🌿 Folk Prescriptions

Folk saying goes: "Lotus root is a treasure from lotus plant, and autumn lotus root is the most nourishing." Autumn is the harvest season for lotus roots. Lotus root has a sweet taste and is rich in starch, protein, vitamin C and B1, as well as inorganic salts such as calcium, phosphorus, and iron. The flesh of lotus root is easy to digest and suitable for people of all ages to nourish their bodies. Raw lotus root has a cold nature and can clear heat, relieve irritability, cool blood, stop bleeding, and dissipate stasis; cooked lotus root has a warm nature and can tonify the heart, generate blood, nourish strength, and strengthen the spleen and stomach. The joints between lotus root segments contain about 2% tannins and asparagine, giving them stronger hemostatic and astringent effects than fresh lotus root, and they can also detoxify crab poison. The flowers, leaves, stems, tendrils, seed heads, seeds, and seed hearts of lotus root each have unique therapeutic effects and can be used medicinally.
Lotus root flesh is sweet, crisp, and tender. Common cooking methods include stewing with meat, stir-frying (vegetarian or meat-based). Here are several less common ways to enjoy lotus root:
1. Mung Bean-Stuffed Lotus Root. Take two sections of lotus root and fill the holes with mung beans and an appropriate amount of rock sugar. Soak the mung beans for 3 hours, then pack them into the lotus root holes. Add rock sugar and water as needed, then cook until soft. Consume together with the broth. It helps relieve summer heat and eye redness and pain.
2. Lotus Root Threads Cake. Cut 1000 grams of fresh lotus root into threads after peeling, mix with 200 grams of glutinous rice flour, spread evenly in a steamer, sprinkle with 10 grams each of chopped plum, melon seeds, and cherries. Steam over high heat for 20 minutes. After cooling, cut into rectangular slices, place on a plate, and sprinkle with sugar before eating. This cake is sweet, soft, and chewy, offering benefits such as strengthening the spleen, stimulating appetite, nourishing yin, generating body fluids, and stopping bleeding.
3. Lotus Root Porridge. Boil 100 grams of glutinous rice with 200 grams of sliced lotus root until cooked, then add sugar to taste. Suitable for elderly individuals with weak constitution, poor appetite, loose stools, and dry mouth and thirst after febrile illness.
4. Glutinous Lotus Root Crisps. Remove both ends of the lotus root, fill the holes with glutinous rice, bake until crispy, slice, and eat with sugar as dip. Excellent as a snack to stimulate appetite for elderly and children.
5. Lotus Root Meat Fritters. Cut lotus root into 2-inch thick slices, place minced meat between two slices, coat in batter, fry in oil until golden brown. These fritters are sweet, fragrant, nutritious, and not inferior to pork chops.