Lotus, a good ingredient to cook many tasty great dishes

In the ancient imperial city of Huế, rice lotus and porridge of lotus seeds wrapped in longan, were a favoured offering as a special dish to the Kings.

Lotus has been playing an important role in Việt Nam’s cultural spirituality, but the lotus’ flowers, seeds and roots can also be used as key ingredients to cook many tasty dishes.

The dishes include old green sticky rice with lotus seeds (xôi cốm sen), duck steamed with lotus seeds, pig’s leg stewed with lotus root soup, lotus root salad, lotus seed wrapped in longan sweet soup and chicken stewed with lotus seed porridge.

In the ancient imperial city of Huế, rice lotus and porridge of lotus seeds wrapped in longan, were a favoured offering as a special dish to the Kings. Now steamed green sticky rice with lotus seeds is considered one of Hà Nội’s most elegant tasty dishes, said Hanoian Nguyễn Thị Khánh.

Ingredients to make the dish include green beans, dried old sticky rice (locally known as cốm già) and lotus seeds which create the characteristic flavour, making the dish more special, said Khánh, adding that the dish has been chosen to cook at Vu Lan festival (middle seven lunar month) to express sincere thanks to ancestors, dead grandparents and parents.

Green beans are soaked in warm water for two hours then cooked until they are soft, mix them with sugar, ground the paste and fry it over light fire. Let it cool and mix it with done-to-a-turn sticky rice mixed with lotus seeds. It is often topped with coconut threads.

Another speciality, bright yellow mung beans combined with the light white-yellow colour of lotus seeds, a really joyful dish, said Liên, noting that this xôi cốm has a light sweet taste from lotus seeds, is fragrantly soft from green rice, combined with the nutty flavour from mung beans and buttery fat from coconut threads.

Meanwhile, Đinh Hồng Tuyến in Hà Nội’s Ba Vì District said lotus season lasts from May to September, while the remaining months are used to plant and tend the lotus.

Tuyến also raises barb fish in his lotus pond. “During lotus season, I often invite my relatives and friends to my house to enjoy barb fish steamed with young lotus leaves.”

Chose a fish that is fat and big, about 2-3 kilo and cut it into three or four pieces. Spread a layer of lemongrass in the bottom of a pot, put the barb on it, soak this in several tablespoons of quality soy sauce, then top it with young lotus leaves, Tuyến told Việt Nam News, adding that it should be cooked over small fire for 20-25 minutes.

“Your mouth will be watering when smelling the great fragrant from the pot. It is really enjoyable because of powdery sweet from young lotus leaves has a unique slightly bitter flavour,” he said, noting that he and his friends often accompany the dish with traditional wine (locally known as rượu cuốc lủi) soaked with young lotus seeds and lotus seed-pods.

Tuyến said during lotus season, his family also earns between VNĐ5-6 million a month from visitors checking in his lotus pond, siting on boat to pick lotus flowers and immersing themselves among the blooms to take a photo, ending the visit with a dish made from lotus.

“Then we can all relax with a cup of lotus tea and bring home several packages of traditional medicines such as dried old lotus leaves which is said to be very effective in dealing with bad cholesterol and triglyceride,” recalled one visitor Đặng Văn Hùng.