Steamed Lotus Root Stuffed with Sweet Sticky Rice
Chinese name: 桂花糯米藕 (guì huā nuò mǐ ǒu)Style: Zhejiang Cuisine
Characteristics: The Steamed Lotus Root Stuffed with Sweet Sticky Rice smells aromatic and tastes sweet. After being steamed for around an hour, the lotus root becomes sufficiently soft. With jujubes and Chinese wolfberries added, the dish enjoys better flavor, and the soup is especially delicious and nutritious.
The dish is a famous snack in the southern part of Yangtze River. Using sticky/glutinous rice, which is called Nuo Mi in southern China and Jiang Mi in north part of the country, Chinese dates, brown sugar, and rock sugar as ingredients, the dish tastes quite savory and sweet. In many places this dish is regarded as an appetizer. Due to the intensely sweet flavor, it is loved by kids; as it is soft and nutritious, seniors are also fond of it. Let's explore the recipe of the dish below to grasp the regular cooking method:
Ingredients:lotus root, 300-400g; sticky rice, about 200g; 3-6 jujubes; rock sugar, 15-20g; brown sugar, 30-45g; Chinese wolfberries, 10g. Note: The amount of the ingredients above can be appropriately used according to one's personal taste. |
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Preparation:1. Clean and peel the lotus root. Cut off 3-4cm of the end, and keep it as lid. 2. Soak the sticky rice in a bowl or small basin for about 2 hours for further use. |
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Methods:
| STEP 1 Stuff the prepared sticky rice into the lotus root. Push the rice into the lotus root with chopsticks and make sure all holes of it are efficiently stuffed. Fasten the lid with 2-3 toothpicks. |
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| STEP 2 Pour cold water into a pressure cooker, adding just enough water to submerge the lotus root. Add in jujubes, brown sugar, rock sugar, and Chinese wolfberries in sequence. Then put in the processed lotus root. Steam the mixture for 50-60 minutes over high heat. |
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| STEP 3 Pick out the lotus root with a colander, leaving the soup being simmered for another a quarter of an hour over moderate heat. Properly drain off the water and wait for a while until the lotus root is not very hot. Slice it and service on an exquisite plate. Turn off the heat. Sprinkle some soup/sauce which was simmering earlier on the slices. Now the Steamed Lotus Root Stuffed with Sweet Sticky Rice is done. Cannot wait to have a taste? |
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Tips:
1. Do choose the lotus root which has complete ends and plump body.
2. The cooked glutinous rice will expand, so don't completely stuff the lotus root. Otherwise, the lotus root may be too fragile to slice.
3. It is best to cool down the dish for a while before slicing.
4. To improve the flavor, it is also possible to add some sweet-scented osmanthus honey on the slices. The Chinese name of the dish is right named after the sweet-scented osmanthus.
Nutrition Value
Sticky/Glutinous Rice: As the main ingredient of recipes for cooking Zongzi, a traditional food for the Dragon Boat Festival, and Eight Treasures Porridge, it contains protein, fat, calcium, phosphorus, and vitamin, which may improve the spleen and nourish the stomach. For those who has poor appetite or suffer from abdominal distension or diarrhea, consumption of some glutinous rice may help.
