Lotus seed
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lotus seeds or Lotus nuts (Simplified Chinese: 莲子; Traditional Chinese: 蓮子; pinyin: lián zǐ) are the seeds of plants in the genus Nelumbo, particularly the species Nelumbo nucifera. The seeds are of great importance to East Asian cuisine and is used extensively in traditional Chinese medicine and in Chinese desserts. The seeds are most commonly sold in the shelled and dried form. Fresh lotus seeds are relatively uncommon in the market except in areas of lotus root and seed production, where they are sometimes sold as a raw snack.
Contents |
[edit] Types
Two types of dried lotus seeds can be found commercially; brown peel and white. The former is harvested when the seed head of the lotus is ripe or nearly ripe and the latter is harvested when the seed head is still fully green, but with almost fully developed seeds. White lotus seeds are de-shelled and de-membraned. The bitter tasting germ of the seed is also removed at the time of harvest using a hollow needle, though some may still remain in the seed due to production oversight. Brown peel lotus seeds are brown due to the fact that the ripened seed has adhered to its membrane. These seeds are usually cracked in half in order to remove the germ since the seeds are hard enough to make the germs' removal by needle difficult.
Dried lotus seeds past their prime oxidize to a yellow brown colour. However, this is not necessarily an indicator of freshness since sellers of dried lotus seeds may choose to bleach their products with hydrogen peroxide, sodium hydroxide, or other more toxic chemicals[1](in Chinese).
[edit] Uses
Dried lotus seeds that are sold in packages or in bulk at many Asian markets must first be soaked in water overnight prior to use due to their hardness and toughness. They can then be added directly to soups and congee, or used in other dishes.
Fresh lotus seeds are sold in the seed heads of the plant and eaten by breaking the individual seeds out of cone shaped head. The soft rubbery shell that surrounds each seed should be removed before consuming.
Crystallized lotus seeds (蓮子糖), made by drying lotus seeds cooked in syrup, are a well-loved Chinese snack and are eaten especially near Chinese new year.
[edit] Chinese medicinal foods
When cooked in clean soups, lotus seeds are believed in Chinese medicine to "clear heat" (清熱) and be particularly nutritious and restorative to one's health, which may explain the prevalence of their use in Chinese cuisine.
Other ingredients that are considered "cooling" or restorative in Chinese medicines, which are often cooked in a sweetened soup with lotus seeds include:
- Azuki beans (紅豆)
- Job's tears (薏仁)
- Dried jujubes (紅棗)
- Mung beans (绿豆)
- Asian pear (雪梨)
- Snow fungus (银耳 or 白木耳)
Lotus soups sometimes also include a whole chicken, other poultry, or fish for similar medicinal purposes.
The bitter dried germ of the lotus seed can also be found sold as a restorative tisane (蓮子心茶).
[edit] Lotus paste
Lotus seed paste (蓮蓉; pinyin: lían róng; lit. "lotus velvet") is a particularly important Chinese dessert ingredient, made from dried lotus seed. The process for making the paste is similar to that used to make smooth red bean paste. First, the dried seeds are stewed in water until soft and then mashed into a fine paste. The paste is then watered down to a thin slurry and passed through a sieve and into cheesecloth, with which it is squeezed dry. This produces a fine crumbly paste, which is then mixed with sugar or other sweeteners.
This sweetened lotus paste is directly used by the Japanese as a filling for various Japanese desserts without further processing. It is milky in colour with a fresh, light, and sweet taste, and without any perceivable flavour. Although this type of lotus paste is sometimes found in Chinese desserts, the lotus paste used by most Chinese cooks requires further preparation by dry cooking the sweetened paste over heat with caramelized sugar and vegetable oil. This produces a lotus paste that is tan coloured with a satiny sheen, which is rich, sweet, and silky with a slight fragrance of caramel. Some cooks choose to treat the dried lotus seeds with a lye solution before initially stewing them in order to shorten their cooking time.[2]
Lotus paste is used in Chinese cuisine as a filling for mooncake, baozi, and other sweet pastries. Due to the higher price of lotus seeds, commercially prepared lotus pastes may also contain white kidney bean paste as a filler.
