【Jiangsu】Jianhu Lotus Root Rice Balls

Overview

Lotus root rice balls are probably the most regional snack in my hometown, or the most distinctive dessert. I have loved it since I was very young. The cooking method is exquisite and the finished product tastes smooth and sweet. It is said that this was an imperial dish of the Qing Dynasty. After an imperial chef of the Qing Dynasty retired and returned to his hometown, he brought the method of making lotus root starch dumplings back to the Huduo area of my hometown. Then this palace snack spread in Huduo to this day. If you have tried its taste and texture, you will definitely feel its delicacy and sophistication. It is well deserved as an imperial dish! There is a saying that meat balls, fish balls, and lotus root balls are used together in the same banquet, which means connecting three yuan. Lotus root balls also have a beautiful meaning: Couples are made in heaven, and good marriages are made forever... The taste of hometown always carries something that everyone traces back to their origins, and sometimes it can directly touch a certain point deep in a person's soul. It can warm and soothe the heart that is sometimes confused and overwhelmed! Let it be safe and sound in the love and warmth of delicious food! I feel that delicious food is no longer the best compliment for food that carries memories. The best compliment should be: Yes, that’s the taste!

Tags

• snacks
• huaiyang cuisine
• jiangsu and zhejiang snacks
• lard
• lotus root starch
• melon seeds
• orange cake
• sesame
• soft white sugar
• walnut

Ingredients

Steps

1. 1 Toast sesame seeds, walnuts, and melon seeds until fragrant, grind into powder, and sift.

   

2. 2 Chop the kumquat cake and add it to the sifted sesame and walnut powder.

   

3. 3 Add lard and make filling.

   

4. 4 Apply thin noodles on your hands, roll the stuffing into long strips, cut into small portions, and roll into balls.

   

5. 5 Put the kneaded small ingredients into the bamboo plaque, pour the lotus root starch into the bamboo plaque, and shake the bamboo plaque so that every filling is evenly coated with lotus root starch.

   

6. 6 Boil water in a pot. After the water boils, use a colander to hold the balls dipped in lotus root starch, put them into the pot of boiling water, scald them, and then pick them up.

   

7. 7 Continue to put it into the bamboo plaque, then pour in the lotus root starch, evenly coat the lotus root starch, then put it into the boiling water pot with a colander and blanch it, repeat this five times.

   

8. 8 Finally, bring a pot of water to a boil, put the prepared dumplings into the boiling water pot and cook. After boiling, stir in cold water and boil again until the lotus root starch dumplings float.

   

9. 9 Put a little sugar osmanthus in the bowl.

   

10. 10 Pour a little soup to dissolve the sweet-scented osmanthus, and put the lotus root starch balls into a bowl.