Lotus longan tea
If you are a fan of sweet soup, lotus longan sweet soup is a gift from lotus in the summer that you should not miss. This snack is considered the quintessence of Vietnamese cuisine. This dish is made from lotus seeds, has the effect of nourishing the mind, calming the nerves and cooling the body, so lotus sweet soup becomes a favorite dish in the summer. Depending on the preferences and regional characteristics, each place has its own way of preparing it such as lotus sweet soup with aloe vera, lotus sweet soup with purple sweet potato, lotus sweet soup with snow fungus, lotus sweet soup with red beans... but the most delicious and popular is probably lotus sweet soup with longan.
To make this dish, fresh lotus seeds must be peeled, core removed, then cooked over low heat until soft. After boiling the sugar water, continue to add lotus seeds and cook over low heat until absorbed, then skillfully stuff the lotus seeds into the longan pulp that has been separated from the seeds, boil the lotus water again and put it into the pot. It is that simple, so lotus sweet soup can be made at home.
In Hanoi, if you want to enjoy this authentic lotus sweet soup, you can visit some sweet soup shops on Hang Can and To Hien Thanh streets. If you have the opportunity to travel to Hue, you should also try lotus sweet soup at Tinh Tam lake, located near the Imperial Citadel.
Lotus jam
Another sweet dish made from lotus seeds is lotus jam. You don't have to wait until summer to enjoy lotus jam because this is a snack, especially appreciated during Tet, made from dried lotus seeds. The process of making lotus jam is quite elaborate because not only soaking and boiling, dried lotus seeds also need to be simmered until soft but still ensure the seeds are intact, not broken, then soak in cold water and take out to drain. After that, marinate the lotus with sugar in a 1:1 ratio until the sugar dissolves; continue to filter the marinated sugar water and simmer until it thickens, then pour in the lotus seeds, stir well until the sugar sticks to the lotus seeds in a white layer.
Lotus jam is considered one of Hanoi's specialties, so many Southern visitors to Hanoi often stop by Hang Duong and Hang Dieu streets to buy lotus jam as gifts. Not only delicious, each jam seed is like a white pearl that gathers the quintessence of Hanoi cuisine. Behind the sweetness of the sugar coating is the cool, nutty taste of lotus seeds, sipping a sip of fragrant tea will make people love Hanoi's summer even more.
Steamed rice in lotus leaves
Steamed rice in lotus leaves is a dish that can be considered “beautiful in both appearance and sound” because of its beautiful appearance and delicious, unique flavor. With the appearance of a blooming lotus flower, inside there is fragrant rice, this is truly a dish that is hard to refuse when visitors come to vegetarian restaurants in the ancient capital of Hue.
To make a delicious and beautiful "lotus", the "pistil" must have all the ingredients including rice, lotus seeds, carrots, shiitake mushrooms, radishes, carrots, tofu... After being pre-processed and seasoned, everything is wrapped in lotus leaves and steamed to preserve the natural aroma and color.
When enjoying, diners use a sharp knife to cut along the leaf to create a beautiful round shape and get the spreading fragrance. The sticky taste of rice, the sweet taste of nuts and vegetables, tubers, and fruits are imbued with the lotus scent, making those who eat it once remember it forever. Perhaps only when summer comes, when the lotus blooms, visitors to Hue have the opportunity to enjoy this elegant but very sophisticated dish.
Lotus root salad
Lotus root salad is a very familiar dish of Vietnamese people, very suitable in summer thanks to its cool sweet and sour taste.
Depending on each person's taste, lotus root is combined with many different ingredients, creating unique flavors for each dish such as lotus root salad with shrimp and meat or lotus root with pig's ear... The secret of this dish lies in the salad dressing made from fish sauce, vinegar, lemon, chili, garlic... seasoned to suit the taste. During lotus season, most restaurants serve lotus root salad to tourists. You can eat it with other stir-fried or grilled dishes to make it less boring and easier to eat.
Lotus tea
Lotus tea can be considered a summer specialty made from lotus. To make a drink imbued with the flavor of morning dew, lotus growers have to go through many stages that require meticulousness and carefulness.
To infuse tea, lotus flowers must be picked before dawn while still covered in night dew, only large, bright pink flowers are selected. First, people separate the white "rice grains" attached to the yellow stamens of the lotus. A kilo of tea must use at least 1,000 lotus flowers to infuse. Each layer of tea will be sprinkled with a layer of rice, and finally a layer of paper. Each infusion is followed by a drying process, repeating this process 5-7 times continuously. Thanks to this, the lotus scent is tightly interwoven in each fragrant tea leaf.
However, the way of enjoying tea is the most quintessential and attractive thing about lotus tea. Therefore, every summer, lotus ponds along West Lake (Hanoi) are bustling with visitors coming to take photos, admire lotus and enjoy tea in the breeze. Each pot of lotus tea costs from 30,000 to 50,000 VND depending on the type and pond. The clear tea water and the faint lotus scent make the hot summer atmosphere cooler.
