Unique products in life from lotus

Not only growing lotus to scent tea, under the skillful hands of artisans and the hard work of scientists , lotus also brings many extremely unique products. Typically, lotus silk of Hanoi artisan Phan Thi Thuan has become a special product known to many international friends...

If you come to Hanoi on a windy early autumn day, the gift that no one can miss is a package of fragrant green rice from Vong village, wrapped in a dry sticky rice straw, wrapped in a dark fresh lotus leaf. When you open it and inhale, you can see the whole autumn sky of Hanoi.

On a hot summer day like this, you can enjoy cool longan and lotus seed sweet soup at any small roadside sweet soup shop. Hanoi's Old Quarter has many delicious sweet soup shops, and even if the shop imports all kinds of sweet soup from Hue, Da Nang , Saigon or even Thailand, you will still receive a bowl of sweet soup made from very simple ingredients such as lotus seeds, longan, and rock sugar from the hands of an old lady with white hair, freckled skin, and a soft voice with a typical "original" Hanoi accent.

The sweet soup shops on Hang Can or Gia Ngu streets today are still being “worded” by young people online as the best traditional sweet soup shops in the old quarter, partly thanks to the characteristic fragrant flavor of lotus seeds, the moderate sweetness and toughness of longan fruit, and the traditional cooking method that creates a unique flavor that is hard to confuse. This dish also shows the ingenuity, meticulousness and elaborate trimming skills of the industrious Hanoi girls of the past when the lotus seeds are inserted into the longan fruit in a round, delicate way through just a small gap…

These are just a few of the foods that come from the lotus plant, because according to statistics, artisans have processed up to 200 dishes and drinks with the main ingredients from lotus such as lotus root, lotus shoot, lotus seed, lotus leaf, lotus heart... Lotus is an endless source of inspiration for home and professional chefs to create new dishes, a special plant because from lotus leaves, lotus shoots, lotus root, lotus seed to lotus heart all have their own applications in cuisine and medicine. Famous dishes made from lotus include lotus seed tea, lotus jam, lotus flower tea, lotus heart tea, longan tea, lotus leaf rice...; in which, the most luxurious and sophisticated are lotus leaf rice and longan lotus seed tea, two dishes favored by kings and nobles in the past.

Steamed rice in lotus leaves is cooked from high-quality, round, beautiful rice grains and the freshest lotus seeds. To decorate and enhance the flavor of the rice dish, people add fried tofu, vegetarian shrimp, vegetarian ham, snow peas, shiitake mushrooms, carrots or cinnamon ham, ham, chicken eggs, char siu... a little of each. The chef delicately stir-fries the ingredients separately and then places them on the rice, wrapped in lotus leaves so that the flavor of the leaves permeates each grain of rice. Steamed rice in lotus leaves is the pinnacle of the art of "eating with the eyes" of royal cuisine.

Fresh lotus seeds - a cool, nutritious delicacy.

Another special dish made from lotus that cannot be missed is lotus root. The tender, sweet and fragrant lotus root melts in your mouth and is often used in salads such as shrimp and meat salad, seafood salad, vegetarian salad or stir-fried dishes... Dishes made from lotus root will have a crispy and sweet taste combined with a spicy and sour sauce that will create extremely flavorful dishes, loved by many people, popular in many regions and present from family meals to luxurious banquets...

If cuisine has been the traditional value of the lotus for hundreds of years, in modern life, the lotus has brought much greater value. Under the talented hands of artisans, the lotus life offers people many unique and useful products. Once coming to the Hue Traditional Craft Festival, I also saw lotus wine, lotus paintings, lotus leaf hats, lotus scarves, lotus fans, etc. And the lotus under the talented hands of Hanoi artisans also gives many other unique products.

Lotus mask - product of Soc Son Medicinal Herbs Conservation and Development Cooperative.

Ms. Nguyen Thanh Tuyen, Deputy Executive Director of Soc Son Medicinal Plant Conservation and Development Cooperative, shared: "The lotus is one of the plants that does not waste anything, from the stem, leaves, tubers, flowers... If we know how to take advantage of it and apply techniques in preparation and preservation, it will produce extremely valuable products. After 2 years of hard work, we have made efforts to introduce many other unique products such as lotus pollen processed into drinks, lotus masks made from lotus rice and aloe vera, which are very good for nourishing smooth skin for women. Through trial production and internal circulation, lotus beauty products are highly effective, and these products are currently being sent to the authorities for testing and quality certification."

In particular, with a 100% organic growing process, Bach Diep lotus leaves are green, thick, and have a characteristic aroma, which are purchased by cooperatives and medicinal enterprises to make Thanh An tea, a type of tea that effectively reduces blood fat and helps lose weight. Hopefully, in the near future, lotus beauty and health care products will become more popular...

And one of the people who has elevated the lotus tree to a higher level and applied it to life with unique silk products woven from lotus silk, bearing the soul of the nation, is artisan Phan Thi Thuan (in Phung Xa commune, My Duc district).

Talking about her relationship with lotus silk, Ms. Thuan recalled: "In 2016, National Assembly delegate Tran Thi Quoc Khanh came to My Duc to find people to join her in a research project on weaving silk from lotus silk. I was both happy and worried, because this was an opportunity for me to unleash my creativity and if successful, I would bring the soul of Vietnamese lotus into each piece of silk, bringing it to all five continents. But I was worried because lotus is not available in all seasons and to get lotus silk is a difficult process, requiring meticulous, skillful techniques and a lot of effort."

The National Flower Treasure painting was made from lotus silk by artisan Phan Thi Thuan.

But with determination and love for silk, especially the noble flower that symbolizes the nation, by the end of 2017, artisan Phan Thi Thuan successfully researched lotus silk and woven lotus silk into silkworms. Also in that year, lotus silk was allowed by the State to be included in a national research project chaired by Professor Dr. Nguyen Duy Chuyen. Artisan Phan Thi Thuan was the one who carried out the project and hoped for the success of lotus silk. By 2018, the first silk woven from 100% lotus silk was born and marked the success in her life of "spinning and weaving silk".

To make a scarf about 1.7m long, it takes about 4,800 lotus stems and a lot of effort. In addition to harvesting in the lotus growing area, Ms. Thuan and her colleagues also personally collect the leftover lotus stems in the ponds, bring them back to wash, drain, and classify the lotus stems (leaf stalks, flower stalks, lotus bud stalks, etc.) to make it easier to extract the silk and spin it, and weave lotus silk before mobilizing the collection and instructing people to extract lotus silk as raw materials for My Duc Mulberry Silk Company Limited.

Only then will a perfect, environmentally friendly product be created that is durable, soft and airy from lotus silk… Products made from lotus silk can be made into many different products, of which the most popular are scarves. Since its inception, lotus silk has created a buzz throughout the country. In 2019, these scarves were brought by the Vietnamese Government delegation to the G20 Summit as gifts for international friends.

Lotus silk scarf - a gift loved by international friends.

Lotus silk pillow - precious wedding gift.

The joy of this year’s lotus season is that artisan Phan Thi Thuan has received many new valuable orders, especially orders from agencies and organizations as gifts during international visits. Even happier is that an American billionaire personally ordered Ms. Thuan to make a pair of wedding pillows from lotus silk. Products made from lotus silk have crossed the ocean to many international friends. Ms. Thuan hopes that in the near future, products made from lotus silk will also be known, loved, and trusted by more Vietnamese people.

Talking to reporters of Hanoi Moi Newspaper, artisan Phan Thi Thuan said: "With experience in consulting on the development of lotus products for many localities, I increasingly realize the value of lotus plants. If we invest in brainpower, technology, and passion, we will increasingly be chosen by consumers.

There is no shortage of raw materials to make lotus silk, My Duc as well as many other suburban areas have a lot of them. If we can build technology and apply techniques to production, I believe that lotus silk products will become more popular, becoming a typical gift of the capital, which anyone who comes here once will want to own.

“
Farmers in the capital have to work hard, work with high intellectual content, we need to build raw material areas associated with processing, develop into a value chain, the lotus is not only a symbol of the nobility and quintessence of the nation, in some corners it is also a source of full meals, warm clothes, prosperity, and enrichment for our people...
- Artist PHAN THI THUAN -

Ms. Thuan’s sharing has been sympathized by many people, especially farmers in low-lying suburban areas who grow rice with low productivity. Many people, supported by local authorities, have converted rice into lotus, forming specialized lotus growing areas that not only create beautiful landscapes but also improve their lives and the environment…

Lesson 1: WEST LAKE LOTUS - A GIFT FROM A HUNDRED YEARS
Lesson 2: "FATE" WITH MANY NEW LANDS