Tips from gaining health

Star Fruit Recipes Part 4

Star Fruit Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette

• 1/3 cup raspberry vinegar


• 1/4 cup salad oil


• 2 tablespoons honey


• 2 10 ounce packages torn mixed salad greens; Italian blend


• 2 medium star fruit, thinly sliced


• 1 small red onion, thinly sliced

Combine vinegar, oil and honey in a screw top jar. Cover and shake well. Toss salad greens with star fruit and onion in a large bowl. Shake dressing well and pour over salad mixture. Toss lightly to coat well. Makes 12 servings.

Fruit Exotica

• 1/3 cup orange juice


• 3 tablespoons cream of coconut


• 1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract


• 1/2 teaspoon curry powder


• 1 cup reduced fat sour cream


• 2 mangoes, cubed


• 4 star fruit, sliced


• 1 cup blueberries


• 2 cups strawberries, chopped


• 1 1/2 cups orange sections

In a large bowl, mix together orange juice and the following four ingredients with a spoon. Set aside. Add prepared fruit to dressing and toss thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate several hours or overnight. Serve on leaf lettuce as a salad, top slices of pound cake or fill a crepe for dessert. 8 servings.

Vietnamese Grilled Steak Wraps

• 1 1/2 pounds beef flank steak


• grated peel of 2 lemons


• juice of 2 lemons


• 6 tablespoons sugar, divided


• 2 tablespoons dark sesame oil


• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt, divided


• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper


• 1/4 cup water


• 1/4 cup rice vinegar


• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper


• 6 8 inch flour tortillas


• 6 lettuce leaves


• 1/3 cup fresh mint leaves


• 1/3 cup fresh cilantro leaves


• star fruit slices


• red bell pepper strips


• orange peel strips

Cut beef across the grain into thin slices. Combine lemon peel, juice, 2 tablespoons sugar, sesame oil, 1 teaspoon salt and black pepper in a medium bowl. Add beef; toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes. Combine water, vinegar, remaining 4 tablespoons sugar and 1/4 teaspoon salt in small saucepan; bring to a boil. Boil 5 minutes without stirring until syrupy. Stir in crushed red pepper; set aside. Remove beef from marinade; discard marinade. Thread beef onto metal or wooden skewers. Soak wooden skewers in hot water 30 minutes to prevent burning. Grill beef over medium hot briquets about 3 minutes per side until cooked through. Grill tortillas until hot. Place lettuce, beef, mint and cilantro on tortillas; drizzle with vinegar mixture. Roll tortillas to enclose filling. Garnish with star fruit, bell pepper and orange peel strips. Makes 6 wraps.

Grilled Lemongrass Prawns

• 16 king prawns or 24 medium prawns, heads and shells intact


• 1/4 cup sugar


• 1/4 cup fish sauce


• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil


• 2 stalks lemongrass, outer leaves and tough green tops removed, root ends trimmed and finely ground


• 1 star fruit, unripe, sliced into thin stars

With a paring knife, make an incision through the shell along the back of the prawns. Devein, leaving the shell intact; rinse the prawns and pat dry. Whisk together the sugar and fish sauce in a bowl until the sugar is completely dissolved. Stir in the oil and lemongrass. Add the prawns and toss running your fingertips between the flesh and shells. Place the prawns in a plastic bag and seal the bag. Marinate the prawns, refrigerated, 2 to 3 hours, turning the bag over every 30 minutes or so. Grill over a barbecue,make sure the flames have subsided and coals are red with white ashes, or in a well oiled grill pan over medium high heat, until prawns are cooked through and turn pink, about 3 minutes per side for king prawns and 2 minutes for medium prawns. Serve with star fruit on the side.

Pork Scaloppinis with Star Fruit

• 1 tablespoon butter


• 4 pork cutlets, 4 ounces each


• salt and pepper to taste


• 1 star fruit, sliced


• 1/2 cup beef broth


• 1/2 cup orange juice


• 1 cup whipping cream


• 2 tablespoons fresh coriander, chopped


• 2 teaspoons orange peel

Preheat oven to 200F. Melt butter in frying pan over medium heat. Cook pork about 4 to 5 minutes per side. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer cutlets to a serving dish and set aside in oven. In same pan, cook star fruit 1 minute per side. Set aside in oven. Add beef broth, orange juice and cream to saucepan; cook until reduced by half. Add coriander and orange peel. Continue cooking 2 to 3 minutes. Spoon sauce over meat and garnish with star fruit. Serve with rice and zucchini, if desired. Serves 4.

Lemony Star Fruit Kuchen

• 1/2 cup all purpose flour


• 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal


• 1/3 cup quick cooking rolled oats


• 1 teaspoon baking powder


• 1/8 teaspoon baking soda


• 2 egg whites


• 1/2 cup plain nonfat yogurt


• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar


• 2 tablespoons dark molasses


• 2 tablespoons margarine, melted


• 1 teaspoon lemon peel, finely shredded


• nonstick spray coating


• 1 large star fruit cut into 12 slices


• 2 teaspoons granulated sugar

In a large bowl, stir together flour, cornmeal, oats, baking powder and baking soda. In another bowl stir together egg whites, yogurt, brown sugar, molasses, melted margarine and lemon peel. Add egg white mixture to flour mixture, stirring just till combined. Spray an 8 inch round quiche pan or cake pan with nonstick spray coating. Spread batter into prepared pan. Gently press star fruit slices into batter. Bake in a 350F oven about 30 minutes or till a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Lightly sprinkle with granulated sugar. Cool slightly in pan on a wire rack. Cut into wedges. Serve warm.

Baked Fish Fillets With Star Fruit

• 2 tablespoons softened butter


• 2 fairly lean fish fillets, about 1/2 pound each, about 1/2 inch thick


• salt and white pepper to taste


• 2 very small star fruit


• lime juice to taste

Preheat oven to 450F. Select a baking dish to hold fillets in a single layer. Spread a little less than half the butter in the dish. Set fillets on butter. Add salt and pepper. Cut off star fruit tips. Slice fruit thin; arrange on fish. Dot with remaining butter. Taste star fruit; if rather sweet, sprinkle with a healthy dose of lime juice; if tart, a smaller amount. Bake for about 8 minutes, until fish just becomes opaque in the center. It will continue to bake in the dish, so do not overcook. Serve at once.

Star Fruit Steak

• 1 1/4 pounds beef sirloin steak


• 1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce


• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper


• 1 teaspoon seasoning salt


• 1 star fruit, cut into 1/3 inch slices

Place the beef sirloin steak in a medium dish and cover with Worcestershire sauce. Sprinkle with ground black pepper and seasoning salt, adjusting the amounts to taste. Place star fruit slices around the steak. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator approximately 4 hours, turning steak once. Preheat an outdoor grill for high heat and lightly oil grate. Cook steak 3 to 5 minutes per side on the prepared grill, or to desired doneness. Makes 4 servings.

* The star fruit is aka starfruit, carambola, bilimbi, belimbing, Chinese star fruit, five angled fruit and the star apple. It is most commonly known as star fruit and carambola.