Buko Lychee Shake a la Marketman
It must be nearly 100F outdoors at the moment, roughly 37C, and very humid. Wickedly hot weather for Manila, even during the summer months. It is so debilitating that I actually considered going to the mall just to enjoy some free airconditioning! I wonder if one burns more calories just by being so hot, sweaty and bothered. One would think that the oppressively warm weather would dampen one’s appetite, but I don’t think it has affected mine… However, in the midst of writing a post on pepper, I set the unfinished post aside and decided to do this one on a cool chilly buko lychee shake instead. Have you ever wondered why restaurants are so aggressive about pushing fruit shakes when customers sit down to a meal? Are they really thinking of your health, concerned about your nutritional intake? No, most likely, it has been drilled into the waiters brains that most fruit shakes have a huge mark-up and a tremendous profit margin for the restaurant and thus one should sell, sell, sell them. Many folks couldn’t be bothered to blitz a fruit shake at home, but would readily pay P100-140 for a tall glass with a bit of fruit and herbs on the side, in the same manner that millions of consumers pay somewhere around PHP100 for a cup of hot water and a tea bag at Starbucks (approximately a 300-400% mark-up!)…
To make, open up a nice buko or two and save the coconut water and scrape out the meat. In a powerful blender, add about a can of lychees, most of the liquid in the can as well, some simple sugar syrup to taste, the buko and some buko juice and several ice cubes and blitz away at high speed. The resulting shake is flavorful, refreshing and a WHOLE LOT CHEAPER than at a restaurant. You could probably make an excellent fruit shake for PHP30-40 at home. And if you want to take it up a notch, chill the individual ingredients before making the shake, as this means you need to add less ice or water and the flavor will be more concentrated. If you are really a planner, freeze the buko water and use that instead of ice. Ahhh, I feel like my body temperature has dropped one or two degrees already… :)
Ahh…this sounds like a refreshing drink. I hope they have this flavor at Jonah’s Shakes in boracay :-)
April 9th, 2008I didn’t realize that it’s this easy to make the buko lychee shake! Thanks for the idea!
April 9th, 2008…and stick the whole can of lychees in the freezer for about four hours prior to the blitzing, too! you have a ready-made sherbet right there.
April 9th, 2008Havent tried it before but sound and looks yummmmm!We dont have fresh buko here in New Zealand so i just have to settle for canned one.Not quite the same tho.Cant wait to visit Philippines again,
April 9th, 2008This is my drink of choice!!!!
April 9th, 2008Mmmm… perfect for the hot summer days (and nights) ahead!
However, if I stuck a can of lychees in the freezer it might not make it to the blender. I’d probably eat it straight out of the can. Harhar!
Nice idea though… make ice cubes out of the buko water! Thanks for THAT idea, MM!
April 9th, 2008can’t wait for warm weather,MM—that sounds so delicious.i have to settle for frozen buko from the groceries, too..keep cool!!!
April 9th, 2008sarap!! I am salivating at the thought of drinking buko-lychee shake, or mango shake or papaya shake!! haaaaayyy! to be home during the summer!
April 9th, 2008This is a good and timely post for the summer! Fortunately, I’m back to using my good ‘ol blender slushing away fruits in season….Fresh chilled buko juice is a thirst quencher in itself but trust MM to take it up a notch higher….:)
April 9th, 2008That looks so refreshing. I can’t wait for my trip “home”, I’m headed straight for a green mango shake!
Il Laboratorio del Gelato in NYC has wonderful lychee sorbet with a very intense flavor. Not watered down or too sugary. They have calamansi, too, but only seasonally.
April 9th, 2008That looks wonderfully refreshing. Have to think about some kind of substitute for the fresh buko since we have really expensive ones here, but I still have a few months to think about it before it gets hot.
April 9th, 2008what a great idea! only yesterday did i make buko avocado shake by blending ice, avocado, coconut juice, coconut meat, and a little condensed milk to sweeten it up a bit. I’ll try the lychee today.
April 9th, 2008yes this is delicious. often had it growing up. mom also made homemade ice cream with buko & lychees. certainly makes the heat a bit more bearable. and yes MM, sweating burns calories but drink up as it can also cause dehydration.
April 9th, 2008They say “lee-chee” here in the US. That kind of bugs me (but I suspect that may be the more “correct” way to say it). Ah summer, great excuse for ice-cold drinks.
And on spending too much money on blended water … I pay $2 for coffee every morning when I actually could/should have a little foresight and set my coffee maker before sleeping so I could have some nice (practically free) barako before going to school.
April 10th, 2008Nothing beats fresh fruit shake during summer months, they’re healthy, inexpensive and quite easy to make! I’ll try this one at home!
April 10th, 2008This is really a thirst quencher! Will have to try it later!!!
April 10th, 2008It’s getting cooler here in Oz,but I’ll still make this delicious shake today.Yum!
April 10th, 2008This is exactly how we make our Buko-lychee shake….(or Buko-lychee juice with addition of more buko juice) What, with P60/kg of shredded buko in the market which comes with 2 plastic bags of buko juice, a much cheaper way of quenching your thirst this summer…
April 10th, 2008The chinese categorize fruits as either “hot” or “cold” varieties, whether the fruit has yin or yang. Growing up I always thought lychees would be in the cold group since we always ate it chilled or in buko/lychee shakes, heehee. Actually, it’s considered a hot fruit and if you eat too much of it, it causes more heat in the body and you break out.
April 10th, 2008Mila, that’s an eye-opener for me. I really also thought lychees were a “cool” fruit, literally and figuratively! Thanks for the info!
April 10th, 2008Sige na nga, i’m buying myself a blender tonight (”,)
April 11th, 2008Wouldn’t it be nice to have bits of chewy nata in your buco lychee shake?
April 12th, 2008I love this combination, it is delicious also as a sorbet. My mom’s friend Nanay Guning always gives me a big canister of this sorbet every time I go back to visit the Philippines.
April 14th, 2008Just made the concotion for our dinner drink. The wife and I loved it. Reserving some for our daighter when she comes home from work. That is just heavenly!
April 16th, 2008Thanks for the tip. Frozen buko will probably work with the lychee in the can. I want one NOW!!! lol It would be nice to have a coconut tree in the backyard, but we don’t have that here in San Diego.
April 20th, 2008