Exotic Fruits and Veggies You Should Eat to Stay Healthy in Thailand

Everybody needs some Thai exotic fruits and vegetables in their lives. They’re good for health and taste delicious. Here in this article, we look at a variety of them and see how they can be beneficial to the average consumer.

The world is such a vast expanse of climates, ecosystems and agricultural ventures. Biodiversity is wonderful to marvel at and there are so many wonderful plants that we can eat. There is an incredible array of exotic fruit and veg to be found and people need to learn more about it. Here we look at several different items – let’s find out more together!

Thai Cherimoya

This particular fruit can be found in southern California, Peru, and Ecuador. Its flesh is rather tart, creamy white and it has lush green skin. Within each plant, you can find a large number of large black seeds and the whole thing tastes rather interesting – the staff at mykitchenadvisor.com have likened it to a cross between an artichoke and a banana!

Each plant is the size of a grapefruit and if you’re lucky you can find some in your local health food shop. This is one of those from the green fruits and vegetables category with serious attitude – one of our favorite things to do is to blend it in a smoothie along with things such as chocolate, banana or orange. If you’re wondering what are exotic fruits to put in dessert dishes, this one can serve as a wonderful addition to any fruit salad or dessert.

Cherimoya is high in nutrients that help regulate blood pressure, such as potassium and magnesium. Notably, 1 cup (160 grams) of the fruit boasts 10% of the RDI for potassium and over 6% of the RDI for magnesium

Thai Longans

This fruit is really interesting because it looks just like a golf ball and grows on the Asian Dimocarpus logan plant. Many people in China refer to this as “dragon eye meat” and have been using it for many hundred years to make medicines. It’s a powerful and healthy fruit that is thoroughly enjoyable to eat but do make sure you remove the skin.

The flesh is very soft, juicy and many people liken it to the taste of cantaloupe melon, although there is a slightly strange aftertaste that follows.

The nutritional profiles of longan and lychee are similar. Both fruits are low in calories and carbs and have zero fat. One ounce of fresh longan has just 17 calories and 4 grams of carbs. One ounce of fresh lychee has 18 calories and 5 grams of carbs.

Thai Durian

You might have seen these due to their iconic spiky outer case and thought nothing of them, but they have an incredibly potent flesh. At first, the smell is not particularly appealing but once you dive in you’ll notice just how subtly perfumed the taste is.

The plant is exotic in tropical regions such as Thailand and Malaysia but you can buy exotic fruits like these in most Asian supermarkets. This enormous fruit which is on average larger than a foot is full of healthy vitamins and minerals such as B12, folate, calcium, phosphorus and much more. Try swapping out mango for this one now and again and you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Durian contains vitamins such as vitamin-C, folic acid, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, B6 and vitamin A. Important minerals such as potassium, iron, calcium, magnesium, sodium, zinc, phosphorus are also found in durian.

Samphire

Also referred to as “sea beans”, this is a wonderful salty ingredient that takes one straight to the sea with every bite. It’s very succulent and has a great crunch to it, with texture retained when cooked gently in boiling water. Did we mention that it is completely fat-free? Brilliant for a low-calorie diet and provides a rich source of iron, vitamin A and protein.

Diuretic and medical plant, Samphire is rich in Vitamins and Minerals, has immune-stimulant characteristics, antioxidants, anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor and anti-diabetic, contributing to the prevention of arterial hypertension problems. You can find Sapphire at many Thai markets.

Boniato in Thailand

This is a brilliant starchy vegetable, much like a sweet potato, hailing from Cuba. You can find it in most international supermarkets, at Asian grocers and sometimes at the local supermarket. Before making its way onto shelves it used to be native to the Caribbean.

The flesh of this vegetable is very interesting in the way that it is white inside and has purple skin. Taste wise it hits the palate with a delightfully sweet taste much like a sweet chestnut, plus it’s full of vitamins C and A.

Boniatos are a good source of vitamin C, potassium, fiber, and antioxidants. Similar to yuca, they’re high in fiber and carbohydrates. Which are a good source of energy for those who are engaged in extraneous physical activities, such as sports. Boniato is is also grown in Thailand and primarily used in making thai desserts

Get more exotic fruits and vegetables in you!

Now you know all about them, it’s time to find out where to buy exotic fruits and get eating! Hopefully, all of your taste senses will be stimulated to levels off the charts, plus you’ll reap the health benefits – health care, exotic vegetables, and fruits go hand in hand, just make sure you know how to wash fruits and vegetables. Have a blast!

 

Author’s Bio: Our writer R. Hudson graduated from Stanford University with a degree in English Literature before going on to lecture there herself. After 20 years of faithful service as an academic, she now works part-time as a freelance copywriter, writing a variety of pieces for all sorts of online publications.