Creative or disgusting? Street hawker in China stir-fries durian with strawberries, carrots, MSG and garlic

On its own, durian can be quite an intense fruit that's not for the faint-hearted. 

So, the idea of stir-frying it with other ingredients may seem bizarre to some. 

A video of a street hawker in China doing so has gone viral and it was also shared by Singapore durian seller D197 Durian Brother Pte. Ltd on Facebook on April 18. 

D197 Durian Brother Pte. Ltd also jokingly wrote, in Chinese: "It would be better to switch to selling this." 

In the clip, a customer can be heard ordering a durian rice bowl in Mandarin from the street hawker. 

The hawker checked if she had any dietary restrictions before adding julienned carrots, monosodium glutamate (MSG), chopped chilli padi and garlic into his wok along with the durian. 

After stir-frying these ingredients for a while, he drops in a handful of strawberries. 

Confused, the customer questioned his actions. 

In response, the hawker explained that it's a "side dish" and asked the customer if she eats strawberries, to which she said "yes". 

After the hawker added some sugar and soy sauce to the mix, the customer told him that she is able to smell the dish. 

"Is it very fragrant?" he asked. 

"It's very explosive," the customer replied. 

After adding a little coriander, the hawker stirred the dish a while more before ladling the completed dish onto a bed of white rice. 

So, how does it taste? 

The customer concluded that while the dish did taste good, it "doesn't suit her taste". 

Netizens in the comments section weren't as impressed with the results.

One remarked in Chinese that the hawker had "wasted the delicious durian". 

Another said that they finally understand how Italians feel when they see people putting pineapples on pizza. 

Some netizens also pointed out that durian is already very sweet on its own and questioned the need to add sugar. 

One horrified netizen even said that the sight of the dish made them feel like throwing up. 

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melissateo@asiaone.com