Lotus Seed Egg Tea 蓮子蛋茶

To herald the brand new yr we current our subsequent delectable Chinese language dessert soup.  This subtly scrumptious and comforting candy soup will heat your coronary heart and tummy within the depths of any wintery chill. Requiring just a few elements, this Lotus Seed Egg Tea (unsure why it’s referred to as a ‘tea’ and never a soup?) 蓮子蛋茶 is deceptively easy to make.  The result’s a fantastically golden hued soup with a transparent candy delicate style, bejeweled with soften in your mouth lotus seeds and candy delicate crimson jujubes.  Oh,  and there’s the added delight of a tough boiled egg!  The egg is my favourite half, the slippery egg white and the melty egg yolk simply tastes so good slurped in with the soup!  It is the proper afternoon snack for a wintery day, each fortifying and comforting.

Dried lotus seed with sprouts already eliminated

The primary and most vital of the elements for this soup is lotus seeds 蓮子, that are the precise seeds from the ethereal lotus flower.  You may see within the photograph under the seed pod of the lotus flower and the seeds inside every gap.  Is not it beautiful trying?  All of the elements of the lotus are so stunning it’s no surprise that this flower is a favourite portray topic for Chinese language artists.  

The lotus seeds are slighty candy and pine-nutty in style and delicate, soften in your mouth in texture when cooked.  They’re recognized to assist calm the thoughts and assist with insomnia.  It is uncommon to search out contemporary lotus seeds however the dried lotus seeds work simply fantastic and are a lot simpler to search out.

The lotus seed pod – photograph by KENPEI

And that brings up the actually cool meals tip I wish to share. Which I discovered cuz I tousled severely the primary time I made this soup!  I made the tea/soup and found that my lotus seeds hadn’t softened up.  They had been edible however kinda rubbery, not delicate like how I knew they need to be.  I attempted cooking them for longer.  I believe that simply made them extra rubbery 🙁  In frustration I searched on-line to search out if others had the identical drawback.  It seems that there’s a tremendous trick to cooking these seeds that surprisingly numerous recipes neglect to say.  If utilizing dried lotus seeds (almost definitely since contemporary lotus seeds are exhausting to return by) the dried lotus seeds mustn’t contact chilly water!  Dried lotus seeds +chilly water=Recreation Over.

I had, as one does with most dried beans and seeds,  soaked my lotus seeds in water in a single day.    Whoops!  I made this soup once more and this time I simply poured my dried lotus seeds straight within the boiling water and WOW was there a distinction.  The lotus seeds saved their form however melted within the mouth when eaten.  OMG so good!

Notice to self:  I’ve acquired to return and overview my lotus seed paste recipe!  I’m fairly certain I soaked in chilly.  I think about it might make a distinction to the ultimate paste, no?  Look out for a brand new and improved lotus seed paste recipe quickly 😉

Do observe one other vital truth about lotus seeds themselves: they’ve a wee inexperienced bitter tasting sprout inside that must be eliminated!  Dried lotus seeds come two methods, some nonetheless have the inexperienced sprout dried inside and a few have had it eliminated.  In case your dried lotus seeds have the inexperienced sprout inside (it will likely be apparent in the event you search for it) then pry the seed aside with fingers or tip of a knife till you may get in to take away the sprout.  Attempt to take away them with out splitting the lotus fully in half, that manner the spherical form of the seeds will keep intact.  It is a bit of labor tho’ so I like to recommend looking for ones with sprouts eliminated.  

Additionally the lotus seeds have a brown pores and skin on them that’s normally eliminated earlier than drying however generally not.  Purchase the sort with the brown skins eliminated.

As rock sugar is actually sugar crystals, generally (okay, numerous the time) you can find the that rock crystals are massive, no big!  The newest field I opened up had three actually giant items and a small handful of tiny ones.  Sigh…  Typically in case your piece of rock sugar is simply too massive to be used, you’ll have to put in a plastic bag, cowl with towel and hammer to measurement.  A little bit of effort however particular mellow sweetness of rock sugar is WORTH it!

My exhausting boiled eggs, peeled and prepared for the soup.  A cool trick for boiled eggs: If you wish to peel the egg shell add a tsp or two of vinegar to the egg boiling water.  Promise the egg shell will slip off easy as a dream!

All elements gathered and prepared for cooking!  First boil the water.  When water is boiling (vital!) add within the dried and sproutless lotus seeds.  Let the lotus seeds cook dinner for 30-45 minutes or till most well-liked softness.  For me it was fantastic at 30 minutes, maintaining its form however nonetheless delicate and melty when bitten into.  I like extra melty so I cooked for an additional 15 minutes and that was perfecto.  

After the cooking the lotus seeds to desired softness, add within the rock sugar and Chinese language crimson dates and let simmer for an additional 5 minutes.  You may see right here that the rock sugar and dates have added a stunning golden hue to the soup. When a minute or so is left slip within the exhausting boiled eggs to heat up within the soup.  Then all that is left to do is to ladle into serving bowls and serve.

Lotus Seed Egg Tea 蓮子蛋茶 is that straightforward to make however so yummilicous!  I hope that you simply and your loved ones and buddies will get pleasure from this comforting dessert as a lot as me and my little lady did.  Completely satisfied New Yr from us at The Hong Kong Cookery and luxuriate in your Chinese language dessert soups!

Lotus Seed Egg Tea Recipe  蓮子蛋茶

Prep time: 5 minutes    Cook dinner time:30 minutes

6 cups water

4 exhausting boiled eggs, peeled

In case your dried lotus seeds nonetheless have the inexperienced sprouts inside you have to to take away the sprouts.  Use fingers or the tip of a knife to drag the 2 halves of the dried lotus seed aside and take away the sprout.  In case your dried lotus seeds have had the seeds already eliminated then you definitely’re prepared for the subsequent step.  It is vital to keep in mind that the dried lotus seeds should not contact water at this stage.

Add 6 cups water to a medium sized pot.  When water boils add in dried lotus seeds. Cowl and let simmer for 30-45, relying on how delicate you want your lotus seeds.  Add in Chinese language crimson dates and rock sugar to style.  Cowl and let simmer for 3 minutes.  Add in exhausting boiled eggs (to heat them up) and let simmer for an additional 2 minutes.  

Spoon an egg, some lotus seeds and some crimson dates into every bowl.  Replenish the remainder of the bowls with soup.  Add a spoon to every bowl.  Serve scorching and scrumptious.  Get pleasure from!

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