Rock Sugar Hunan Lotus Seeds
A traditional Hunan specialty dessert with clear broth, pristine white lotus seeds, and a sweet, glutinous, fragrant flavor.
Ingredients
Hunan white lotus seeds (peeled, deveined, steamed until soft)
200 g
Green peas
25 g
Red cherries
25 g
Longan pulp (rinsed with warm water, soaked for 5 minutes)
15 g
Rock sugar
300 g
Food-grade soda ash
15 g
Instructions
1
Prepare lotus seeds
Add the white lotus seeds and food-grade soda ash to a pot of cold water and bring to a boil. Tilt a dish brush and scrub the seeds until the lotus seed skins start to peel off easily. Discard the alkaline water, replace it with warm water, scrub the seeds with both hands, then rinse with clean water twice until the skins are fully removed. Next, place the peeled lotus seeds in cold water, bring to a boil and remove. Transfer them to a bowl, cover with boiling water to let all the alkaline taste leach out. Use a toothpick to push the lotus seed hearts out from the bottom of the seeds, rinse once more with boiling water. Return the seeds to the bowl, add warm water, and steam in a steamer basket until soft.
2
Prepare auxiliary ingredients
Rinse the longan pulp with warm water, soak for 5 minutes, drain the water, and set aside.
3
Make rock sugar syrup
Place a wok over medium heat, add 500g of water and rock sugar, stir until the sugar is fully dissolved. Remove the wok from the heat, strain the sugar syrup through a sieve to remove sugar residue, then pour the syrup back into the wok. Add green peas, cherries, and longan pulp, bring the mixture to a boil over heat.
4
Assemble the dish
Drain the water from the steamed lotus seeds, place them in a large soup bowl. Pour the boiling rock sugar syrup and all the auxiliary ingredients into the bowl; the dish is ready when the lotus seeds float to the top.
