longan v. lychee

[sandra]

what's the real difference? and which do you prefer? which one is better for you?

[nola]

I don't know which one's better for me but I prefer lichees because longans are too sweet.

[moJo]

i've never had fresh longans. but fresh lychees are SO good.
for the canned versions, they taste the same as one another.
it seems like longans don't have the inside layer of skin like lychees do, though, so it might be better.

[deez nuts]

what's longan?

dragon eye?

[nola]

Yes.

I've mostly eaten them out of the shell so the labor required made me biased against longans.

[kimpossible]

longan, but I'm neither Chinese nor eat them fresh. only in desserts like ba bao cake or in tea where I boil them up with some red dates and these smaller red berry things. yes, I know about the instant version but it's got way too much sugar for my taste.

[deez nuts]

longan is smaller with a brown outer skin. lychee is larger with a red outer skin. taste wise they're about the same. i prefer longan for some weird reason tho.

do you use guei yuen or long yeun when you ask for longan in mandarin. i tend to use guei yuen when i ask for them at the chinese supermarkets. i've gotten weird looks when i've used long yuen.

[hkRT]

Longhan tastes good but somehow the whitish transparent color and the seed in the center seem to associate with something slimy and gross... even though it's an absurd association.

I heard that eating excessive amount of longhans can cause bleeding and some bad side effects though...

[seanp]

Both are heavenly.

[applehead]

i didn't know they tasted similar.
i should try a longan slushie next time.

[Hayie]

Lychee...but then I've only had it in a gelatin form. Pretty tasty though, not too sweet and it came in a little heart-shaped container. It tastes like sunshine. :tongue:

>_>; Although for a minute I thought you meant longanisan and I thought what the correlation between a berry-like fruit and a sasauge was....which, naughty thoughts aside, was none. :biggrin: Either way, score 'nother one for lychee~!

[Adaon]

both

[artsfartsyjanet]

is longan the ones with the brown peel and the lychees with the spikey peel? I confusing the two.... Anyway, I think it is the one with the spikey peel I like... lychees. =)

[applehead]

i had the canned longans in my
pat bing soo the other day.
and i can't tell the difference.

i is hungry.
again.

[BillHoo]

I've heard one of the latest trendy NYC drinks is the Lychee Martini. Sounds tasty, but I won't be able to give it a try until 2006 when I'll be allowed to drink again.

Why is it that whenever they have fresh Lychee at the market, I have to sort through so many moldy bunches!

[deez nuts]

I've heard one of the latest trendy NYC drinks is the Lychee Martini. Sounds tasty, but I won't be able to give it a try until 2006 when I'll be allowed to drink again.

Why is it that whenever they have fresh Lychee at the market, I have to sort through so many moldy bunches!

lychee martinis has been around for awhile now here.

it's ok. but, i wouldn't get my expectations up too much.

[AltimaGTR]

Lychees...cuz longans are too small and too sweet. I have longan and lychee trees in my backyard- I'll be expecting some in the years to come.

[missmeow]

lychee. yum. my favorite.

[Anaestacia]

Lychee usually as a drink or in drinks.

Longan fresh. It's fun peeling, and de-seeding them in your mouth.

[SunWuKong]

lychee

but both are so much better fresh than canned. actually the only fruit i actually like canned more than fresh is peach.

[Hanuman]

Longhans fresh are delicious. I also remember my mother taking dried longhans and making a tea out of it. We'd refrigerate it for a refreshing drink on those hot summer days.

[Pookie_gal]

Lychees - they taste sweeter and they have more flesh than longans. :biggrin:

[giggles81]

I lost my voice eating fresh lychee and longhans one summer in China. Practically ate them between every meal. They were soooo good.

[kpih]

Fresh longan for its lighter and clearerer sweetness.

But I also remember years ago I had relatives in China with a pedigree lychee tree. They called it 'Mochi Lychee'. The stone was tiny, the fruit was meaty, and the sweetness was subtle. Heaven.

One thing I don't like about lychee is that in traditional Chinese medicine it is considered as 'hot'. So my mom does not let me eat much (till this day), and then we have to drink water from boiled lychee shell to clear up the heat. It tastes nasty and ruins the whole experience.

Su Shi (蘇軾) once wrote, '300 lychees in one day' he must have been really hooked on that stuff...

[ljhuynh]

Fresh longan for its lighter and clearerer sweetness.

But I also remember years ago I had relatives in China with a pedigree lychee tree. They called it 'Mochi Lychee'. The stone was tiny, the fruit was meaty, and the sweetness was subtle. Heaven.

One thing I don't like about lychee is that in traditional Chinese medicine it is considered as 'hot'. So my mom does not let me eat much (till this day), and then we have to drink water from boiled lychee shell to clear up the heat. It tastes nasty and ruins the whole experience.

Su Shi (蘇軾) once wrote, '300 lychees in one day' he must have been really hooked on that stuff...

You know, that stuff is 'hot'. I remeber one summer during my freshman year in college, I got hold of about two pounds of lychee and finished it in one sitting - in place of my lunch. Needless to say I didn't feel very well after that, but the interesting thing was that it did make my insides feel 'hotter' - my eyes felt like they were burning.

I don't think it was an allergic reaction as I've had lychees plenty of times before and after that incident, but it made me a believer of the hot/cold yin/yang thing afterwards. So what did I do after that, I went home and had mom make me some mung bean dessert to cool down with.... :biggrin:

[rice cracker]

I prefer longans. Lychee is too sweet and cloying to my tastebuds.

[Tao]

I prefer longans. Lychee is too sweet and cloying to my tastebuds.
you fob

lychee all the way!

[yoMAMA]

I've never heard of longan, but lychee is good stuff. :biggrin:

[rice cracker]

you fob

lychee all the way!

Haha, must be SWK's influence.

[Banana]

Does anyone eat them frozen?

[ljhuynh]

Does anyone eat them frozen?


Frozen is okay, but fresh is the best! Funny thing is that the best ones are the ones with yellow skins instead of red . Just learned that the other week and thought it was odd, but then I tried the funny looking yellow ones and it was true!