Thai Fruits You Should Try in Your Thailand Trip

Thailand is one of the top destinations of South East Asia! Beyond its wonderful temples, nightlife, tourist activities, and summer destinations, Thailand has one more thing that was very attractive for me. The tropical Thai fruits that I can taste freshly. Thailand is a heaven of tropical fruits with really lots of different varieties. Some of the fruits like mangos, pineapples, and bananas can be also found easily in western countries, but there are some fruits that you can mainly find in Thailand and in the South East Asia region. So, my advice is to try to taste most of these Thai fruits that you can during your trip to Thailand. Still, be careful to avoid overeating those fruits not to ruin the system of your body.

Is it safe to eat fruit in Thailand?

The good thing about the fruits in Thailand that they are cheap, affordable, and easy to find anywhere to buy them. You can also buy those Thai fruits from street sellers since they are not meat or dairy products. So, you can easily assess their freshness and feel safer about getting them from the streets. You can also buy those fruits from the supermarkets and also from the markets in shopping malls easily. So, there is simply not a lot to concern about the safety of the fruits in Thailand.

Thai Fruits You Should Try in Your Thailand Trip

The fruits that I will mention below may not be originally rooted in Thailand, but they are the fruits that you can easily taste on your Thailand trip. As you may guess, these tropical fruits are quite common across many South East Asia countries like Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Indonesia. Let’s start our list of Thai fruits that you have to taste on your Thailand travel.

Mango

Well, as I have mentioned above, mango is a fruit that you can easily access in the western world, too. However, still giving a chance to Mango in its own environment would be a good idea. As you may know, mangoes and pineapples are widely used ingredients in Asian kitchens. Even their cooked versions are common, especially in many chicken recipes. Instead of eating the mango solely itself, you can also try the famous Mango Sticky Rice. It’s a special and famous Thai dessert that you must try. It’s made from cooked rice, mango slices, and coconut milk separately. The dessert consists of quite basic ingredients without different ingredients, so for sure you would like this dessert. I like this dessert, but it is not something out of the world.

Durian

Also known as the kings of fruits, durian has a very strong type of smell. So, be careful not to take it to your hotel room or into public transport. It’s one of the most available fruits especially in the streets of Bangkok. You can try to taste it in the streets due to its different smell, so you wouldn’t carry it with you for a long time. Well, for Durian, I can’t have a similar comment like Mango. Durian is not a basic taste for everyone. While it may be disgusting for some, some new taste-seekers may like this fruit. You can never know without a try. For me, since I’m open-minded to new tastes, it wasn’t a bad experience. But, if you are a bit delicate about tastes, staying away from Durian could be a good idea.

Mangosteen

Let’s skip to the queen of fruits from the king of fruits. The taste of mangosteen is way more acceptable and common for many people compare to the durian. Also, its smell is way more scented and aromatic. Mangosteen doesn’t sustain long so you may not see this fruit a lot around the western world. Be careful that it can leave its color to your clothes. One fun fact about the mangosteen that I have learned through my readings over the web is that the number of green petals on the top equals the number of segments inside the fruit.

Dragon Fruit

What a name to give to a fruit! This is the fruit that I love the appearance most among all of them. Although it looks like a vegetable, it is another very famous fruit that you will see in Thailand streets. The origin of this fruit actually comes from Central America. It has little black seeds that you can eat just like in the case of kiwi. The taste of dragon fruit is not heavy; so, anyone could taste the dragon fruit easily. In the streets of Thailand, you can see many juice sellers that add dragon fruit into their juice recipes. Don’t miss drinking one of these delicious juices!

Papaya

You may already know Papaya because it is another quite famous fruit. It has a fairly sweet taste. Its texture and taste are kind of similar to Mango, as well as sweet little melon. Still, some people may find the smell of papaya disturbing a bit. Like in the mango case, papaya is an ingredient of a famous Thai dish called Som Tum. Well, you can simply call it Papaya Salad, too. It’s quite the cornerstone dish of Thai cuisine, so I wouldn’t come back to my country without tasting the papaya salad.  

Jackfruit

I like the name of this fruit! Jack-fruit sounds like a person’s name from the USA. Probably, it is the biggest fruit that you can find in Thailand. One jackfruit can weigh around 25 kilos. So, you can mainly see that Jackfruits are sold as slices on the street bazaars. It’s not the easiest thing to describe the taste and texture of the jackfruit. But, again, the like level may differ from person to person. It is not a juicy fruit, and it has quite dried meat inside.  

Rambutan and Lychee

Once I saw Rambutan, I thought it’s the same with lychee because I saw and tasted lychee before in Europe. They are not the same fruit, but still, they are quite similar in both tastes and appearances. Lychee just doesn’t have such a type of grassroots on its red shell. Both fruits are common in Thailand. Rambutan, as well as lychee, has a red tough cover that you should get rid of first. After that, the inside has a quite grape-looking texture. Rambutan has a taste that anyone can like so, it wouldn’t disgust you. However, I remember that after eating it for a while, the taste kinda gets weird. Eating it for a bit would be a good experience for sure.

Pomelo

Honestly, I tasted Pomelo after my Thailand trip when I got it as a gift from the Philippines. Later, I saw that it is also a common fruit in Thailand. Therefore, I would briefly state my opinion about this fruit. It is like a mixture of orange and grapefruit. The taste is way closer to the grapefruit and sourer of it. It is not that juicy as they are. It is a more dried one. The thing about Pomelo is the same feeling I had about Lychee or Rambutan that once you eat more, weirder the taste it gets. So, it is best to eat a couple of slices and leave it for later.

BONUS: Fresh Thai Fruit Juices in the Streets

Well, if I had one right to talk about a foodie tip about Thailand, it would be the amazing fresh fruit juices in the streets of Bangkok. Especially in the corners of the night markets in Bangkok, you can see many food carts that sell fresh fruit juices. They may be called Thai smoothies, as well. Sellers prepare the fresh fruits in plastic cups with different options in advance. Then, you can choose the mixture that you would like, and the street seller converts those fruits into a wonderful cold smoothie by blending them. They also add a bit of syrup and ice to make it tastier. It’s the best and freshest taste that you can ever have during a hot Bangkok night. Moreover, it is super cheap! Try to choose the most colorful cup.

Well, there are lots of tropical fruits that you can taste in Thailand. Unfortunately, I couldn’t mention all of them in my post. I tried to mention the most popular ones I have tasted myself that also, you have to taste in your Thailand trip. I also skipped some other Thai fruits like coconut, watermelon, banana, and pineapple as they are well-known, so I didn’t want to repeat those fruits that you would be already familiar with. Hopefully, you enjoyed my post, and let me know your favorite Thai fruits in the comment below!