STORY BEHIND THE RECIPE
My grandmother used to always prepare Lotus Root Sweet Soup with Fig and Honey Dates whenever we lost our appetites, because it is known as a 开胃汤 Kai Wei Tang (appetite enhancing nourishing soup), which is suitable for all ages; whether young or ‘young at heart’!
The soup has three main ingredients, and when combined, you get a powerful antioxidant-rich cooling soup to combat heatiness and promote balance in the body. That’s why I decided to cook this lotus root sweet soup as a herbal drink for my family!
TRICK OF THE TRADE
The three main ingredients all have superb healing properties:
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Lotus Root or 莲藕 Lian Ou is rich in Vitamin C and is an excellent source of dietary fibre. It also has a wide range of health benefits, like lowering cholesterol and blood pressure, boosting immune system, improving digestion, balancing mood swing, reducing depression etc.
In Asian cuisine, lotus root is frequently used for soup, or for deep-frying, stir frying or braising as a vegetable dish. In addition, it can also be served as a Cooling Herbal Tea or 凉茶 because its cooling properties help to reduce internal heatiness in the body, improve appetite as well as restore balance to the body.
Fig is sweet and juicy when ripe and it is a good source of fibre, magnesium, potassium (which helps lower blood pressure), calcium and vitamins. Not only that, figs (whether fresh or dried) also contain powerful antioxidants that help fight disease.
Dried Chinese Honey dates or 蜜枣 Mi Zhao are light brown in color and are used as sweeteners in traditional Chinese nourishing soup and herbal drinks. They are rich in iron and also have cooling properties.
WHAT I LIKE ABOUT THIS DISH
- The many health benefits! A great dish to help boost immunity and improve general health.
- It’s sweet in flavour, so kids will like it!
HOW TO MAKE LOTUS ROOT SWEET SOUP?
- Use a brush to scrub the lotus root well to get rid any mud.
- Wash the lotus root thoroughly. Cut away the joints (the hard parts in between the sections of the lotus root) and discard. Then slice the lotus root sections into thin slices.
- Remove the seeds from the red dates and rinse.
- Rinse the figs, honey dates and wolfberries.
- Add 2.5 litres of water to a pot and bring to a boil over high heat.
- Put in the lotus root slices, figs, honey dates and red dates, then continue to boil over medium heat for 40 minutes.
- Add in the wolfberries and boil for a further 10 minutes.
- Turn off the heat.The lotus root sweet soup is now ready to be served either hot and chilled.
COOKING TIPS
- Don’t wash the mud off if you are not cooking it straightaway. Leaving the mud on the lotus root will preserve its freshness when you keep in the fridge for a few days.
- Wrap the lotus root with newspaper before putting in the fridge to prevent dehydration.
- Soak the lotus root in cold water with a little vinegar to prevent the lotus root from turning brown after slicing.
- Add some rock sugar if you prefer the soup to be sweeter.
- Don’t eat raw lotus root as it may harbour parasites that are often found in aquatic plants (same goes for water chestnuts if they are not washed properly!). These parasites may cling on to our intestines and cause stomach ache, fever, vomiting, diarrhea, fever and intestinal discomfort. Cooking kills the parasites and makes them safe to consume.
- It does not matter whether you peel off the skin of the lotus root or not as long as it has been washed thoroughly. As for me I usually leave the skin on unless it has too many brown spots that look unpresentable.
HOW TO CHOOSE LOTUS ROOT?
- Choose a stout lotus root that is heavy and firm.
- Each section of the lotus root should be regularly shaped and straight.
- The color of the lotus root should be vibrant brown.
- Avoid lotus root that have bruises or dark soft spots on the skin or look dehydrated and too white.
- Buy Lotus roots coated with mud, that are sold at wet markets. I prefer to buy this type of lotus root if possible, as they are very fresh. The green grocer will usually scrap off some of the mud before weighing.
DIETARY MODIFICATIONS
- Egg-Free: No modifications needed.
- Fish-Free: No modifications needed.
- Gluten-Free: No modifications needed.
- Nut-Free: No modifications needed.
- Shellfish-Free: No modifications needed.
- Vegan: No modifications needed.
- Vegetarian: No modifications needed
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Lotus Root Sweet Soup with Figs and Honey Dates
Ingredients
- 250 g Lotus Root
- 20 g Wolfberries
- 6-8 Red Dates
- 6-7 Figs
- 4 Dried Chinese Honey Dates
- 2.5 litres Water
Instructions
PREPARATION METHOD
- Use a brush to scrub the lotus root well to get rid any mud.
- Wash the lotus root thoroughly. Cut away the joints (the hard parts in between the sections of the lotus root) and discard. Then slice the lotus root sections into thin slices.
- Remove the seeds from the red dates and rinse.
- Rinse the figs, honey dates and wolfberries.
COOKING METHOD
- Add 2.5 litres of water to a pot and bring to a boil over high heat.
- Add in the lotus root slices, figs, honey dates and red dates, then continue to boil over medium heat for 40 minutes.
- Add in the wolfberries and boil for a further 10 minutes.
- Turn off the heat.The lotus root sweet soup is now ready to be served either hot and chilled.
Notes
COOKING TIPS
- Don't wash the mud off if you are not cooking it straightaway. Leaving the mud on the lotus root will preserve its freshness when you keep in the fridge for a few days.
- Wrap the lotus root with newspaper before putting in the fridge to prevent dehydration.
- Soak the lotus root in cold water with a little vinegar to prevent the lotus root from turning brown after slicing.
- Add some rock sugar if you prefer the soup to be sweeter.
- Don't eat raw lotus root as it may harbour parasites that are often found in aquatic plants (same goes for water chestnuts if they are not washed properly!). These parasites may cling on to our intestines and cause stomach ache, fever, vomiting, diarrhea, fever and intestinal discomfort. Cooking kills the parasites and makes them safe to consume.
- It does not matter whether you peel off the skin of the lotus root or not as long as it has been washed thoroughly. As for me I usually leave the skin on unless it has too many brown spots that look unpresentable.
HOW TO CHOOSE LOTUS ROOT?
- Choose a stout lotus root that is heavy and firm.
- Each section of the lotus root should be regularly shaped and straight.
- The color of the lotus root should be vibrant brown.
- Avoid lotus root that have bruises or dark soft spots on the skin or look dehydrated and too white.
- Buy Lotus roots coated with mud, that are sold at wet markets. I prefer to buy this type of lotus root if possible, as they are very fresh. The green grocer will usually scrap off some of the mud before weighing.