If you are into tangy, citrus-y dishes, try cooking with kiwi. The juicy fruit usually associated with desserts, salads and juices can add an interesting zing to your dishes.

How do Kiwi Pork with Coconut Cream Sauce, Roasted Chicken Breast with Kiwi Salsa, and Marinated Fresh Salmon and Scallops with Kiwifruit sound to you?

Those are just some of the savory recipes formulated by Zespri, which supplies kiwi fruits from New Zealand. Steve Bunyan, regional market development manager for Southeast Asia introduced the Zespri varieties available locally: Gold and Green.

Zespri Green is the traditional kiwi we know—soft, sweet-sour and with “hairy” skin. It leaves a tingly feeling on the throat, which, Bunyan said, regular kiwi eaters get used to—pretty much like an “acquired tingle.”

Then there’s Zespri Gold—yellow kiwi which is much sweeter than the green ones. It has smooth skin, black seeds and yellow meat like that of a mango. Kids prefer its clean tropical taste. Both kinds contain twice the amount of vitamin C of an orange, vitamin E, potassium, folic acid, plus antioxidants like polyphenols and carotenoids, which are said to promote healthy cells and boost immunity.

“Kiwi can also aid digestion because it has fibers and an enzyme called actinidin that digests protein, making it a healthy snack,” Bunyan said in an interview at Cerverseria Tapas Bar in Greenbelt 3, Makati.

Cooking with kiwi

Zespri Kiwis, Bunyan explained, are grown in Mount Maunganui, New Zealand. It originated from China where it was known as yang tao or Chinese gooseberry, before seeds made their way to New Zealand where it was renamed “kiwi” after the country’s national bird. It is also known as the “kiwifruit.” Zespri Kiwi is available in Asia, Europe and the US.

Marketing consultant Dexter Difuntorum gave some tips on how to choose good kiwifruit:

The Gold Kiwi is ripe upon picking. Hold it between your fingers and check for firmness. It should yield to a soft squeeze, but shouldn’t be too soft.

Hard kiwis are unripe and should be stored for a few days to ripen.

Kiwis will keep for 3-5  days in room temperature, or 4-7 days in the fridge.

Kiwi Pork with Coconut Cream Sauce

½ tsp crushed cardamom seeds

1 tsp finely chopped lemongrass

500 g pork fillet or 4 pork medallions

1 tbsp oil

1 tbsp Thai curry paste (red or green)

1 165-ml can coconut cream

2-3 Zespri Green kiwi, peeled and sliced

Cooked rice

Rub the seeds, lemongrass and ginger over pork and leave to marinate, covered, for an hour at room temperature.

Heat a large frying pan, add the oil and sear the pork on both sides. Turn the heat down and continue cooking pork until done. Remove from the pan and keep warm.

Add the Thai curry paste to the same pan. Sizzle to release fragrant aromas. Stir in the coconut cream, adding a splash of water if it’s too thick. Return the pork to the pan and simmer for a few minutes.

Place the pork on top of freshly cooked rice. Add  kiwi slices and pour the sauce. Serves four.

Visit www.zespri.com for more recipes.