I bought a 2-lb bag of these Chinese lychee off a fruit vendor on the street. When I’d asked him what they were, he responded that they were lychee nuts. I told him that they look nothing like the lychee that I’ve eaten before, but he said “Chinese lychee!” New York charm at its finest.
After eating a bunch of these, I finally decided to Google them, and they’re tough to find, even online. It’s clear why they’re less popular – they’re not nearly as sweet and juicy as their red counterparts. But the kids enjoyed peeling them and ate a few, so all in all, a reasonable success. But if I’m buying lychee again, it won’t be these ones.
ME: What are these called?
LAUREN: Lychee nuts!
ME: What do they look like?
LAUREN: They kind of look like a tiny basketball.
ME: Sam, what do you think?
SAM: It looks like a stretchy thing.
LAUREN: A stretchy ball?
LAUREN: Oh, my God, is there a nut in it?
ME: Yes, but you’re not allergic.
LAUREN: Can I lick it?
(Licking)
LAUREN: Ew, I don’t like it.
EMMA: I like it!
ME: They’re kind of similar to the guineps.
LAUREN: Yeah, they are.
LAUREN: This tastes like an olive a little.
SAM: Actually when I lick it….
EMMA: (Crying)
ME: What happened? Did you bite it?
EMMA: (crying) Yeaaaaah.
ME: Did you hurt your tooth?
EMMA: (crying) Yeaaaaah.
ME: Sam, what were you saying?
SAM: It tastes like, um, goo.
ME: Here you go Emma, there’s no seed in it so you can eat the whole thing.
EMMA: I want more.
ME: You like it?
EMMA: Yes. I want moooooorrrrre.
SAM: Did you know that I ate the whole thing of this? And I didn’t eat the nut.
ME: Did you like it?
SAM: Um, the lychee tasted like this (pointing to the discarded lychee skin)
ME: OK, thank you Sam, that was helpful. At least you liked it buddy.
Loved this one. Personally I don’t like lychees & I can’t say that about many foods but it’s a texture issue with me. Shudder… they remind me of slimy eyeballs.
But I love that someone hurt their tooth. 😉
Kids kill me.
That was my first reaction when I was a kid – I thought they looked so repulsive. I can get past the texture though…I love the flavor.
Never seen them in TO. Love te commentary!
Ah, well, you’re not really missing out. Not our favorite food tried this year.
…..also known as longan. See if you have more success with that google term.
Cool, thanks for the tip, will look it up!