Summer eat lotus dishes

Fragrant, chewy lotus root jam is a beautiful, nutritious gift from lotus. Photo: THT

Delicious food

The lotus seed is the most quintessential part of this elegant species. The seed hidden in the lotus mirror, when opened from its lush green shell, will reveal the “pearl” of heaven and earth.

In medicine, lotus seeds are classified as a precious medicinal herb with the functions of sedation, treating weakness, promoting sleep, and curing anorexia and indigestion.

In Western medicine, lotus seeds are recommended for their nutritional value. Lotus seeds are high in protein, magnesium, potassium and phosphorus, while their saturated fat, sodium and cholesterol content is very low.

The beneficial micronutrients in lotus seeds help fight inflammation, so this is a healthy food, popular in daily menus and also in delicacies and parties.

Other ingredients such as lotus root, lotus shoot, lotus heart, lotus petals... are all used in cuisine . The sturdy lotus root buried in the mud, absorbing the nutrients of the soil, is considered a "miracle drug". The Japanese have known how to cherish the "miracle drug" hidden in the mud for a long time. The Vietnamese have only focused on exploiting lotus root in cuisine strongly in recent years, with delicious dishes that have been enhanced to a harmonious level of taste: lotus root jam, lotus root kimchi, lotus root stew, crispy fried lotus root snacks...

Lotus cuisine in Hue royal court

Royal cuisine is a symbol of the culinary quintessence of the capital, associated with the prosperity of the Nguyen Dynasty. Royal cuisine is not just the preparation of dishes but an art bearing the historical mark of the dynasty.

Hue royal cuisine is famous for the Eight Treasures complex, which includes rare delicacies: Cong spring rolls, Phuong sausage, bird's nest... and hundreds of dishes that awaken all 5 senses of the diners.

Lotus in the capital has a graceful beauty. The white and pink lotus in Tinh Tam Lake seem to be grown only for the palace. Lotus seeds from the lotus mirrors shimmering on the lake's surface have a special fragrant flavor compared to lotus from other places, partly due to the harmonious soil and climate.

Steamed rice in lotus leaves and lotus seed and longan sweet soup are two famous dishes in Hue royal cuisine. Steamed rice in lotus leaves must use lotus seeds from Tinh Tam lake, the same goes for rice wrapped in lotus leaves.

Steamed rice in lotus leaves is a beautiful and delicious dish, imitating a blooming lotus flower, showing off its full beauty with the precious things inside: sticky rice, fragrant lotus seeds, mixed with vegetables, shrimp, meat... to create a truly eye-catching lotus inside. Lotus seed longan sweet soup with the sweet taste of tea, watering the clear longan seeds, embracing the soft lotus seeds.

Delicious food from the land of lotus

I still remember my trip to An Giang not long ago. On the way back, our group stopped by a famous tourist area in Dong Thap Muoi.

Grilled snakehead fish in young lotus leaves — In 2022, Dong Thap province's grilled snakehead fish wrapped in young lotus leaves was voted into the top 100 most unique dishes in Vietnam by the Vietnam Record Institute - VietMaster - VietKing. Photo: internet

Walking on the wooden bridge stretching from the beginning of the alley and then walking across the lotus ponds, the city dwellers’ legs were already tired. As the people of the West jokingly say, Saigonese who come to this land, just wading through the lotus ponds for a bit makes them want to “lose their legs”.

Lotuses are endless. Immense lotuses. Lotuses that stretch as far as the eye can see. There are so many lotuses that standing on one side of the pond, one cannot see the other side because the lotus stems are so tall that they are as tall as the eye can see. The pink lotus flowers stand out against the green background of the leaves, and so they spread out to the horizon.

After admiring the lotus and taking pictures, the group was hungry and went to a leaf hut in the middle of the pond to rest. The tourist area staff showed off the grilled snakehead fish with young lotus leaves. Dozens of people exclaimed. Lotus leaves are edible? Of course, but they have to be young lotus leaves!

The fish dish was placed before the eyes, but we had to wait for the staff to light the fire. The straw burned, revealing several snakehead fish stuck along the bamboo tube, the fire burned black. The grilled fish was wrapped in old lotus leaves, and the staff struggled to bring it to the table.

The young, soft lotus shoots take up 2 parts of the dish of rustic vegetables: fragrant galangal leaves, young mango leaves, coc leaves, chiec leaves... with shredded green mango. The young lotus shoots are a bit tough but go well with the sweetness of the freshwater fish meat, dipped in a bowl of sweet and sour fish sauce, it brings out the rustic flavor, it fits the scene with the immense space filled with lotus scent.

At that time, I also learned about the crispy dried lotus root with pineapple jam and orange jam of the famous Tu Bong confectionery factory in Dong Thap Muoi. The strange snack with two slices of crispy dried lotus root slowly melting in the mouth, I realized that Vietnamese cuisine is a "treasure".

Summer with its blazing sun and misty rain alternates in each region. But rain or shine, lotus and lotus delicacies still silently treat people in their eternally simple and elegant way.

Source: https://baoquangnam.vn/mua-he-an-mon-tu-sen-3156742.html