Lychee and Rambutan

A 52 search brought up ~15 recipes but many have them combined with other tropical fruits/flavors. But I am hoping to try some of them. Has anyone tasted or experimented with lychee and non-tropical fruit ingredients? Matcha, Coffee, Nuts, Chocolate, Herbs- basil maybe, or thyme, cantalope, tomato...? They also seem a perfect candidate for stuffing, no? Pies, cakes? Strange as it may seem, I am not wanting to emphasize their floralness ; i'd rather bring it down a few notches. Thx much.

LeBec Fin
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6 Comments

LeBec F.
LeBec F. February 3, 2015
If any of you like lychee but have not tasted Rambutan, I encourage you to; it is def my fav. I guess I just find lychee a bit too floral in comparison between the two. Anyway, try Rambutan next time- usually on the shelf next to lychees (canned.)
 
LeBec F.
LeBec F. January 29, 2015
I just wanted to share w/ people a new discovery. The canning syrup that surrounds the canned fruit- lychee, rambutan etc. is so sweet that i used to toss it. But last night i put it into ice cube trays, and lo and behold!- it froze into popsicles with the perfect edible texture (not hard like ice cubes!) Cool, eh? There actually is ALOT of syrup in each can. Next i'm going to try combining it w/ milk or cream and matcha powder or coffee powder - before freezing; maybe i can lower the sweetness and get a bit more of a creamsicle......
 
HalfPint
HalfPint January 30, 2015
I use the syrup to make cocktails like lychee martini. Other times, I add unflavored gelatin and the fruit to make jello-cups.
 
Nancy
Nancy February 3, 2015
3 suggestions. Mix syrup w/citrus juice to get closer to creamsickle, lower sugar. Freeze with savory herb like basil. See thread on hotline 2014 for more ideas to freeze various not-h2o liquids and foods in ice cube trays.
 
QueenSashy
QueenSashy January 29, 2015

In Chinese cuisine lychees and longan fruit are used in stir fries. That could be what you are looking for. I have also seen quite a few interesting salads. Another thing that comes to mind is lychee jelly or jam with herbs.
 
Posie (.
Posie (. January 29, 2015
If you want to go savory, try pork (garlicky, salty, oniony type dish) to cut the floralness. Or something Asian -- halibut with miso and lychee. For dessert, dairy + basil (http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/lychee-panna-cotta-with-sugared-basil-leaves) would work nicely too.
 
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