Food in the Far East - Dragonfruit

I recently came back on a two-week vacation to China and Japan, so the next few posts that I write will be dedicated to the delicious foods I had while abroad.


The first feature is dragonfruit. Interestingly like a kiwi, this fruit is a juicy, almost flavorless treat. The reason I compare it to a kiwi is the texture of the 'meat' and the seeds speckled throughout.

If you take notice to the outside of the fruit, you will notice that it looks like it has appendages. If you use your imagination, the appendages look a bit like fire. I think this is why Chinese people call it "fire dragon fruit".


The first time I ate this a couple years back, I was utterly confused at how I was supposed to attack this odd animal of a fruit. Peeling it was impossible, as the skin was spongy and extremely thick. Biting straight into it definitely wasn't an option, especially since the outside was highly contaminated with Macau's filthy air. But I wasn't about to let something between me and this fruit (hardly anything ever presents a barrier between me and food), so I decided to use my highly-skilled hands and perform surgery on this little sucker. Using a knife, I carved the dragonfruit in half to find what you see above. Don't be too scared of the seeds inside. I promise they're not bugs!

To get the meat out, I used a spoon to carve little craters out of the fruit. With each spoonful came a lot juice (and a lot of seeds!) The seeds are edible, but aren't as annoying as kiwi seeds. I find kiwi seeds to be kind of waxy and irritating to the tongue. Besides a little crunch, the dragonfruit seeds did not disturb my mouth's sweet moments savoring this fruit.

After having this fruit in China, I make sure that I eat some each time that I go back. They're really cheap overseas, but I've seen them in Houston for as much as $4. I haven't purchased one in the States before, so I can't say whether or not they're as delicious as they are in Asia. But if you're interested in trying one, I would recommend going to an Asian-mart. They're worth a try!