In lotus season, the pink color mixed with yellow pistils and green leaves makes Hue even more beautiful and poetic. The cuisine of the ancient capital of Vietnam this season is also rich with countless famous, elaborate dishes such as lotus rice, lotus jam, lotus cake... Among them, lotus root stuffed with sticky rice has existed for a long time. However, nowadays, not many people sell this snack anymore.
By chance, she enjoyed the sweet taste of lotus root stuffed with sticky rice at a small shop on Nguyen Trai Street. Ms. Hoang Yen, a native of Hue, said that this is a rare shop that still makes and preserves the traditional flavor of this dish.
Although it is a rustic dish, lotus root stuffed with sticky rice and beans requires a lot of meticulousness and patience from the maker, from the stage of choosing the lotus root to the process of stuffing the beans and sticky rice. It takes a lot of effort to wade through the water to bring the pure white lotus root to the shore, the women have to choose the best ones before processing. Ms. Yen shared that the lotus root is chosen to be large, soft, and sweet enough. If it is too young, it will be hard to eat, and if it is too old, it will have a lot of fibers.
The elongated lotus roots are washed, the ends are cut off, and the soaked glutinous rice and beans are gradually stuffed until they fill the hollow tubes in the root. Then, the ends of the lotus roots must be pinned with toothpicks before being cooked. The sophistication and meticulousness of this rustic dish lies not only in the skillful process of stuffing the glutinous rice and beans to fill the hollow tubes in the lotus roots, but also in the cooking process, which requires boiling over a wood stove for 5-6 hours, until the glutinous rice in the roots is cooked and fully expanded.
Her lotus root stuffed with sticky rice stall on Nguyen Trai Street is small and simple, but always crowded with customers. On the iron tray are only long, honey-colored lotus roots, neatly and cleanly arranged by her.
When a customer came to buy, she peeled and cut the lotus root into small, bite-sized pieces. Looking at each slice, you could immediately see the softness and suppleness of this dish through the thin, white threads that stuck to the knife blade connecting the slices.
With a full range of flavors, including chewy, fragrant, sweet, and rich, the Hue-style lotus root stuffed with sticky beans is a clever combination of crispy, sweet lotus root in a deep layer of mud, stuffed inside with soft, rich green beans and pure white sticky rice grains, soaked in the sunlight of vast fields.
In particular, when enjoying, diners will dip it with caramelized sugar, which helps to enhance the sweetness and aroma of the lotus root stuffed with sticky beans. “In addition to selling lotus root stuffed with sticky beans, I also sell lotus root jam. Caramelized sugar is the remaining sugar after making jam,” said Ms. Yen.
Lotus root stuffed with glutinous bean is a seasonal dish, usually only sold from June to the end of September of the lunar calendar. Although this dish is no longer widely available in Hue, anyone who has tried it must nod in agreement that the way of eating and drinking lotus in Hue is truly elaborate and meticulous to preserve the elegant and sweet flavor of lotus.
