Prep: 2 hours
Cook: 30 minutes
Ingredients (serves 6):
200g dried lotus seeds
2250ml water
3 thin slices of ginger
80g pak hup (dried magnolia petals)
100g dried longans
5 pandan leaves, tied into a knot
180g rock sugar
1 1/2 tbsp water chestnut starch mixed with 50ml water
Method:
1. Soak dried lotus seeds in some water for 2 hours.
2. Soak the pak hup for 30 minutes.
3. Remove the bitter tasting stalk from the centre of the lotus seeds.
4. Place drained lotus seeds in a pan and add water and ginger slices. Bring to boil and simmer for about 15 minutes before adding the pak hup, dried longans and pandan leaves.
5. Boil for another 10 minutes and add rock sugar. Boil till the rock sugar dissolves.
6. Remove and discard pandan leaves.
7. Thicken with water chestnut starch solution.
Tips:
* Lotus seeds are sold shelled and dried. You can also buy vacuum-packed boiled lotus seeds from the wet market or supermarket. These usually come without the bitter tasting stalks. In TCM, lotus seeds are believed to "clear heat" and are nutritious and health restoring.
* Dried longans are rich in glucose, sucrose, protein, fatty acids, believed to increase red blood cells and prevent hair loss. From shops selling traditional Chinese medicine and at the dried goods section of supermarkets, there are 2 types. One is dark brown and sticks together - this has been sweetened with brown sugar. The slightly more expensive one is lighter coloured and does not darken the broth.
* Magnolia flower known as pak hup is pungent with warm properties and is good for treating stuffy nose, congestion, and sinus headaches. When cooked, it can be eaten.
* Water chestnut starch is also known as water chestnut flour or powder. A greyish powder, it thickens liquids and gives a beautiful sheen. It doesn't disperse in water as easily as cornflour.
Recipe source: Lifestyle magazine (Aug 2006)
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