Sandia Loka

Votes: 4

Time: 30 min.
Complexity: average
Servings: 4 - 6

Sandia loca is a Mexican sweet, sour, salty, and spicy fruit salad sold by street vendors, whose name translates from Spanish as "crazy watermelon." Half a watermelon is scooped out and filled with other fruits, including watermelon chunks and candies. But this fruit salad wouldn't be crazy without the chamoy and tajine toppings (found in Mexican grocery stores or online), which give the fruit a wild burst of flavor. Sandia loca is garnished with fruit skewers and looks very impressive at house parties.

The recipes use measuring containers with the following volumes:
1 glass (st.) - 250 ml.
3/4 cup (st.) - 180 ml.
2/3 cup (st.) - 160 ml.
1/2 cup (st.) - 125 ml.
1/3 cup (st.) - 80 ml.
1/4 cup (st.) - 60 ml.
1 tablespoon (tbsp) - 15 ml.
1 teaspoon (tsp) - 5 ml.
1/5 teaspoon (tsp) - 1 ml.

Ingredients for the recipe:

1 watermelon
1 pineapple
8 strawberries
1 mango, thinly sliced
1 jicama, peeled and cut into sticks
0.5 cup chamoy
2 tbsp tahini spice mix + extra for sprinkling
Juice of half a lemon
A few drops of hot sauce
Tamarind candies, for decoration
Special equipment: star-shaped cookie cutters; 15cm long bamboo skewers.

Ingredient Substitution Suggestions

We recommend

Recipes with similar ingredients: Watermelon, Pineapple, tamarind, strawberry, mango, lemon juice

Cooking the dish according to the recipe:

Cut a small slice from the base of the watermelon to keep it from falling over, then cut it in half horizontally. Cut four stars from the top half of the watermelon, and set the rest aside for another use.
Cut 4 stars out of the pineapple flesh. Cut the remaining flesh into 2.5 cm cubes.

Using a knife, draw two lines down the center of the bottom half of the watermelon to create a strip of flesh. Using a large spoon, scoop out the flesh from both sides of the strip and cut into large chunks.

Chef's Notes

Chamoy is to Mexican cuisine what miso is to Japanese cuisine. It's an umami-flavored sauce made from pickled fruits. It's added to everything from jicama to nachos. Originally from China, this sauce arrived in Mexico in the 17th century, but it only became widely popular in the 1990s.

Tajin is another popular Mexican seasoning. It's a spice blend made from chili peppers, salt, and lime. Although not very spicy, tajin adds a rich flavor to dishes!
Fruit on skewers:

Thread 4 strawberries onto two 6-inch bamboo skewers. Thread each watermelon star onto a bamboo skewer. Thread each pineapple star onto a bamboo skewer. Place the watermelon chunks, pineapple pieces, mango pieces, and jicama sticks in a large bowl. Add the chamoy, tahini, lemon juice, and hot sauce and toss to combine.
Arrange the fruit in the watermelon cavities. Then garnish with fruit skewers and tamarind candies. Sprinkle with tahini and serve.

Note

Both chamoy and tajin can be found at most Mexican markets or online.