Durian flowers

Everyone knows durian, the king of fruits. But do you know that its flowers are also edible?? Yes, they can be eaten and they are really taste good!!

Surprisingly only in Sarawak, we eat durian flowers (liu lian hua). It is unheard of to consume durian flowers in other states in Malaysia. Maybe in other countries in Asia, people do consume the flowers but in Sarawak, we treat it as a local delicacy. And like durian fruit, when the season comes, you will see people picking and collecting the flowers at the roadside. Usually you can find it sold by the natives in pasar tani but now the durian flowers in Kuching has been commercialised with people selling on the social media. I was one of those who bought the durian flowers from Facebook. I rarely buy stuff through social media but the craving for durian flowers kicked in last week when few people promoting and selling it online.

This lady that I contacted grows durian tree in her backyard in Stapok area. Since it was on the way when dropped my boy to school, I decided to collect and buy from her. RM7 for 500g. That was reasonable. It has been ages since I tasted it!! I did bought and cooked it back in 2019. I have been eating durian flowers stir fried with belacan and dried prawns, never tasted other recipe. That is how my mum cooked so I just follow suit. You can check out my stir fried durian flowers recipe.

Durian flowers

Okay, back to last week. I was happy to collect it and brought home. My mil also love durian flowers. Together with her, I sorted out the durian flowers. Make sure your hands are dry, otherwise the pollen will stick to your hands. The petals, just directly throw in a bag. The pistils (flowers with pollens), you need to pull the pollens away and then keep the pistils in the bag with the petal. Easy right??

After done with them, we divided them into 2 packs. The next day, my mil took out one pack from the fridge and made stir fried durian flowers with curry powder and dried prawns. This dish was delicious, something I never tasted before. Salty, with a bit of curry flavour to it. No, she didn't overcook it so it still have that crunchiness to it. 

Just soak the durian flowers in water for few minutes after added a teaspoon of salt. Rinse few times. Then, fry some garlic, and ginger. Add a tsp of curry powder and some dried prawns. Stir fried till fragrant before adding the durian flowers. Fry for few minutes till the flower withered. Add a bit of salt and water if prefer. Dish out.