Tan Yifan

    cicitan2011@gmail.com

    THE breeze in summer is hot and sweet, especially in southern cities like Shenzhen, as ripe, tropical fruits emit their strong, fruity fragrances. To highlight the versatility of the fruits, some people take them into the kitchen and make a panoply of dishes out of them.

    It is common for foodies to make desserts or salads out of small cubes of fruit, such as mango, dragon fruit and durian. On the menu of many local restaurants, durian pancakes and “Yangzhiganlu,” a dessert mainly made of mango and grapefruit, are popular dishes, even in winter.

    In addition to those mentioned above, litchi, with its translucent pulp and sweet, juicy taste, is another option to use in fruit dishes.

    Unlike some fruit that can be cultivated in a greenhouse or stored for a long time, litchi is only available during the summer and must be refrigerated if you want to keep some for more than three days. It’s a representative southern fruit, thanks to its unique appearance and extremely sweet taste.

    “Litchi can be made into various dishes, and on our summer menu, it is a special offer for our guests,” said Owen Xiao, a famed dessert chef at Four Seasons Hotel Shenzhen. “Because it is only available for a very short time, litchi-based dishes are always special.”

    Xiao encourages people fond of litchis to try using it as a dessert ingredient. “You can simply add the pulp into a cocktail or bake it into a delicately made pastry,” he said.

    “You can also attend cooking classes specifically for cooking litchis, like the ones we provide at the hotel, to learn more complicated ways of preparing litchi-themed desserts,” Xiao added.

    Xiao says the litchi is very versatile, and can be used in sushi, cakes, cookies and even martinis.

    If you eat a lot of litchis, though, remember to drink a glass of lemonade or eat some mangosteens to prevent the sore, itchy throat sometimes caused by eating too many at once.

    Litchi martini

    The easiest way to add litchi to your dining table is to make a litchi martini. All you need is vodka, apple juice, Dita Litchi wine, lime juice and litchi pulp.

    To make an ideal glass of litchi martini, first consider your own preferences. If you like the strong taste of alcohol, you can pour more vodka into the mixture; but if you prefer a more fruity taste, add more apple juice.

    To make a litchi martini, the easiest way is to use a martini shaker. If you don’t have one, though, you can just mix the ingredients together in a big bowl.

    First, fill your glass with ice to chill it. Be sure to remove the ice before you pour in your drink. Then, fill the martini shaker with ice. Pour in 60ml vodka, 30ml apple juice, 15ml Dita Litchi wine and 5ml lime juice into the shaker. Shake the mixture vigorously to fully blend it. After 30 seconds of shaking, pour the liquid into your chilled glass. Garnish the drink with some litchi pulp or serve some on the side to chew while you drink.

    Litchi sushi

    The easiest way to make litchi sushi is to just replace the fish meat on top of the rice with litchi pulp. But to make it tastier and prettier, you could make a few more changes.

    First, make some sushi rice. This will require stirring Japanese vinegar, sugar and salt in with the rice.

    Then, chop some litchi and mango pulp into small cubes, and mix them with small slices of red chilies and Thai chili sauce.

    Place the rice on a sushi mat. Roll the mat to shape the sushi into a cylinder. Then cut the sushi roll into 2cm-long pieces. Cut Vietnam-made rice wrappers into 3cm-long pieces to wrap the rice cylinders in. Dip the rice wrapper into warm water and quickly wrap up the cylinder.

    Finally, put the litchi mixture on the top of the rice and garnish it with parsley leaves.

    Litchi macaroons

    Compared with the previous two dishes, making litchi macaroons is more demanding. “Even though the dessert takes time and has many steps, if you follow the procedure and measure the ingredients precisely, the outcome will be perfect,” said Xiao.

    The litchi flavor of the dish comes from the ganache, not the pastry.

    To make the pastry, first, whip 55g of egg whites into a foam, and let it cool to 35 degrees Celsius. Then, mix 150g of almond powder and 150g of icing sugar thoroughly before adding in the egg white foam. Then add a few drops of red food coloring to the mix to get the color you want.

    Pipe the pastry uniformly onto a baking sheet. Wait about 45 minutes, and then bake them at 140 degrees Celsius for 12 to 15 minutes.

    While the pastry is baking, you can make the ganache. Melt 220g white chocolate and mix it with 50g butter, 150g raspberry powder, and 250g sugar syrup. Then add in some litchi puree. You can add more or less puree, depending on how strong you want the taste. You can also add some raspberry jelly to the ganache for a delicious flavor blend.

    Let the ganache cool in the fridge for 24 hours.

    When everything is ready, pipe the ganache on one piece of baked cookie and then top it with another piece of cookie. Make sure to take a picture of your masterpieces before you eat them all!