Tip: How to Dice a Mango

The Blue Moon Café in the Raleigh-Durham area had the best Mango Chicken. I fell in love with their tender chicken served with rice and beans and generously topped with a mango salsa.

That was years ago and since then, we’ve experimented with mangos; they are wonderful to cook with. Diced mango will brighten up chicken and fish dishes adding a sweet, luscious flavor and a bright splash of color.

But mangos can be a challenge to dice. Here’s how:

1. Mangos have large, fibrous pits that cling to the flesh. The pits are flat and oval shaped. Take a sharp knife and cut the mango parallel to the pit leaving a center slice around the pit.

2. From the flesh side and being careful not to cut through the skin, cut the flesh in a square, diced pattern down to the skin.

3. Press the skin upwards. The diced flesh will cling to the skin. Using your sharp knife, slice the mango pieces from the skin.

4. Peel the skin from the remaining slice with the pit imbedded. Trim the soft flesh from the fibrous material surrounding the pit.