Guess what I found on my doorstep: Bunches of freshly picked lychee fruit, still on the stem with green leaves! I couldn’t believe my eyes or my taste buds.
Lychees (or litchee) date back to 2000 B.C. and have been considered a delicacy by the Chinese Imperial Court. It was the favorite fruit of Yang Guifei, the Tang Dynasty Emperor’s beloved consort, and he had it delivered to the royal palace at great expense from southern China. Lychee is loved for its juicy sweetness but also packs a day’s worth of Vitamin C in eight bites. I’ve also seen Chinese parents give a peeled lychee in place of a pacifier to infants! Lychees are very perishable and overnight, the leaf branches of my lychees became dry and the fruit shell changed colors. But peel off the rigid inedible shell and you’ll find a luscious surprise (with a pit) inside…
My mom told me this childhood story:
I adored lychees and we had lychee trees growing in our neighborhood in Taiwan. Your uncle and I would eat bunches and bunches in one sitting. Your grandmother (po po) would chastise me for eating too many lychees, saying they would “raise the fire” in me, creating a hot “yang” imbalance. I didn’t listen and ate a bushel. Lo and behold, I got a canker sore or a nose bleed! They are still my favorite to this day…
So far, I don’t know who art thou Lucky Lychee Leprechaun? But if I had access to this precious delicacy, I might stay anonymous, too, for fear of a hostile lychee tree takeover or ambush. No worries, your secret is safe with me, as a juicy lychee in my tummy.
Thank you, thank you for the wonderful sweet surprise, Lychee Leprechaun!










