Lychees, anyone?

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MexicoKaren

MexicoKaren

Head Chef
Joined
Jun 28, 2006
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Location
Bucerias, Nayarit, Mexico
Is anyone here familiar with lichees? We have a huge lichee tree in the middle of our patio that is heavy with fruit. We are busy harvesting from the tip top branches of the tree because our neighbors are anxious to have some...they are considered a rare delicacy here and everyone we have met here loves them. As you can see by the pictures, they are beautiful fruits - red citrus-like skin on the outside, translucent white on the inside and VERY sweet, with a dark brown seed in the middle...they are about the size of walnuts. We are the most popular people in the neighborhood right now!
2599055628_c4b2cc5404.jpg
2599042502_87a9ec538d.jpg
 
Hi, Karen. I've had lichees as part of a stir-fry, I think (it's been a long time), in a Chinese restaurant. I remember they were quite sweet and tasty. We have canned lichees here, but no fresh ones that I know of. I'd love to try the fresh ones sometime.

How cool to have a tree of them right outside your door :)
 
I GET THEM FROM THE LOCAL CHINESE market and love them. Ive planted the seeds,and have gotten the trees to grow, but unfortunately, being in new york, I cant really do much with them.
 
Larry, you may not be able to successfully grow lichees/lychees in New York, but Stacy might, depending on how far south you are. Here is a link to more info LYCHEE Fruit Facts

This info says that "cool" winters are best (35F to 45F) and our temps here never get much below 55F in the winter, but it is very dry in the winter and warm and humid in the summer.

We feel very lucky to have this beautiful tree right outside our back door...it was here when we bought the house, and I think it has been growing about ten years. It is about 20 feet tall, with a 25 foot canopy. It's a very interesting tree. Here is a picture of the trunk system; don't know if it is actually one tree or more than that:

2599444158_c88741aedd.jpg
 
One of my neighbors when I was growing up had a huge tree in their backyard. During the summer we'd be there almost every day getting fresh lychees. I liked to eat them chilled, especially when it was a hot day. Nowdays, I like to use them as a component in fresh fruit salsas to serve with fish.
 
I love them so much and can not get enough of them. My local supermarket carried them fresh last year and I bought a ton of them. Before that I had only either had them in Chinese restaurants or canned. Granted I have only had fresh once, but I could not tell a difference between fresh and canned. Karen and IC, do you find a difference.

I love them chilled too IC. They are so refreshing that way. I think you also posted a flank steak recipe a while ago that had lichees in it. I saved it away somewhere along with a million other recipes I plan on making someday.
 
GB, I have never had canned lichees. But the fresh ones are so sweet and spicy tasting. We gave some to our friend Salvador and Jerry asked him how many he could eat a day. He said "About 50." So Jerry gave him a four-day supply! They would be wonderful as a salsa ingredient - I'll try that. Probably, I should google some recipes.
 
Yum - here is a good recipe:

Seared Scallops with Tropical Lychee Salsa



  • Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup diced fresh peeled seedless lychees
  • 1/2 cup diced fresh mango
  • 1/2 cup peeled and diced cucumber
  • 1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
  • 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
  • 4 teaspoons fresh lime juice
  • 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 pound sea scallops, rinsed and drained


  1. Directions
  2. Combine the lychee, mango, cucumber, bell pepper, bell pepper, cilantro, lime juice and jalapeno. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and set aside.
  3. Heat a large, nonstick fry pan over medium-high heat. Coat the pan with cooking spray. Season the scallops with salt and pepper. Add half of the scallops to the pan; sear until golden brown on both sides, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer the scallops to a warmed plate while cooking the remaining scallops.
  4. Spoon the salsa over the scallops, and serve immediately.
 
I made a lichee jello once. I can not get enough of those things. I can see eating 50 in a day easy.
 
MexicoKaren said:
Yum - here is a good recipe:

Seared Scallops with Tropical Lychee Salsa



  • Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup diced fresh peeled seedless lychees
  • 1/2 cup diced fresh mango
  • 1/2 cup peeled and diced cucumber
  • 1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
  • 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
  • 4 teaspoons fresh lime juice
  • 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 pound sea scallops, rinsed and drained


  1. Directions
  2. Combine the lychee, mango, cucumber, bell pepper, bell pepper, cilantro, lime juice and jalapeno. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and set aside.
  3. Heat a large, nonstick fry pan over medium-high heat. Coat the pan with cooking spray. Season the scallops with salt and pepper. Add half of the scallops to the pan; sear until golden brown on both sides, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer the scallops to a warmed plate while cooking the remaining scallops.
  4. Spoon the salsa over the scallops, and serve immediately.
Click to expand...
Copied and saved. This sounds delicious!
 
GB said:
I love them so much and can not get enough of them. My local supermarket carried them fresh last year and I bought a ton of them. Before that I had only either had them in Chinese restaurants or canned. Granted I have only had fresh once, but I could not tell a difference between fresh and canned. Karen and IC, do you find a difference.

I love them chilled too IC. They are so refreshing that way. I think you also posted a flank steak recipe a while ago that had lichees in it. I saved it away somewhere along with a million other recipes I plan on making someday.
Click to expand...

GB, IMO you can definitely taste a difference, especially if you eat them side by side. The fresh lychees don't have that syrupy flavor that canned fruit can have. It's not as noticeable and strong as say, canned pears or peaches, but it's there.
 
I am sure the fresh ones I had were of pretty low quality (but delicious nonetheless). I look forward to someday tasting really good fresh ones.
 
Before the kids knew what they were, I used to peel them, then tell the kids I was eating eyeballs. Didnt go over real well, But I kinda thought it was funny.

larry
 
LOL Larry. When my dad was pledging his fraternity the brothers blindfolded the pledges and put them in front of a bowl and told them they had to eat the eyeballs inside. It turns out they were peeled grapes. Lychees would have been even better.
 
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