Savory Applications for Durian

[Chipp]

The majority of recipes and ideas involving durian seem to revolve around ice creams, shakes, cakes, squares, and other sweets. I want to work it into a bunch of dinner dishes tonight, but I can't eat 6 courses of dessert! So far, I've only come across durian fried rice, and on a personal level I'm thinking it might be good to bake chicken in a rich durian-coconut sauce, by just blended flesh and coconut cream.

Thoughts? Thanks for any ideas - I'll try them tonight!

[Panaderia Canadiense]

You can do a curry-yogurt-Durian thing, which is quite good, especially with prawns, and extra especially when it's a very spicy curry....

I'm also wondering whether simple chunks of Durian wouldn't complement a banana bud salad very nicely, particularly if you went with a sour dressing (vinagrette?).

[Chipp]

Thanks for both of the ideas. I think I'll try and use them both tonight, actually! The durian fried rice might be divided into a curry-yogurt based fried rice, and a simpler dish focusing almost completely on the durian.

I'm planning on having a salad, and I'll take this into consideration. I can't source banana bud by tonight, but I have other fresh ingredients that I'll try to work with a nice vinagrette and create something interesting (and hopefully appetizing).

[Panaderia Canadiense]

Whereabouts are you, just out of curiousity?

[Chipp]

Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.

I'm guessing I should flesh out and/or update my profile...

I generally cook from every cuisine and technique I can learn about and get my hands on. I'll make sure to update this with my durian pursuits, but I'm open to more suggestions!

[Panaderia Canadiense]

See, and knowing that I wouldn't have mentioned the banana bud - when I hear Durian I tend to think the person asking is somewhere in Asia.... You can get a similar effect (since banana bud is all about the texture) by using finely chopped celery in the salad, and maybe think about quick-pickled broccoli stems and green mango (that, at least, is sourceable this time of year in Canada) as additions. Ooh, in a blackberry vinagrette....

Dangit, now I want a Durian to play with. I'll have to settle for a Jackfruit.

[Jenni]

Dangit, now I want a Durian to play with. I'll have to settle for a Jackfruit.

Hang on a minute, never say settle for jackfruit! One of my favourite fruits...actually green (unripe/raw) jackfruit is currently very bountiful in the market. Lovely vegetable dishes to be made from that...

[Panaderia Canadiense]

No, I never actually settle for Jackfruit, Guayabana (Soursop), or Chirimoya. I go out with the express purpose of buying those fruits! Flavourwise, though, you'll agree that they're quite different from Durian, the King of Fruits.

I never see green Jack at the markets here - it's always always ripe. And the sellers know enough to crack one open so that it perfumes the whole area and draws people in with that marvelous smell. Then again, I never see Durian of any type here, and I miss it terribly. I'll have to convince a friend in the upper Amazon to plant a tree for me.

[Jenni]

The green one is used in a totally different way, as a vegetable and not a fruit. Same as green papaya and green mango. It has a firm "meaty" texture.

The ripe jackfruit on the other hand...oh my. I remember being in Kerala in jackfruit season once, in a hilly rural area. Walking up the hill back to the house after going into the village you could smell the hypnotising fragrance of ripe jackfruit...and then of course the slightly "riper" smell of over ripe specimens that had plopped heavily to the ground, which by the way I would have thought is quite perilous considering the size some of them get to!

Anyway, the ripe fruit was a delicious after dinner or snack time treat. There is something about fruits with a certain fragrance that I adore. It's something heady and intoxicating. Durian takes fragrance to an extreme, that's for sure, but it still gets a hold of you.

Now I'm feeling fruity and I have no jackfruit or durian! For breakfast tomorrow I do have some heavenly smelling guava though...that'll do nicely for now!

[Keith_W]

Durian seeds can be used for savoury courses. After they are boiled, they take on a potato like texture. Use it as a substitute for potato in curries.

As for the flesh, I think it would overpower anything you pair it with Perhaps it would be best to give just a hint of durian with the dish? I would guess that meats that go well with sweet marinades (e.g. pork, chicken) would do better. You could perhaps throw the husks on the BBQ and use the smoke to smoke some pork? Durian smoked pork? Just throwing some ideas out there

[Chipp]

I'll boil the seeds then. Thanks for the idea. And, I won't go too heavy handed on the flavour application for fried rice, chicken, etc. I think some of the chicken will also get a curry treatment.

Here's to learning about this fruit and all of its savoury applications! Dinner awaits...

[djyee100]

If you continue your experiments, I suggest that you consider the creamy avocado texture of a good durian and play with that aspect of the fruit. Salads come to mind, and the garnish on some savory dishes, including soups. If you have a chance, let us know how it goes.

[Kent Wang]

Well, if you think avocado then perhaps a guacamole.

[djyee100]

Or, think about a salsa. Durian has a rich tropical fruit flavor. Maybe look at some mango salsa recipes and substitute durian (cut in small cubes) for the mango in a salsa. You may have to bump up the acidity with some citrus juice.

[Keith_W]

I shudder to think how powerful a durian guacamole would be! I don't think durian can be used in a salsa either - the texture of the fruit is more like a custard than like mango.

An alternative would be to let the durian ferment, and then use that to flavour curries. Fermented durian is used as a condiment in South East Asian cuisine.