Lotus seed sweet soup with longan from Hue - sweet taste of the ancient capital

Hue's lotus seed sweet soup with longan is famous far and wide, and has been featured in many pages of literature and poetry. Those who are far away from home miss it so much, those who have not known Hue yet wish to return to Hue during lotus and longan season to enjoy a bowl of fragrant lotus seed sweet soup with a delicate sweetness. Once eaten, it is remembered forever, and cannot be forgotten.

June of the lunar calendar is the season of fresh lotus in Hue, and also longan. In the South, there are also lotus seeds, but why is only Hue's lotus seed dessert famous? Perhaps it is because Hue has Tinh Tam Lake, which grows lotus seeds for fragrant seeds. The famous Tinh Tam Lake lotus also comes from here.

Longan-wrapped lotus seed sweet soup is a popular dish in Hue, but depending on the presentation, it almost becomes a different class. Noble families, when eating longan-wrapped lotus seed sweet soup, often use precious bowls, kings have gold-covered bowls, officials have silver-covered bowls or antique bowls... That is why longan-wrapped lotus seed sweet soup becomes extremely valuable. For Hue families, when cooking longan-wrapped lotus seed sweet soup, Hue people always choose the most beautiful bowls their family has to scoop the lotus seed sweet soup. The preciousness is not only because lotus seed sweet soup is nutritious and cool, but also because of the elaborate way of cooking longan-wrapped lotus seed sweet soup in Hue.

When talking about traditional Hue dishes, Doctor of Philosophy Thai Kim Lan said that behind a Hue dish is the image of thousands of mothers, aunts, grandmothers... That is the inheritance of experience. Like today, when talking about the lotus seed sweet soup wrapped in longan of ancient Hue, if my mother did not explain in detail as above, even if I could cook a pot of lotus seed sweet soup wrapped in longan, the flavor of ancient Hue would "fade several times"...

When researching Hue cuisine, Dr. Thai Kim Lan concluded that "Hue women cook delicious food because... they love their husbands": "Love their husbands, cook le le porridge. Cook ly flower soup, cook lotus seed sweet soup". This saying is so true for lotus seed sweet soup wrapped in longan. Because of love, because of thinking about the diners, Hue women do not mind the hard work, the effort from choosing lotus seeds, choosing longan from the Citadel, then buying rock sugar to cook.

The processing stage is a meticulous process. Peel the fresh lotus seeds, remove all the lotus heart to avoid bitterness. Then steam the lotus seeds. Peel the longan, use a knife (a sharp knife that old women used to split areca nuts to chew betel) to carefully separate the seeds so that the longan pulp does not split in half, only then will the lotus seeds look beautiful when put in.

Just thinking about having to peel hundreds of longans like that, impatient and impatient people just want to peel the longans... and eat them quickly. But that's not all, to have a bowl of lotus seed sweet soup with longan in clear water, the longan flesh still retains its crunchiness, cooking rock sugar also has a technique, you have to cook the rock sugar over low heat, when the sugar melts, add the lotus seeds wrapped in longan, and keep an eye on the low heat so that the lotus seeds absorb the sugar... A bowl of lotus seed sweet soup with longan in only has about ten seeds, the sweet soup is scooped into beautifully shaped bowls, the color of the tea is clear, the lotus seeds wrapped in longan are like golden longan fruits, lying peacefully next to each other. Looking at the bowl of sweet soup, you can see the heart of the cook, and the depth of culinary art of Hue women.

A bowl of lotus seed sweet soup wrapped in longan, it is not easy for you to have the opportunity to taste. Because this sweet soup requires a lot of work, it is only prepared in noble families. Hopefully you will have the chance to enjoy lotus seed sweet soup wrapped in longan in Hue in a Kim Long garden house with the sound of cicadas chirping under an old longan tree.

Thank you for choosing iguide.ai to accompany your exciting experience!