Drinks: Lychee-Lemongrass Cooler

I had never tried a lychee while growing up in India, maybe it was too expensive of a fruit for our family or I don't recall eating it because I spent too much time eating mangoes, chikoos, and guavas! I hadn't seen or heard of the soft, delicate, juicy, intoxicating sweet Lychee till my travels took me to Thailand several years ago. I spent about one month in Thailand and lychees were amongst my favorite fruits to purchase in the hot, open air markets of bangkok and southern Thailand. Lychees, Mangosteens, Rambutans were all my virgin fruit experiences in Thailand. I fell in love with the country just for their fruits and drinks alone. A lychee has a red spiky outer covering that can be peeled by hand and it opens up to these pearly white flesh that is so juicy that your hands can get sticky sweet if you are not too careful. I usually just peel, slurp the outer juices out and then put the entire fruit into my mouth and spit out the seed at the tail end of the experience. Once you have tried fresh, ripened lychees you will never refuse it again. I don't know of anyone who doesn't like Lychees (I am sure I will get some comment on this!! :) )

So this morning I got the idea of combining lychees (yet another favorite fruit) with the fresh, bright taste of the lemongrass and after a bit of experimentation, I think I have found a winner!

Ripe Lychees in their beautiful red skins.

Recipe:
10-12 Lychees
4 Stalks Lemon Grass
2 to 3 Teaspoons Honey (I used fresh blackberry honey)
Ice
1 Cup water

Method:
Lemongrass Water:Take two stalks of lemongrass and chop into little bits and put into a glass jar with one cup of water and cover. Take the jar and let the lemongrass steep in the water for 4 to 8 hours in a sunny spot outdoors. Lemongrass water is done when you take a little sip and you can taste the distinct taste of the grass (very scientific, I know!). Add 2 teaspoons of melted honey into this water and mix well.

Lychee Juice: Take 8 to 10 lychees, peel skin and de-seed by chopping the lychee into half and taking the seed out. Might want to do this in a bowl so you don't lose any precious juice from the lychees. Hand blend the lychees into a smooth pulp with a little bit of water (2 to 3 tablespoons). Strain the juice through a sieve. You should get about 1 cup of lychee juice from this process.

To make the cooler:
Take a small glass and fill with 4 to 5 cubes of ice, pour 1/2 cup lemongrass water, 1/2 cup lychee juice and mix. Add a couple of ripe lychees cut into halves and garnish with one chopped lemongrass stalk. Serve on a hot summer day.

Yields: 2 Small Glasses of Lychee-Lemongrass Cooler

Verdict- This recipe is simple and so refreshing on a sunny, hot day. The lemongrass gives a distinctly refreshing flavor to the sweet, bright lychees. It did not feel overwhelming or spicy because I did not have large amounts of lemongrass in the steeping process and it was a perfect complement to the lychees. You must give it a try. I am hooked and was even popular with the husband who has recently become very opinionated about his food and drinks!

If the blending or straining of the lychees sounds like too much work, you can just hand-crush the lychees in a glass with the back of a ice cream scoop or other utensil, add the lemongrass water, ice, honey and mix well. At the end of the drink you can eat all the pulpy lychees individually.

Some lychee recipes
Origins of Lychee