Tropical Thai Fruit Salad - Served in a Pineapple

This healthy and exotic Thai fruit salad will be the hit of your party - especially when served in a pineapple "boat" (a carved out pineapple). Create your own assortment of tropical and local fruit - whatever is fresh and in season. Serve with ice cream, whipped cream, or on its own for a fresh fruit feast. Makes a terrific addition to a potluck, BBQ, or dinner party. Carving instructions for the pineapple are included with the recipe - just follow the steps (with pictures).

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 fresh, ripe pineapple (for more on buying and preparing fresh pineapple, see below)
• an assortment of fruit, such as pineapple, papaya, lychee, star fruit, watermelon, dragon fruit, mango, etc...
• 1/4 cup coconut milk
• 3 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp. lime juice
• optional: a few leaves of fresh basil as a garnish

Preparation:

If you wish to serve this fruit salad in a carved-out pineapple, go to my instructions: How to Create a Pineapple "Boat".Includes how to buy and prepare fresh pineapple. For great tips on how to buy and prepare exotic tropical fruits such as pineapple, dragon fruit, star fruit, mango, etc... see my: Thai Tropical Fruit How-to Guide.

1. To make the fruit salad, peel and cut up the fruit you have chosen into bite-size pieces. (If you have carved a pineapple, add chunks of the carved out fruit to the mix.) Place fruit together in a mixing bowl.
2. In a cup, mix together the coconut milk, sugar, and lime juice. Stir well to dissolve the sugar.
3. Pour this mixture over the fruit and gently mix the salad. Do a taste-test, adding a little more sugar if not sweet enough for your taste. Tip: the brown sugar may be a little granular at first, but the natural acids of the fruit will soon break it down.
4. If serving in a carved-out pineapple, spoon or scoop the fruit into the pineapple (reserve as much of the liquid as possible, since the extra may leak through the bottom of the pineapple. When serving the fruit salad, you can spoon the reserved liquid over each portion). Garnish with a few leaves of fresh basil, if desired. Tip: be sure to place a plate or bowl under the carved-out pineapple, as it may leak.
5. Serve this fruit salad on its own, or with yogurt, ice cream or whipped cream, and enjoy!
6. Leftovers will keep in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. This salad is perfect for breakfast (with yogurt and a little granola sprinkled over), for a snack, or for dessert.