OFF THE SHELF
Catch the tail end of the 'dragon's eye' longan season

By Wanda A. Adams
Advertiser Food Editor

The longan fruit (Dimocarpus longan, Euphoria longana) is loved by Thai and Vietnamese people, who call it lam-hai and long nhan, respectively, meaning dragon's eye. The Thais hold fruit festivals to celebrate this lychee-like fruit with the scaly brown shell and creamy-colored, sweet and musky flesh that some compare to a fig. It was brought to Hawai'i by the Chinese, who enjoy the fruit and also have medicinal uses for various parts of the plant.

Longan grows vigorously here — better, some say, than lychee. Growers and plant experts here have been studying longan cultivation, developing a new variety called Egami, and developing ways to cause longan to flower and thus produce fruit over a longer period.

Longan has an inedible seed at the center, but it's easy to pick out. The fruit can be chilled, peeled and served by itself or in combination with other fruits or atop ice cream or pudding. It can be pureed and made into a delicate sorbet. Longan also can be used as a flavor complement in cooked dishes, stir-fried with chicken, for example, or baked with chicken or pork as you would grapes, allowing the fruit to poach and release its liquid in the sauce.