Exotic Vietnamese Fruits - Dragon Fruit, Mango & More

Vietnamese Fruits: A Traveler's Guide to Awesome Tropical Treats

Fruit lovers will consider Vietnam as heaven itself, with such an awesome variety of exotic fruits, due to its tropical weather and rich lands. From vibrant markets to roadside stands, everything enables travelers to plunge into worlds of fresh and tasty produce that's super important to the country's food and culture. Here is a cool guide of Vietnamese fruits that you should try and some tips for enjoying them.

Top Vietnamese Fruits to Try

Dragon Fruit (Thanh Long)

Appearance & Taste: The appearance is striking, with vibrant pink or yellow skin and cool speckled white or red insides; it has this mild sweetness that somewhat gives off the flavor mixture between pear and kiwi.

You can mostly find it in Bình Thuận and Ninh Thuận provinces, and it's around all year long.

How to use: Cut it open, scoop out the pulp, and enjoy it raw or in smoothies. Refreshing and great on hot summer days.

Rambutan - Chôm Chôm

Appearance and Taste: This hairy fruit is home to a translucent inner juicy pulp, sweet but slightly sour, just like a lychee.

Rambutan is normally harvested twice in a year; during summer and winter seasons.

How to Enjoy: The fruit inside will be expressed by gentle squeezing and twisting of the rind; eat as is.

Mangosteen (Măng Cụt)

Appearance & Taste: Mangosteen, popularly referred to as the "queen of fruits," is wrapped by a thick, purple rind covering delicate, sweet-and-sour white segments.

High Season: April to October.

You can find it pretty much all over the Mekong Delta area.

Pro Tip: Using a knife, cut only the rind so that you do not crush the juicy interior.

Durian (Sầu Riêng)

Description: Called the "king of fruits," durian has a spiky outer shell and a strong, pungent smell, with flesh that is creamy and sweet or custard-like.

Season: Commonest between June and August.

How to Enjoy: Fresh or in desserts, such as ice cream and smoothies. Be cautious: its pungent smell is polarizing among tourists. It's one of those either you love it or hate it when you eat it the first time!

Star Apple (Vú Sữa)

Appearance and Taste: This round fruit has green or purple skin that houses sweet, milky flesh inside, which is all jelly-like.

Best time? From September to April.

How to use it: Cut it open and then scoop it with a spoon or press and roll it to get the juice out.

Guava (Ổi)

It's a small, pear-shaped fruit that has green skin, while inside it can be pink or white; it is sweet, kind of herbal, and has crunchy seeds.

Availability: Year-round.

How to Enjoy: Eat fresh slices with chili salt, or make refreshing juices from a blend.

Pomelo (Bưởi)

Appearance & Taste: Pomelo is a large citrus fruit, with juicy, sac-filled segments and is less acidic than grapefruit.

Where to Find: Most markets throughout the country, especially in the Mekong Delta.

How to enjoy it: With this fruit, peel away the thick rind and pith to get to its juicy flesh-salad or just plain eating with a dash of chili salt is great.

Sapodilla (Hồng Xiêm)

Appearance and Taste: Well, it's this oval, brown fruit, with this ultra-soft, caramel-like flesh; sweet and somewhat grainy, like brown sugar.

Best Season: From late summer to early winter.

How to enjoy: You can eat it raw or throw it into desserts like ice cream.

Custard Apple (Males Cầue)

Appearance & Taste: This bumpy green fruit has this creamy, tasty flesh that kinda smells like vanilla. So, like summer to early autumn.

How to Enjoy: Scoop out the pulp and enjoy, or toss it in with some smoothies for a fun tropical vibe. It is one of our favourite fruits we tried in Vietnam.

Rose Apple: Roi Fruit/ Plum Fruit

So, rose apples are kind of bell-shaped, and they are really crispy and juicy. They taste like unripe pears, somewhat, but with a nice floral hint.

Best Season: Grows year-round in southern Vietnam.

How to Enjoy: Generally eaten whole, or sliced and then enjoyed with chilli salt.

Where to find fruits in Vietnam

• Local Markets: Then there is Bến Thành Market at Ho Chi Minh and Đông Ba Market at Huế in which tropical fruit galore is hosted and also cold places.

• Street Vendors: Fresh fruit carts are ubiquitous, offering sliced or whole fruits for immediate enjoyment. If possible, also ask the seller to cut the fruit in front of you rather than eating pre cut fruits.

• Orchard Tours: Explore the fruit orchards of the Mekong Delta and taste all kinds of fruits right from the trees.

Cultural Significance

Fruits are a big thing in Vietnamese culture, and even more so during festivals like Tet-Vietnamese New Year. Fruits like mango, banana, and star fruits would then be artistically arranged on the ancestral altars to symbolize wealth, joy, and appreciation.

Tips for Travelers

• Taste fearlessly: even if a fruit looks funny or smells like something else-oh well, hello there, durian! try it, you might be in for a treat.

• Stay Hygienic: Wash fruits thoroughly before eating, and avoid consuming seeds unless recommended.

• Bring cash along, as many small vendors in local markets don't take cards.

• Seasonality is huge, and it's the fact that some fruits simply taste a lot better in season.