Lotus
root has made regular appearances on my dinner table for as long as I could
remember. Depending on the technique of cooking, it could be crunchy, or soft
as yam, or even powdered to become a drink.
Lotus powder has such high starch content that it is even used as a
thickening agent.
The lotus
is a versatile food source: every part of the plant can be used for some
purpose, or cooked and eaten. In my family home, lotus root is eaten in many
forms – stewed, in soup, as fried fritters, as fresh juice, as a snack, and
even as health food. In fact, it was even a part of a medical recovery diet for
one of my relatives, who suffered from tuberculosis back in the 60s. It may just
have been an old wives’ tale, but he recovered and lived to a ripe old age!
I
always yearned for a hot bowl of lotus root soup when the weather turned cold.
Over the years, I have also accumulated more than a dozen recipes on making a
bowl of yummy lotus root soup. Here is one of them.
Lotus Root Soup
Water 2 litres
Lotus
root 300 g, cut into
chunks
Dried
oysters 15 g, soaked for 30
mins
Wolfberries 15 g
Dried
red dates 10 g, soaked for 30
mins
Red
beans 20 g, soaked
overnight
Pork
ribs 400 g, blanched
and washed
Chicken
feet 250 g, blanched and
washed
Salt 1 tbsp
Light
soy sauce ½ tbsp
Method:
- Place lotus root, dried oysters, wolfberries,
and red beans in room-temperature water and boil.
- Add pork ribs and chicken feet and continue
to boil vigorously for 15 minutes. Remove any scum that surfaces.
- Cover the pot and simmer for 2 hours.
- Add salt and stir until it dissolves. Taste
and adjust the salt accordingly.
- Before serving, turn off the heat and add
light soy sauce.
Note:
Dried oysters may be substituted with dried octopus.