Article: Mango Lychee Salad with Chili-Lime Vinaigrette
Mango Lychee Salad with Chili-Lime Vinaigrette
This is what Maui Summer tastes like.
When mangoes are dropping and lychee season hits, there's only one move — get them into a bowl together as fast as possible. This Mango Lychee Salad with Chili-Lime Vinaigrette is bright, tropical, a little spicy, and built on a base of Kuleana Hawaiʻi Grown Sunflower Oil that lets every ingredient shine without getting in the way.
It comes together in under 15 minutes. It disappears even faster.
Why Sunflower Oil in a Vinaigrette?
A great vinaigrette needs an oil that's clean, light, and neutral enough to let your acid and aromatics do the work. Kuleana Hawaiʻi Grown Sunflower Oil is exactly that — expeller-pressed and chemical-free, with a mild natural character that emulsifies beautifully with lime juice and fish sauce without competing with the fruit.
Olive oil would fight the lychee. Sunflower oil lets it sing.
Mango Lychee Salad with Chili-Lime Vinaigrette
Serves 4 | Ready in 15 minutes
For the Vinaigrette
- 3 tablespoons Kuleana Hawaiʻi Grown Sunflower Oil
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce (or soy sauce for vegan)
- 1 teaspoon honey
- ½ teaspoon chili flakes or minced fresh chili
For the Salad
- 2 ripe mangoes, peeled and sliced
- 12 fresh lychees, peeled, halved, and pitted
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- 4 cups watercress, stems trimmed
- 1/4 cup red onion, thinly sliced
- optional 1/4 cup fresno chili or other red chili, thinly sliced
- ⅓ cup fresh mint leaves
- ⅓ cup fresh cilantro
- ⅓ cup toasted macadamia nuts, roughly chopped
- 1 pinch flaky sea salt
Instructions
Step 1 — Make the vinaigrette
Whisk together the sunflower oil, lime juice, fish sauce, honey, and chili until emulsified. Taste and adjust — it should be bright, a little funky, and have a gentle heat. Set aside.
Step 2 — Prep the fruit
Slice the mango into thin planks or chunks. Halve the lychees and remove pits. Halve the cherry tomatoes. Keep everything chilled until ready to plate.
Step 3 — Build the salad
Lay the watercress as your base on a wide platter. Scatter the mango, lychee, and cherry tomatoes over the top. Finish with red onion, (optional red chili), fresh mint and cilantro.
Step 4 — Dress and serve
Drizzle the vinaigrette over the salad just before serving. Top with toasted macadamia nuts and a pinch of flaky sea salt. Serve immediately.
Kitchen Notes
Use what's in season. Maui's Summer fruit window is short and glorious — this salad is built for it. Ripe, fragrant mango and fresh lychee from your local farmers market will make all the difference.
Keep the fruit cold. Chilled fruit on a room-temperature platter with warm-ish vinaigrette creates the best contrast. Don't skip the chill step.
Mango on Maui
Mango has been part of Maui's agricultural story for nearly 200 years. The first documented arrival of mango in Hawaiʻi was in 1824, when Captain Meek of the brig Kamehameha brought small mango plants from Manila — divided between a horticulturist in Honolulu and Reverend Goodrich, a missionary in Wailuku (that's where our Headquarters is!), Maui. From those early trees, mango quietly wove itself into the fabric of island life, growing in backyards, along roadsides, and on small farms across the island. Today, many varieties thrive here, with most harvested during the summer months — which means right now is peak season. In Lāhainā alone, mangoes have been grown for over 100 years, and the local community has developed a deep love and appreciation for the fruit. When you shop your local farmers market this summer, choosing Maui-grown mango isn't just a flavor decision — it's a way of supporting the farmers keeping that legacy alive.
The Ingredient That Ties It Together
The reason this vinaigrette works is the oil. Kuleana Hawaiʻi Grown Sunflower Oil is expeller-pressed from sunflowers grown regeneratively on Maui and Kauaʻi — clean, chemical-free, and light enough to let lime juice, fish sauce, and fresh chili be the stars of the show. It's the kind of oil that makes every other ingredient taste more like itself.
