Cool lotus seed longan tea

Longan, lotus seeds, rock sugar, tapioca flour... these ingredients are very simple and familiar, but when combined together, through the skillful hands of a mother and a capable sister in Pho Hien land, they create a delicious, cool gift that makes diners linger.

Illustration

This season, on the alluvial land of the Red River in my hometown, longan is ripe. In the golden sunlight, clusters of longan bend their branches, the fruit is plump, containing a famous sweet aroma, waiting for the harvester. On the drying yard of lotus growers, batches of old lotus are sun-dried, shiny black, the lotus scent still lingers somewhere. The sweet longan season is also the time when the lotus is old, this is the most suitable time to cook lotus longan sweet soup. The tapioca starch from the previous season is tightly tied in a ceramic jar, smooth and pure white. Each ingredient is a delicious, nutritious dish, cherished by the people of my hometown, becoming a specialty and gift for friends and relatives.

And to enjoy all the delicious flavors of the homeland in one dish, lotus seed longan sweet soup was born without anyone knowing when. To make this delicious and refreshing dish, there are many recipes. Some people use fresh lotus, dried lotus, some use fresh longan, dried longan, then add green beans, coconut milk... But what remains is the sweet and fatty taste of longan and lotus.

On hot summer afternoons like this, my mother would cook lotus seed and longan sweet soup to treat the whole family. The mung beans were grown by my mother in the fields, the tapioca flour was also made from the mounds of tapioca in the garden, the lotus was from the pond and the longan was ripe. The mung beans were cleaned of their shells, the old lotus seeds were peeled, the cores were drilled, and they were cooked first until soft. The tapioca flour was gently mixed with cold water, a little rock sugar was added, stirred until dissolved, and slowly poured into the pot to cook together. The amount of tapioca flour and sugar was just enough to make the soup light and sweet. Finally, the longan, my mother chose longan that had been naturally dried in the sun, dark yellow, chewy and sweet. When the pot of sweet soup was cooked, she gently dropped the longan in. This rustic gift was easy to make, did not take much time, and was easy to please the elderly and children.

My mother also has a special way of making it: Using a basin of rainwater to cool the tea. Each bowl of tea is placed in a basin of cool rainwater, then my mother picks old lotus leaves to cover it. When the whole family is gathered, each bowl of lotus longan tea is brought over, cool and fragrant with lotus scent. A small spoonful is scooped up, the tapioca flour is shimmering, the lotus is rich, the longan is rich... permeating the taste buds. Enjoying a bowl of lotus longan tea makes people temporarily forget the heat outside, temporarily forget the sweat that has not yet dried on the back of the shirt and the daily worries and hardships. That cool, delicious taste seems to come not only from longan, lotus seeds, beans, but also from the countless savings and savings that the alluvial land has bestowed, for today and tomorrow the seasons of bright pink lotus, the seasons of sweet longan.

Hai Trieu