7 rare fruits from Asia that look absolutely otherworldly

Apart from tasting extraordinary, rare fruits from Asia look like they’ve arrived from another dimension entirely. Across the region’s diverse ecosystems, from mangrove swamps to mountain forests, nature has engineered produce with geometries so alien they defy immediate recognition as food. These rare fruits challenge our assumptions about what belongs on a plate, demanding respect, curiosity and sometimes a hammer. Here are some of the most visually arresting fruits that Asia has to offer.

In case you missed it: Asian cheese: 6 unique varieties you should be cooking with

Hala fruit: the exploding planet of the Pacific Islands

The vibrant hala is native to the Pacific islands

Walk past a Pandanus tectorius tree, and you might mistake its fruit, called hala, for a medieval weapon or an exploding star frozen mid-burst. This massive geometric marvel comprises dozens of wedge-shaped segments radiating from a fibrous core, transitioning from green tips to bright orange bases. You don’t bite into hala—you pull off individual keys and chew them like sugarcane, extracting thick nectar that tastes of mango, papaya and floral pandan, before spitting out the fibres.

Akebia: the purple intestine of Japan

Japan’s akebi, aka the chocolate vine, features a translucent flesh inside a violet pod (Photo: JohnJGasper2/Wikimedia Commons)

When the sausage-shaped purple pods of the Akebia quinata—commonly known as chocolate vine or akebi—splits open naturally in autumn, it reveals something genuinely unsettling: translucent, gelatinous white pulp studded with black seeds that resembles alien eggs or internal organs. The slime-coated flesh tastes mildly sweet with hints of pear and coconut. But Japan’s Tohoku region prizes the bitter purple rind instead, stuffing it with miso and minced pork before frying it into nikuzume, transforming the entire fruit into an umami bomb.

Salak: the snake skin fruit of Indonesia

The scaly salak from Indonesian palms delivers a musky aroma

Nature’s most convincing reptile impersonator, the salak—unsurprisingly also commonly known as snake fruit or snakeskin fruit—grows in prickly clusters at palm bases, its reddish-brown scales overlapping with uncanny accuracy. A careful pinch-and-peel technique reveals three garlic-like lobes inside. The salak pondoh variety delivers a dry, crumbly crunch reminiscent of raw potato, while the prized salak gula pasir, or sand sugar, offers intense sweetness. The musky aroma is unforgettable, polarising first-timers but beloved by devotees.

Don’t miss: From momo to thukpa: 9 must-try Nepalese dishes and why you’ll love them

Buddha’s hand: the fingered citron of China

The tentacled Buddha’s hand is prized for its fragrance

The Buddha’s hand citron (Citrus medica var sarcodactylis) is a citron variety that splits into long finger-like projections that resemble praying hands or yellow tentacles reaching skyward. The truly alien aspect is that it contains absolutely no pulp, no juice and usually no seeds—just fragrant rind and edible pith. Temples across China and Japan display these as offerings, while chefs candy the intensely floral lemon zest. It’s a fruit designed purely for aroma, defying citrus conventions entirely.

Gac fruit: the spiky neon bomb of Vietnam

Vietnam’s gac is distinguished by its aggressive orange spikes and neon-red sacs (Photo: Qoheletal/Wikimedia Commons)

Crack open the spike-covered gourd of the gac fruit and prepare for visual assault: neon-red sacs surrounding seeds glow with otherworldly intensity. This rare fruit of the Momordica cochinchinensis plant packs beta-carotene levels ten times higher than carrots. The flavour might disappoint—it’s mild, almost tasteless—but Vietnamese cooks aren’t after taste. They cook the red arils with sticky rice to create xoi gac, a festive crimson dish served at weddings for good luck.

Nipa palm fruit: the prehistoric club of Southeast Asia

The nipa palm fruit’s jelly-like seeds is used in many desserts throughout Asia

Growing in Southeast Asian mangroves, the nipa palm fruit’s(Nypa fruticans) tightly packed cluster of dark brown carpels on a stalk genuinely resembles a medieval mace. Smash open the woody head to reveal attap chee—translucent, rubbery white seeds preserved in sugar syrup. These jelly-like nuggets top countless desserts, from Malaysian cendol to Singaporean ice kachang, offering sweet chew against shaved ice.

Wood apple: the cracked stone of Sri Lanka and India

You need a hammer to crack open a wood apple—and fortitude to meet its funky smell and sour taste (Photo: Seisfeldt/Wikimedia Commons)

The wood apple (scientific name Limonia acidissima, also known as the elephant apple or the monkey fruit) is a grey sphere that demands a hammer—its wood-hard shell won’t yield to knives or hands. Inside lurks dark brown, resinous pulp with a polarising aroma of blue cheese, fermented raisins and tamarind. The intensely sour flesh tastes as challenging as it smells until blended with coconut milk and sugar into divul kiri, Sri Lanka’s beloved wood apple smoothie that transforms funk into refreshing sweetness.

NOW READ

Sip, slice and taste: wine regions that have also mastered the art of cheese pairing

What to eat in Istanbul: menemen, döner, baklava and more

Guests you meet at an Asian dinner party—and how to deal with them