雜貨舖THE GROCER
Lotus paste
蓮蓉
Lotus seeds cooked soft, puréed and stirred with sugar and oil into a firm paste: the heart of mooncakes, lotus-paste buns and New Year 煎堆. White lotus paste is pale and clean-tasting; the yellow kind is cooked darker. Few homes make it; bakeries and grocers sell it ready. Asian grocers in Australia carry it tinned and vacuum-packed (fullest before Mid-Autumn), with red bean paste on the same shelf, and 煎堆 takes either; failing that, the dictionary's adzuki beans make a paste at home.
Cautions: read first
- Read the label on a bought paste: some list wheat or peanut oil.
Preparation
Roll into twelve small balls and chill them firm for easier wrapping.
Origin
Xiangtan, Hunan (湘蓮 lotus seeds). Tinned or vacuum-packed at Asian grocers, most plentiful before Mid-Autumn; red bean paste on the same shelf.
Availability in Australia
Easy to find
Australian name · lotus seed paste (tin or vacuum pack)
Where · Asian grocers, fullest before Mid-Autumn
If it is not there · Red bean paste from the same shelf, or a paste made from adzuki beans
Where · Asian grocers, fullest before Mid-Autumn
If it is not there · Red bean paste from the same shelf, or a paste made from adzuki beans
