Lotus Root with Sticky Rice & Gewurztraminer
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Lotus Root with Sticky Rice & Gewurztraminer
While the lotus flowers symbolize purity and beauty in Chinese literature, the root is a versatile component in many Chinese dishes. It boasts of many nutrients - high in dietary fiber, vitamins C and B, and a good amount of important minerals, lotus root is healthy and popular.
Today, I’m going to show you how to make a classic appetizer: Lotus Root with Sticky Rice (桂花糯米藕).
The story:
This dish prevails in Southern China, particularly in Jiangsu, Zhengjiang, and Shanghai. I love it all year round but prefer serving it slightly warm in the winter. The lotus root loses most of its crunchiness in this recipe, turning into a tender texture. It is not an overly sweet dish so don’t worry even if you don’t have a sweet tooth like me!
The food:
Not to scare you off, this preparation takes a lot of patience, but I promise you it is well worth the effort! It might not be a choice that you want to cook on a weekday as the stuffing part takes quite a bit time - it does feel quite therapeutic to me. Some of the ingredients may look unfamiliar to you but they should be easily found in your local Chinese or Asian markets, or I can suggest some replacements. It is a great starter course to impress your guests!
Directions:
Ingredients:
1 lotus root (try to select the straight, short and fat segments)
½ cup sticky/sweet/glutinous rice
80g brown sugar (or white sugar, but you will lose the brown color)
20g white sugar
Handful of Chinese rock sugar (optional)
2 dates (optional)
10 goji berries (optional)
2 tablespoons osmanthus syrup (or honey)
Handful of dried osmanthus flowers (optional)
Note: the amount of ingredients depends on how large your lotus root is, yet you don’t need to be precise, the sweetness is easy to adjust at any point. Goji berries and osmanthus can also be added to tea if you have some left.
Instructions:
Rinse the rice and soak with warm water for at least 2 hours or overnight, so that it’s easier to cook through and it creates a better mouthfeel.
Peel the lotus root, cut ~1.5 inches from the fatter end to serve as a lid later on.
Stuff the root and try to fill up all the tubes with the rice, use a chopstick (or straw) or shake the lotus root to help pushing down. Do leave some space at the end as the rice will expand during cooking. Cover the lid with some toothpicks. (This is the time-consuming part, I like to do it while chatting to my friends or turn on Netflix lol!).
Use a small pot and put the stuffed lotus root in, pour enough water to cover your root; Add the dates, goji berries and brown and rock sugar, medium heat bring to boil; Then low heat and cook for ~2 hours until tender, flip several times. If you are not sure if it’s ready, take a chopstick and see if it can stick through (Try not to use a big pot as you need more water that will dilute the flavors).
Make the sauce: take a saucepan, add 1 cup of water from your pot; add white sugar and osmanthus syrup, low heat and simmer until sticky/thick (You may skip this step and just drizzle osmanthus syrup or honey on the lotus root)
Transfer the lotus root to a cutting board and let it cool down for a while. Open the lid, cut into thick slices, drizzle osmanthus syrup sauce or honey on top of the cut. Decorate with some dried osmanthus flowers.
Serve warm on cold days, or leave in the fridge for a couple of hours if you prefer it that way. Both are delicious!
The wine:
Clif Family Gewürztraminer 2018. With notes of candied lemon, jasmine, rose petal, clove, and honeysuckle, this dry Gewürztraminer shows off a burst of fruit and spice, followed by a rich, textured mid-palate and a backbone of acidity, lifted by captivating floral notes. The wine finishes luscious and long.
Not a fan of Gewürztraminer? Rosé or Torrontés would also make a perfect pairing with this dish. The key is the alluring floral notes on the nose with a non-overwhelming palate.
Clif Family Gewürztraminer 2018
The pairing:
If I can use only one word to describe, it’s going to be floral. The subtle sweetness of this dish certainly brings flowers to mind. The lotus root texture is tender and chewy, the glutinous rice tastes gooey and infused with a nice aroma from the lotus root itself, the osmanthus has a sweet, luscious and refreshing touch. All go hand in hand with the floral, aromatic and pleasant Gewürztraminer!
Enjoy! Do let me know if you get a chance to try it out yourself at home!