruit is easy to identify in Southeast Asia. It's unusual skin and hairy-like skin is unmistakable. It is a common snack to many people in this part of the world, but not so familiar to Westerners.
Nutrition/Benefits: Rambutan is rich in Vitamin C and antioxidants. They can help with digestion, weight loss, and immune boosting.
Taste: Similar to the taste of lychee, which is like a grape/strawberry.
How To Eat: They are ripe when they are bright red. If they are black or have black hairs, they are over ripe. Simply peel them and eat the flesh around the seed. Some people find it easier to split them with a knife and peel the skin back.
12. Langsat
The last fruit is typically found in tropical Southeast Asia like Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines. Langsat is very juicy and refreshing.
Nutrition/Benefits: Langsat is full of antioxidants, fiber, and vitamins. It also contains potassium, iron, and calcium.
Taste: These are best to eat the moment they are plucked from the tree and are ripe. They have a sweet/tangy taste.
How To Eat: Peel the fruit with your fingers and pull the segments apart.
That's my list of fruits from Southeast Asia that are not only delicious, but so healthy!
XOXO
Marla