Review of eating | Bailu, autumnal equinox, boiled lotus root sweet

After writing this article, it will be published in the bimonthly issue of "Salt Zone Literature" published in September 2020.

A friend came that day and drank a cup of lotus root tea bought from the market, saying that she had never drank this kind of light lotus root tea. "When I was a child, the lotus root tea at home would be thick and gray." She said that it seemed to be mixed with powder.

I'm a little confused. "Mixed with flour? I thought lotus root flour was eaten directly in lotus root paste, like sesame paste." Did someone use lotus root flour to make lotus root tea?

A few days later, another friend came to visit and talked about the same thing. She said that although her family did not use lotus root starch to make lotus root tea, she had heard of this method. "Although the lotus root tea brewed like that will be thick, it seems to be more fragrant."

The lotus root tea I cook has never been pleasing. The color is dark, the lotus root taste is light, and the sugar is less, and it is not sweet. The only advantage is that it is refreshing to drink. If you add more red dates and boil them to enhance the flavor, and add more rock sugar, you can successfully meet the general taste. The former method of cooking is purely personal preference, while the latter's advantage lies in the ease of serving guests—at least there is no need to explain and persuade them to enter while pouring tea.

I am a late acquaintance with lotus root. When I was young, lotus root food or lotus root tea was not a common meal option at home. I don't know where the impression came from, but I always feel that lotus root is a high-end food (probably the phrase "sludge without staining"), and it has its own provincial distinction (it belongs to other provinces). These unreasonable cognitions kept me from being very close to lotus root. In contrast, because of the relationship between the four gods soup, I may be familiar with the lotus seeds.

After I started to cook lotus root tea, I learned that lotus root is the cheapest among the related outputs of the lotus series. It was only later that I learned that the lotus that produces lotus seeds is different from the lotus that harvests lotus roots; both are lotus roots, and the lotus root for making lotus root starch and the vegetable lotus for cooking are different in variety and place of origin. . Even the lotus root used for making tea and the lotus root used in vegetables are on the same lotus stem.

As stupid as I always thought, a lotus can be enjoyed in summer. After the flowers are exhausted, the seeds are harvested from the canopy. After the seeds are exhausted, the stems are dug to get the lotus root. The lotus root can be eaten, cocoa powder and tea. Bottom line - the result is a misunderstanding of different species.

The puzzle of "thick lotus root tea" is solved by my friend's home: my friend's hometown is Baihe, Tainan. Baihe is a famous lotus plantation area in Taiwan. . However, the lotus root planted in Baihe has a high powder content, which is more suitable for making lotus root starch than direct consumption. Although lotus root flour is expensive, since it is a place of origin, it can naturally be "sipped without surprise". The lotus root tea I drank since I was a child is not a vulgar product, but my friends don't know it.

Do Baihe people not drink lotus root tea? Not necessarily. I have found out that Baihe has a local limited mysterious product called "dried lotus root". The small and thin lotus nodes that are dry like mummy fingers are actually the walking stems of lotus. Because of their slender shape, low powder content and relatively low economic value, lotus farmers mostly discard them when they dig them out. However, if it is slightly washed, sliced and dried in the sun, it can be stored for a long time. The lotus root tea boiled with this dried lotus root tastes more mellow than the fresh lotus root. Once a friend used the skills of his six-person small world to get me a small packet. I regarded it as a treasure. Only when it was difficult to buy fresh lotus root, I took out a small amount to make tea.

Where is the vegetable lotus root? In Chiayi Minxiong, in Taoyuan Guanyin. The vegetable lotus flower hardly blooms, and the nutrients are concentrated on the underground stems, so that the round, strong and plump lotus root can be raised. Drums of lotus root, the more tender the front end, tender enough to be eaten raw, or made into salads, limited by the freshness, it is quite rare in the market; Lotus root, all kinds of dishes are at your disposal. As for sometimes, next to the fat lotus root, there are piles of slender and slender lotus root. When the unit price is high, it is 60% or 30% off the fat lotus root, and when it is cheap, it is 30% off.

Due to the way farmers plant/harvest, although lotus root can be found almost all year round in Taiwan, the best season is around September, when late summer turns to autumn. On the occasion of the Bailu Autumn Equinox, the lotus root has reached its peak, and it is the most time to eat lotus root. In particular, the autumn tiger is fiercer every year, and lotus root tea can reduce fire and invigorate qi, which can also be regarded as a health drink; or buy a few sections of fat lotus root to fill in the glutinous rice in your spare time, spend a few hours boiling until the lotus root is soft and mushy, and drizzle before eating. A touch of sweet-scented osmanthus nectar, no matter how fierce the autumn and summer are, has a little more soothing sweetness.

[Lotus root tea]

Material

Appropriate amount of slender lotus root / rock sugar and red dates

practice

1. Wash the lotus root without peeling, slice or smash it;

2. Put the lotus root pieces (together if you want red dates) into the soup pot, fill with water, bring to a boil over high heat, then turn to low heat, cover and simmer for at least 40 minutes;

3. Add rock sugar to taste and simmer for about 10 minutes.

4. Pick up the lotus root and store it in the freezer. It can be boiled 2-3 times in total. Frozen lotus root cubes do not need to be thawed before cooking, start directly from step 2.

[Osmanthus candy lotus root]

Material

Lotus root plump section 2-3 sections/Appropriate amount of glutinous rice/Brown sugar or rock sugar as you like (you can use a lot if you like sweetness)/Red dates as you like (to add fragrance and color)/Osmanthus honey as you like

practice

1. Wash the glutinous rice and soak it in water for 1 hour;

2. Select the fat and non-destructive lotus roots, segment them from the lotus joint (be careful to keep them intact), wash them and peel them;

3. Cut off about 2-3 cm from one end of the lotus root to make a lid. Fill the soaked and drained glutinous rice into the lotus root hole. While filling, use chopsticks to poke and press the rice grains until it is about 80% full. Cover the lotus root. Close and secure with toothpicks;

4. Put the filled glutinous rice and the fixed lotus root into the soup pot, flood the lotus root with water, bring to a boil over high heat, then turn to medium-low heat, cover and simmer for 40 minutes to 1 hour, add sugar (and red dates), and continue to simmer at least 40 minutes. During this period, be careful not to burn the water until it is completely dry.

5. When finished, take out the lotus root, cut into thick slices and serve on a plate. Boil the rock sugar water in the pot over high heat until it thickens, add osmanthus honey and cook together, and pour it over the sliced lotus root. If serving cold, refrigerate, slice and drizzle with sauce before serving.