• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Rachel Cooks Thai
  • Home
  • Recipes
  • Resources
  • Pantry
  • About
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Recipes
  • Resources
  • Pantry
  • About
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Recipes
  • Resources
  • Pantry
  • About
×
Home » Snacks

Snacking on Tropical Fruits

Written by: Rachel. Published: Oct 1, 2012 · Modified: Oct 11, 2024· This post may contain affiliate links · 4 Comments

Snacking on Tropical Fruits

If you've been to Thailand, you've been spoiled by the wonderful abundance of fresh tropical fruits found there.  Fruits like lychee, longan, mangosteen, rambutan, rose apple, durian, jackfruit, and the list goes on and on...  And if you're like me, you've experienced cravings for these fruits ever since returning from your trip, no matter how long ago that was!

Cravings can drive a person to do crazy things, let me tell you.  Things like obsess about where to find these fresh tropical fruits outside of Thailand...  Fortunately for me (and the boyfriend, poor thing...), I can sometimes find some of these fresh fruits in my local area.  But, I can't find them all and they're certainly not available year round, so I tend to continue my obsessive search for fruit where ever I go.

Snacking on Tropical Fruits

Take for instance the much-needed tropical vacation that we took to Maui a few months ago.  Long before even booking our flights, I had read that you can sometimes find fresh mangosteen, lychee, and longan on this Hawaiian isle.  And given my above confessions, you shouldn't be too surprised to know that I was more excited about searching for these fruits than I was about laying on the beach!

So of course, our search for fresh fruit started the day that we touched down in Maui.  We grabbed a bite to eat and then went on a tour of a tropical plantation, checked out several local farmer's markets, and even went to a few grocery stores.  But to my dismay, there were no Thai fruits to be found...

The next day, I decided it'd be best to ask the locals where they find these fruits.  I got some blank stares when mentioning lychee, longan, rambutan, durian, and the like.  When I listed off mangosteen, some people lit up and said, "Oh, you mean mango?  I can tell you where to find that!"  At that point, I was starting to get desperate... My tropical vacation was not going to be complete without at least a bite of fresh lychee!

Snacking on Tropical Fruits

Finally, a few days of searching later, we hit the jackpot with Mana Foods in Paia!  They happened to have lynchee, longan, and mangosteen and that was enough for me!  I was excited about all of these, but especially the mangosteen, since it's so hard to find back home.  A few trips back to this grocery and a few pounds of fresh fruit heavier and I couldn't have been happier!

Snacking on Tropical Fruits

Snacking on Tropical Fruits

Of course, this was months ago...  and now the cravings are returning 🙂

What about you?  What are your favorite Thai fruits?  And where do you go to find them?

More Thai Snack Recipes

  • Top Down view of 6 slices of Thai fried pumpkin
    Thai Fried Pumpkin
  • Thai Fried Bananas
    Thai Fried Bananas
  • Tropical Fruits in Maui
    Snacking on Tropical Fruits: Part Two
  • Thai-Spiced Cashews

Reader Interactions

Comments

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




  1. Aphinya

    January 07, 2013 at 10:57 am

    I actually live here on Maui n love Mana Foods!! They carry the best organic produce n especially love the fact that they carry Thai fruits!! I love mangosteen myself n every time I'm able to get some it just takes me back to when I was younger growing up in Thailand.. Unfortunately we're not able to go to Paia often since we live about an hour or so away.. But soo worth the trip when we do!!

    Reply
  2. June

    October 04, 2012 at 2:58 am

    SO glad to see you posting again! I periodically check your blog and was disappointed a few times, but I was really happy to see some new posts today. Your pictures are so vivid and your blog layout is clean and simple. Thank you for sharing your recipes! They are delicious.

    Reply
    • Rachel

      October 04, 2012 at 3:20 am

      Thanks, June! That means a lot...

      Reply
  3. cara

    October 01, 2012 at 5:16 am

    We have lynchee at the Asian markets in our area (Southern California), but I don't recall seeing anything else. I love rambutan. We had a whole flat of it in our hotel room in Thailand. We ate it everyday!

    I love your blog!

    Reply

Primary Sidebar

Rachel Cooks Thai profile
Sawadee Ka and Welcome

I'm Rachel. After falling in love with a Thai guy, I was immersed in the world of Thai food. Join me as I cook food from my husband's homeland, one delicious dish at a time!

More about me →

Follow me

  • facebook
  • instagram
  • pinterest
  • YouTube

Seasonal Recipes

  • Garlic chives stir fried with white pepper and soy sauce.
    Garlic Chives Recipe with Tofu
  • Yum Woonsen
    Yum Woonsen (Glass Noodle Salad)
  • Black Sticky Rice with Mango
    Black Sticky Rice with Mango
  • Pla Goong
    Thai Shrimp Salad | Pla Goong | พล่ากุ้ง

Popular Recipes

  • A plate of Pad Kee Mao / Drunken Noodles with rice noodles, chicken, peppers, baby corn, carrots, long beans, young green peppercorns, and holy basil from the top down view
    Thai Drunken Noodles Recipe (Pad Kee Mao)
  • Pad Kra Pao
    Holy Basil Stir Fry with Chicken | Pad Kra Pao Gai | ผัดกระเพรา
  • Som Tam
    Green Papaya Salad | Som Tum Thai | ส้มตำไทย
  • Thai Fried Tofu
    Thai Fried Tofu | Tau Hu Tod | เต้าหู้ทอด

Footer

↑ back to top

INFO

  • About
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions

BROWSE

  • Recipes
  • Guides
  • Pantry

CONNECT

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Copyright © Rachel Cooks Thai 2024