Refreshing lotus seed and longan tea

Longan, lotus seeds, rock sugar, tapioca starch... these are simple, familiar ingredients, but when combined and processed by the skillful hands of mothers and sisters in Pho Hien, they create a delicious, refreshing treat that leaves diners longing for more.

Illustrative image

This season, on the alluvial plains of my homeland along the Red River, longan trees are ripening. In the golden sunlight, clusters of longan bend the branches, their plump, juicy fruits concealing a renowned sweet aroma, waiting to be harvested. On the drying yards of lotus growers, batches of mature lotuses, sun-dried and glossy black, still carry the lingering fragrance of lotus. The sweet longan season coincides with the mature lotus season, making it the perfect time to make lotus seed and longan sweet soup. The cassava starch from the previous season, tightly sealed in earthenware jars, is smooth and pure white. Each ingredient is a delicious and nutritious treat, cherished by the people of my hometown, becoming a specialty and a gift for friends and relatives.

And as if to savor all the delicious flavors of home in one dish, lotus seed and longan sweet soup was born, though no one knows exactly when. There are many recipes for making this refreshing dessert. Some use fresh lotus seeds, others dried lotus seeds; some use fresh longan, dried longan, and add mung beans, coconut milk... But what remains is the sweet and nutty flavor of longan and lotus seeds.

On sweltering summer afternoons like these, my mother would cook lotus seed and longan sweet soup to treat the whole family. She grew mung beans in the fields, the tapioca starch was made from cassava plants in the garden, the lotus seeds were from the pond, and the longan was ripe. She washed the mung beans thoroughly, peeled the outer skin of the mature lotus seeds, removed the cores, and cooked them until tender. She gently mixed the tapioca starch with cold water, added a little rock sugar, stirred until dissolved, and gradually poured it into the pot. The amount of tapioca starch and sugar was just right to create a slightly thick and subtly sweet soup. Finally, she added the longan, which she chose naturally sun-dried, dark yellow, chewy, and sweet. Once the soup was cooked, she would gently add the longan. This simple country treat was easy to make, didn't take much time, and was pleasing to both the elderly and children.

My mother also had a special way of preparing it: She used a basin of rainwater to chill the lotus seed and longan dessert. Each bowl of dessert was placed in the cool rainwater, then she would pick old lotus leaves and cover it. When the whole family gathered, each bowl of lotus seed and longan dessert would be brought out, cool and fragrant with the scent of lotus. A small spoonful, with its smooth tapioca starch, the nutty flavor of lotus, and the rich taste of longan... a truly satisfying experience. Enjoying a bowl of lotus seed and longan dessert makes one temporarily forget the sweltering heat outside, the sweat still clinging to their shirt, and the daily worries and anxieties. That refreshing taste seems to come not only from the longan, the lotus seeds, and the beans, but also from the countless blessings and sacrifices that the alluvial land has bestowed, for today and for tomorrow, with its vibrant pink lotus seasons and sweet, ripe longan harvests.

Hai Trieu