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Lotus season: Treasure of Hanoi subtle delicacy

Lotus holds a special role in Vietnamese culture that you can see in the architecture of ancient temples and pagodas, walls of royal palaces, or in “áo dài” – Vietnamese traditional attire. But do you know that lotus is a culinary gem, with all parts edible and used for delectable and nutritious dishes?

Let’s join Tấm Cuisine to discover the dishes from lotus and savor refined cuisine inspired by this flower!

Lotus - a symbol of Hanoi culture
Lotus – a symbol of Hanoi culture

Dishes from lotus

With their ingenuity and creative adaptation, Hanoians utilize every part of lotus flower to make culinary masterpieces. Besides decorating houses, lotus flowers are skillfully separated and create savory, vegetarian dishes, desserts and tea. Let’s take a look at some lotus dishes of Hanoians!

Lotus Rice

A perfect combination of delicious rice with lotus seeds and diced vegetables such as carrots, peas,… This mixture is steamed after being wrapped in young lotus leaves so that the rice blends with the ingredients, and delicate fragrance.

Lotus Root Soup

Broth made from bones is combined with tender and crunchy lotus root, along with other ingredients like carrots and shiitake mushrooms, creating a refreshing and nutritious soup.

Poultry Stewed with Lotus Seeds

Poultry meat stuffed with fragrant lotus seeds, wood ear mushrooms, and shiitake mushrooms will become an appealing dish. June-August is the time when ducks in the North are particularly delicious, so Hanoians often use duck for this dish.

Lotus Stem Salad

Lotus stem is close to the root, milky white, very crunchy, and refreshing. It is mixed with steamed thinly sliced pork and shrimp, along with a sweet and sour dressing, to create a unique salad in Vietnamese cuisine.

Lotus Spring Rolls

Besides familiar ingredients like minced meat, glass noodles, wood ear mushrooms, etc., lotus spring rolls become special with lotus seeds and fragrant lotus stamens in the filling, and are wrapped in lotus leaves instead of the usual rice paper.

Longan and Lotus Seed Sweet Soup

Fresh lotus seeds are skillfully inserted inside longan fruits, then cooked in a pot of rock sugar syrup. Enjoying it with ice makes for a perfect dessert on a summer day.

LOTUS RICE
Lotus Stem Salad
Lotus Stem Salad

A myriad of dishes crafts a colorful and flavorful lotus feast, with their common trait being the refine deeply embedded in the palate of Hanoians. If you wish to enjoy dishes from lotus, don’t hesitate to contact Tấm Cuisine. And if you desire to experience a whole lotus feast, we are ready to welcome you. Let’s explore our special menu entirely made from lotus!

SPECIAL MENU

Lotus salad with shrimp and belly pork

Duck stew with Lotus seeds and herbs

Hanoi Lotus Nem – fried spring rolls

Fried vegetables with lotus roots and beef

Lotus cake with jelly pork

Lotus rice

Dessert: Seasonal fruit

Lotus tea or coffee eggs

Enjoy lotus tea – Elegant tea of Hanoian

If you have a chance to visit a traditional Hanoian family, you will experience a warm hospitality culture – being offered tea. During lotus season, this might be a cup of lotus tea. The art of making lotus tea is quite elaborate. To create a fragrant cup of tea, artisans have to follow meticulous steps and the first step is very important – selecting the lotus flowers, often favoring the hundred-petaled variety grown at Dam Tri, West Lake.

Enjoy Lotus Tea - Elegant Tea of Hanoian
Lotus Tea – Elegant Tea of Hanoian

There are two methods of scenting tea with lotus of Hanoians:

Immediate Scenting: The tea artisan carefully selects slightly open lotus buds and gently places the tea inside the lotus flower, then folds the petals back as they were. A piece of lotus leaf is used to wrap the entire flower, which is then tied with a string to hold it in place. The lotus stems are placed in water, ensuring the water does not submerge the flowers. After about half a day or overnight, the tea is removed from the flower by the women, while the lotus flowers remain fresh and can be displayed for 2-3 days. Such interesting and clever! 

The second way is more intricate: tea will be scented with tiny lotus rice. Slightly open lotus buds are collected, and the lotus rice – the most fragrant part of the flower, is separated from the yellow stamens. This dry rice is layered with the tea, covered with a thin layer of lotus rice, and then wrapped. Then, the aroma of the lotus rice infuses the tea, giving it a distinctive fragrance when the mixture is covered with paper. The tea and lotus rice are scented and dried 7-9 times over 20-25 days.

If you want to gain this refined experience, don’t hesitate to contact us and we will connect you with a renowned lotus tea artisan in Hanoi!

When and where do lotuses bloom in Hanoi?

In Hanoi, there is only one lotus season from late May to August
In Hanoi, there is only one lotus season from late May to August

If lotuses in the Mekong Delta bloom year-round, in Hanoi, there is only one lotus season from late May to August. Therefore, Hanoian women often buy fresh lotus parts in summer, process and store them for use until the next lotus season.

In Hanoi, lotuses are mainly concentrated around West Lake, especially in Quảng An and Nhật Tân, because the soil, climate, and particularly the water source here are very suitable for growing large and beautiful lotus flowers. The most famous variety is perhaps the hundred-petaled lotus at Dam Tri, with layers of petals enveloping the stamens, pistils, and lotus rice with a pure fragrance.

Benefits of lotus with people’s health

A lotus feast at Tam Cuisine
our exclusive private dining with dishes from lotus

Lotus brings numerous benefits to the human body. 

Lotus seeds are fragrant and tasty, but they contain the lotus heart (embryo) which is bitter and has a cooling nature. It is often used in traditional medicine to calm the mind, aid sleep, control diabetes, stabilize heart rate, and slow down the aging process.

Lotus stems are sweet and primarily composed of polysaccharides and mucoproteins, which are very beneficial for health, especially the digestive system. Therefore, they help detoxify, nourish the blood, and protect the digestive system very well, particularly for women and children. For women, eating lotus stems after childbirth can help calm the mind, reduce stress, and prevent postpartum depression.

Lotus roots are crunchy and tasty, rich in Vitamin C and minerals such as iron and potassium, which help reduce the risk of anemia, and heart diseases, and enhance the health of the skin, eyes, and hair due to the vitamin A content.

Lotus and traditional handicrafts with lotus 

artisan Phan Thị Thuận - the first woman to successfully weave silk from lotus fibers
artisan Phan Thị Thuận – the first woman to successfully weave silk from lotus fibers

Lotus tea is not just a refined drink in Hanoi; more than that, the scenting process has become an art of sophistication and intricacy, passed down through generations and gained the title of National Intangible Cultural Heritage. Moreover, in some villages around West Lake like Quang An, Nghi Tam,… lotus scenting has become a livelihood, as well as a unique tourism experience, contributing to the income of many families there.

Beyond cuisine, lotus is material for various traditional crafts, such as papermaking, silk weaving, etc., with meticulous techniques and heartfelt dedication. Especially from June to August, if you have the chance to visit Hanoi, take the time to meet artisan Phan Thị Thuận – the first woman to successfully weave silk from lotus fibers. Since early June, she has been going to the lotus pond to cut the stems, clean them, and extract the lotus fibers for weaving silk. These lotus silks are a testament to the creativity and dedication of a woman who was born in a multi-generational family of silk weavers, honing her skilled hands.

You can incorporate this experience into a tour of craft villages in Hanoi where you have a chance to meet multi-generational artisans who pursue and preserve traditional crafts. Contact us for more information!

If you’re strolling along Hanoi streets, it’s not hard to come across vendors with white and pink lotus flowers, exuding exquisite beauty. The lotus—a flower revered for its elegance and somewhat aristocratic allure—once exclusively found in temples or royal courts, has gradually found its way into the simple lives of Vietnamese people.

And now, are you ready for unique lotus experiences with locals? (certainly not limited to cuisine 😉) Contact us for more detailed information!

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