Ingredient

Rambutan

A rambutan is a red or yellow fruit the size of a small plum, covered in soft, hairlike spines. Inside is a translucent white flesh close to a lychee but firmer, less perfumed and rather more grape-like. The name comes from the Malay word for hair.

The three relatives, told apart

They belong to the same family and turn up beside each other.

Rambutan

Red or yellow, covered in soft flexible spines. Firm, mildly sweet, faintly acidic, less aromatic than lychee. Stone usually clings.

Lychee

Pink-red, bumpy but not hairy, brittle shell. Highly perfumed and floral. Stone usually comes free.

Longan

Smaller, smooth tan-brown shell, translucent flesh. Milder and more musky than lychee, sometimes described as tasting faintly of caramel.

Season

All are summer fruits in Southeast Asia and reach British shops mainly from May to September, and often airfreighted year-round.

Freshness

The spines on a rambutan should be flexible and mostly green-tipped. Dry, brittle, blackened spines mean an old fruit.

Opening one

Easier than it looks — the shell is thin and the spines are soft.

1. Hold it in both hands and squeeze gently until the shell splits, or nick it around the middle with a knife.
2. Twist the two halves apart. The flesh comes out whole.
3. The stone is in the centre and in most varieties it clings to the flesh. Bite around it, or cut the flesh away with a small knife.
4. Some varieties are "freestone" and the flesh separates cleanly. These are the ones worth buying twice.
5. Do not eat the stone. It is not edible raw.

What it is like to eat

The texture is the main difference from a lychee: a rambutan is firmer, crunchier and slightly more fibrous, closer to a very firm grape than to the soft, yielding lychee.

Flavour is sweet with a distinct acidity and only a light floral note. Where a lychee announces itself, a rambutan is milder and cleaner, and some people prefer it for exactly that reason.

A thin brown papery layer sometimes clings to the flesh around the stone. It is harmless but slightly bitter and worth peeling off if it comes away easily.

How they are used

• Eaten cold as they are, which is overwhelmingly the main use.
• In a fruit salad with lime and mint, where the firmness holds up well.
• Stuffed — a common Thai preparation fills them with minced prawn or with pineapple and serves them in syrup.
• In a sweet-and-sour dish with pork or prawns, where the acidity works like pineapple.
• In a syrup or compote, where they keep their shape better than lychees.
• Frozen, then eaten half-thawed like a sorbet.

Common questions