Lotus Seed Paste

莲蓉馅

If you have time, you should prepare your own lotus seed paste as there are no additives and preservatives. You can also adjust the sweetness to your liking. The paste can be used as filling in mooncakes or steamed buns. Below recipe is adapted from this blog. 

Ingredients:

100g dried white lotus seeds (without brown skin)

50g sugar

20g maltose

4 tablespoon pork lard

Method:

1. Soak the dried lotus seeds in water for a few hours or overnight, then remove the core (green center, which is bitter).

2. Put the seeds in a pot and add sufficient water to cover the seeds. Bring to boil, then lower heat and simmer until the lotus seeds are soft. This takes about 30 minutes. Reserve the cooking water for step 3 below.

3. Drain and mash the seeds through a sieve while hot. Alternatively, use the blender to puree the seeds. Add the cooking water, one tablespoon at a time to the mashed/pureed lotus seed until you get a smooth texture.

3. Heat up the wok with pork lard. Transfer the mashed lotus paste to a wok, add sugar and maltose pork lard and stir fry the paste over low heat for 2-3 minutes. 

4. Then add the sugar and maltose, and continue to stir fry the paste until it is half dry. Finally, add the maltose and keep stir frying until the paste is easily foldable and does not stick to the wok. Remove from heat and leave to cool completely.