Home » Additives, Ingredients

Lotus Seeds

31 December 2008 14,195 views 8 Comments

Ingredient Name: Lotus Seeds
Traditional Chinese Name: (lián zi)
What is this?
  • Dried lotus seeds (also known as lotus nuts) are the interior of the lotus plant
  • There are two types of commercial lotus seeds:  Brown peel (pictured above) or white (pictured below)
  • They are usually cored or split in half in order to remove the bitter tasting germ of the seed
  • Lotus seeds are most commonly used in soups or Chinese desserts

How do I prepare it?

  • You will need to wash the seeds prior to usage
  • Soak the seeds in warm water for at least an hour (although some people will prefer to soak them overnight)

Where can I buy this?

  • It is rare to purchase fresh lotus seeds
  • You can purchase lotus seeds from either Asian supermarkets in packages, or from speciality stores in bulk

What is the cost?

  • A bag is relatively affordable, coming in at around $2.00 CAD / 14 oz

Any benefits?

  • Lotus seeds are said to relieve heatiness
  • They are nutritous, low in fat and restorative to one’s health
  • In additiona, lotus seeds benefit the heart, spleen and kidneys
  • Some people will consume lotus seeds to help relieve symptoms of diarrhea and improve appetite
  • Traditionally, lotus seeds are associated with weddings as the Chinese words mean “continuous sons” and therefore represent the continuation of succession in the family

Any precautions?

  • Lotus seeds should not be consumed by people who are constipated
  • Many lotus seeds have been bleached with perioxide, so be wary of super white lotus seeds

For Chinese desserts, this is a must have for all kitchens.  In soups, it’s a semi-must have.




1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
Loading ... Loading ...

8 Comments »

Leave your response!

Add your comment below, or trackback from your own site. You can also subscribe to these comments via RSS.

Be nice. Keep it clean. Stay on topic. No spam.

You can use these tags:
<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>

This is a Gravatar-enabled weblog. To get your own globally-recognized-avatar, please register at Gravatar.