What are the methods for processing lotus root? A detailed guide

Lotus root is delicious, crisp and juicy, and can be eaten in many different ways. Here are several recommended processing methods:

1. Sweet and sour lotus root slices. Selection of raw materials: choose 50 kg of fresh lotus root that is thick and tender, 2.5 kg of salt, 20 kg of white sugar, and 15 kg of vinegar. Production process: cut the peeled lotus root into thin slices 1 cm thick, boil them thoroughly in water, then soak them in cold water for 6 hours and drain. Put the white sugar and vinegar into a pot together and bring to a boil. After cooling, pour over the lotus root slices and soak for 3 to 4 days, turning the container twice during this time, and it is done. The finished product is crisp and tastes sweet and sour.

2. Candied lotus root. Selection of raw materials: choose 50 kg of fresh lotus root with white tender flesh and thick root heads, and 35 kg of white sugar. Cleaning, heating, peeling, and slicing: remove the stem ends of the lotus root and wash it clean, put it into a pot of cold water, heat and boil until slightly soft, and take it out when the skin can be scraped off with a bamboo stick. Cool it, scrape off the skin, and cut into lotus root slices 1 cm thick. Acid soaking: put the lotus root slices into rice soup or water from washing rice and soak in acid for 1 week. Water soaking: put the lotus root slices into clean water and soak for 48 hours, changing the water 4 times during this period. Sugar curing: put the lotus root slices into a jar, add cold sugar water, and cure in sugar. On the second day, scoop out the sugar water into a pot, boil it to 103°C, then pour it back over the lotus root slices to soak. Final cooking: on the fourth day, put the lotus root slices and sugar water into the pot together and cook for 30 minutes. When the temperature reaches 108°C, remove from the pot. Drying: dry the lotus root slices taken from the pot, and the product is finished.

3. Lotus root slices with cocoa filling. Selection of raw materials: fresh large-section lotus root with a section diameter above 5 cm and light skin color. Cleaning, blanching, and slicing: wash the lotus root thoroughly, blanch it in boiling water for 10 minutes, transfer it to cold water, and then cut it into thin slices 0.5 cm thick. Use cocoa sandwich sugar powder equal to 1/10 of the amount of lotus root slices, add egg white, and mix into a wet paste. Take two lotus root slices of similar size, coat the surface of one with a thin layer of cocoa syrup, press the other one onto it, place the filled lotus root slices on a drying tray, send them into a dryer, dry at 60°C until the filling is dry, then cool and package.

4. Lotus root starch. Selection of raw materials: choose fresh white lotus root, wash it clean, cut off the lotus root nodes and rotten tips, and peel off the outer skin. Production process: process the washed lotus root sections into lotus root pulp with a pulping machine. Pour the lotus root pulp into a white cloth bag, place it on a wooden frame set over a jar, and press it down with a wooden board weighted with stones to separate the lotus root pulp from the lotus root residue. After pressing, take the lotus root residue and stir it with drinking water, then filter it once more, remove the lotus root residue in the bag, stir the lotus root pulp thoroughly, let it stand for more than 5 hours, remove the supernatant liquid, and the settled lotus root mass is wet lotus root starch. Scrape off the floating residue on the surface of the wet lotus root starch, slice or grate the wet lotus root starch blocks, spread them on a bamboo mat, and sun-dry them until the moisture content is within 20%, and it is done.