Lotus seed paste is a Chinese dessert ingredient made from dried lotus seed. Traditional Chinese characters refers to one of two standard sets of printed Chinese characters. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Hanyu Pinyin (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ), commonly called Pinyin, is the most common variant of Standard Mandarin romanization system in use. ... Standard Mandarin, also known as Standard Chinese, Modern Standard Chinese or Standard spoken Chinese, is the official modern Chinese spoken language used by the Peoples Republic of China, the Republic of China (Taiwan), and Singapore. ... Hanyu Pinyin (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ), commonly called Pinyin, is the most common variant of Standard Mandarin romanization system in use. ... This page meets Wikipedias criteria for speedy deletion. ...

Production

The process for making the paste is similar to that used to make smooth red bean paste. First, the dried seeds are stewed in water until soft and then mashed into a fine paste. The paste is then watered down to a thin slurry and passed through a sieve and into cheesecloth, with which it is squeezed dry. This produces a fine crumbly paste, which is then mixed with sugar or other sweeteners. Red bean paste or Azuki bean paste is a sweet, dark red bean paste originating in China. ... A slurry is in general a thick suspension of solids in a liquid and may be: Look up slurry in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Cheesecloth is a loosewoven cotton cloth, such as is used in pressing cheese curds. ...

Regional

China

The lotus paste used by most Chinese cooks requires further preparation by dry cooking the sweetened paste over heat with caramelized sugar and vegetable oil. This produces a lotus paste that is tan coloured with a satiny sheen, which is rich, sweet, and silky with a slight fragrance of caramel. Some cooks choose to treat the dried lotus seeds with a lye solution before initially stewing them in order to shorten their cooking time^[1]. Cooking is the act of preparing food. ... A piece of caramel confectionery. ... Lye is a caustic solution used for glass and soap making. ...

Lotus paste is used in Chinese cuisine as a filling for mooncake, baozi, and other sweet pastries. Perhaps the most direct use is in the dim sum lotus seed bun 蓮蓉包. Traditional baked mooncake The mooncake (Simplified Chinese: 月饼; Traditional Chinese: 月餅; pinyin: ) is a Chinese confection that is traditionally eaten during the Mid-Autumn Festival, although they can be eaten at other times of the year as well. ... Pumpkin baozi A baozi (Chinese: ; Pinyin: ), or simply known as bao or bau, is a type of steamed, filled bun or bread-like item in Chinese cuisine. ... Dim sum (Chinese: 點心; Cantonese IPA: dɪm2sɐm1; Pinyin: diǎnxīn; Wade-Giles: tien-hsin; literally dot heart or order heart, meaning order to ones hearts content; also commonly translated as touch the heart, dotted heart, or snack), a Cantonese term...

Due to the higher price of lotus seeds, commercially prepared lotus pastes may also contain white kidney bean paste as a filler. There are different variations with some darker, close to black in color. Usually these have a deeper taste. Binomial name L. “Navy Bean” redirects here. ...

Japan

This sweetened lotus paste is directly used by the Japanese as a filling for various Japanese desserts without further processing. It is milky in colour with a fresh, light, and sweet taste, and without any perceivable flavour. A selection of wagashi to be served during a Japanese tea ceremony. ...

References

See also

• Sweet bean paste