Dragon Fruit / Pitahaya 

Thai Name: Kaew mank gorn

Dragon Fruit is grown in several South East Asian countries, and forms part of the staple fruit diet for these nations. Thailand is no exception, and Dragon Fruit is eaten extensively both as a snack, and as part of a larger dish such as fruit salad.

Dragon Fruit is one of the most intriguing looking fruits to be found anywhere. It’s distinctive blood red, with green tips leaves, makes it unmistakable. However, once you cut into the fruit, it looks very different indeed. Milk white flesh, dotted with hundreds of tiny dark seeds.

Dragon Fruit is very low in calories, and also contains many essential vitamins including a large dose of vitamin C, and other trace nutrients such as calcium and phosphorous.

Choosing a fresh Dragon Fruit is fairly easy to accomplish. The tips of the leaves which surround the body of the fruit should be a verdant green, if the tops are brown, the fruit is older. When squeezing the Dragon Fruit, it should be only a little soft, much like a riper Kiwi Fruit.

Preparing a Dragon Fruit for eating is straightforward, although it should be noted that Dragon Fruit taste better if they have been refrigerated for some time. Simply cut the Dragon Fruit in half, and then run a teaspoon around the edges of the skin, and down under the flesh of the fruit. You will then be able to easily part the flesh from the skin, and then quarter it into suitably sized segments.

When used as part of a larger dish, Dragon Fruit will usually be added to fruit salads to add a slightly more exotic flavour. Another Thai favourite is to add a few segments of Dragon Fruit to a spicy salad, to supply sugar content, which reduces the burning sensation of chilli.

This fruit is only usually available between the months of March and October. Outside these months, it’s unlikely that we’ll be able to procure it from Thailand.

Fresh produce of Thailand.