You Should Add This Exotic Furry Fruit To Your Curry

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You might’ve seen rambutans during your last trip to Chinatown. It’s one of those eye-catching fruits on produce carts that’ll make you spend your extra cash just for the hell of it. The Western part of the world isn’t as familiar with the rambutan fruit since it’s native to Malaysia and Indonesia. The tropical Southeast Asian fruit is in the same family as the lychee and longan fruit, with a transparent white-ish flesh at the center. The most striking factor of the rambutan is its green and red spikes that kind of resemble hair.

This Malaysian tropical fruit is great for curries. A recipe by Saveur makes a curry paste with garlic, lime leaves, chiles, lemongrass, galangal and turmeric. The rest of the recipe calls for caramelized pineapple, yellow onion, coconut milk, brown sugar, fish sauce and chicken. This summery curry seems like the perfect use of your rambutans.

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Fun Fact: Rambutan comes from the Malay word for hair.  

Rambutans contain a high amount fiber, higher than a lychee does. They boast a high level of iron, which can help to keep your cardiovascular system in prime condition. The inside of the fruit isn’t the only part that’s used. The leaves can be mashed into a paste and applied to your hair and scalp to improve your hair health. You can mash the seeds into a paste and apply it to your skin to give yourself a clearer and softer complexion.

Once you peel away the “hairy” outer layer, the fruit inside is tender, fleshy and tangy. It’s kind of similar to a grape. There’s a seed in the middle that you’ll need to remove. You can eat the rambutan straight up by itself or add it to a fruit salad. It’s not a bad idea to add them to an ice cream sundae or use them for making jams and jellies. You shouldn’t peel it until right before you’re going to eat it. If a rambutan is really ripe it can be twisted open and the fruit will pop right out.

 Go check out some produce carts and if you’re lucky enough to stumble upon them, give these funky fruits a try.