挑戰傳統，少糖少油的白蓮蓉餡料讓你驚艷！真正感受蓮子的迷人風味！Low Sugar, Low Oil! Amazing White Lotus Seed Paste Filling

Please find English Recipe down below~

蓮蓉做法很多，白蓮蓉最容易，糖不用煮焦，蓮子煮軟攪碎成泥，利用蓮蓉的餘溫來溶解糖，然後過篩便成了。巿售的蓮蓉油和糖的比例很高 ( 有些配方幾乎達到 1:1 )，油膉味太重，反而嘗不到蓮子的清香。肥丁嘗試減少油量，Demerara 原蔗糖沒有白砂糖的「死甜」，少糖少油的白蓮蓉雖然不及巿售的幼滑，不失香軟，反而凸顯蓮子的淡雅清香。肥丁還試做了混入抹茶粉的白蓮蓉，抺茶味被稀釋了，其實不太吃得到，但入口回甘，挺有趣的。

如何挑蓮子

• 蓮子分手工去皮和機磨兩種。以機器磨皮蓮子價格低，但經機器高溫旋轉後，脫殼脫皮營養損失大， 顆粒只有手工蓮子一半大，品質和口感都不如手工蓮子
• 機器磨皮的白蓮，表面有刮痕，觸摸時有白色粉末，色彩單一，或黃、或白
• 手工白蓮子頭部開口微張，表示有皺皮，黃中帶白或白中帶黃，色彩自然
• 蓮子越乾燥越能天然保存，真空包裝比散買的好
• 蓮子帶自然清香。有鹼味、刺激性氣味者為藥水洗蓮
• 上佳的蓮子，煮後必爛，入口成粉，有蓮子清香味。品質差的蓮子很難煮爛

材料  ( 可製作約 320 g 蓮蓉餡 )

• 白蓮子 ( 乾貨 ) Skinned Lotus Seed 125 g
• 苦茶油  Camellia Oil 30 ml ( 2 大匙 )   建議大家用高煙點的健康食油，選甚麼油自己斟酌就好了
• Demerara 原蔗糖 30 g ( 少糖 ~ 不建議再減 )
• 麥芽糖 Maltose 1 大匙
• 澄麵 Wheat Starch 1 小匙
• 海鹽 Sea Salt 少許

變化

• 抺茶粉   15 g  ( 若加入抺茶粉，步驟 3 蓮蓉可保留多點水份 )

做法

1. 白蓮子洗淨，放入鍋中，加入 300 ml 清水煮沸，調至小火煮 15 分鐘，途中若水乾了加水

2. 乾乾的白蓮子吸收水份後便會脹大，倒去煮過的水，稍為放涼，去芯，一根都不能留唷，每個蓮子都要打開來看，否則保留蓮芯會使蓮蓉變苦

3. 去芯蓮子加入 300 ml 清水再煮 15 分鐘，直至蓮子變軟很容易壓碎，水份差不多煮乾，這步驟控制水份很重要，不能煮太乾，顧爐小心煮焦，離火

4. 加入 2 大匙油，用手提攪拌捧打成白蓮蓉，趁蓮蓉還暖加入原蔗糖、麥芽糖 ( 如蓮蓉已冷掉稍微加熱，熱度足夠溶解糖便行 ) 攪拌至糖完全溶解，篩入澄麵 ( 肥丁另外做了一款抺茶味，此時加入抹茶粉 )，拌勻

5. 蓮蓉用綱篩過濾，把未打碎的硬粒除掉，用保鮮膜緊貼蓮蓉包好，以防水氣，放進冰箱備用

小叮嚀

• 蓮子使用前不用浸泡，無論泡熱水或冷水，泡過水的蓮子就是煮不軟的
• 苦茶油是從油茶籽提煉的植物油，油煙少，耐高溫不會產生有毒物質的特性，非常適合炒菜，油炸、烘培食物, 但購買時需要注意是「冷壓」的品質才好

There are many ways to make lotus seed paste, with white lotus seed paste being the easiest. No need to caramelize the sugar; simply cook the lotus seeds until soft, then crush them into a paste. Utilize the residual heat from the lotus paste to dissolve the sugar, and then strain it. Commercial lotus seed paste often has a high ratio of oil to sugar (some recipes are almost 1:1), resulting in a heavy oily taste that overshadows the delicate aroma of the lotus seeds. By reducing the amount of oil and using demerara raw cane sugar, which lacks the “dead sweetness” of white sugar, the resulting white lotus seed paste with less sugar and oil, while not as smooth as the commercially available variety, retains its fragrance and delicacy, highlighting the subtle and elegant aroma of the lotus seeds. I also tried making white lotus seed paste mixed with matcha powder, which diluted the matcha flavor, making it less pronounced, but it has an interesting sweet aftertaste.

How to Choose White Lotus Seeds

• Lotus seeds can be processed by hand or machine. Machine-processed lotus seeds are cheaper, but due to the high temperature and rapid rotation during processing, they suffer from significant nutrient loss. Additionally, the seeds are only half the size of hand-processed ones, and the quality and taste are inferior.
• Machine polished white lotus root, with surface scratches, leaving white powder on touch, with a monochromatic color of either yellow or white
• The hand-made lotus seed has a slightly open head, indicating wrinkles, with a yellowish or whitish color, and a natural coloration.
• Lotus seeds can be naturally preserved better when they are drier, and vacuum packaging is better than buying them loose.
• The lotus seeds carry a natural fragrance. Those with an alkaline or pungent smell are used for rinsing lotus with medicinal water.
• Excellent lotus seeds, when cooked they will turn soft, melt in the mouth, with a clear lotus seed fragrance. It’s difficult to cook low-quality lotus seeds until they become soft.

Ingredients  ( Makes about 320 g )

• 125 g Skinned Dried Lotus Seed
• 2 tbsp  Camellia Oil
• 30 g Demerara Raw Cane Sugar
• 1 tbsp Maltose 
• 1 tsp Wheat Starch
• Pinch of Sea Salt

Variation

• 15 g Matcha Powder

Instructions

1. Rinse the white lotus seeds, put them in a pot, add 300 ml of water, bring to a boil, simmer over low heat for 15 minutes, adding water if it dries out along the way.

2. Dry lotus seeds will expand after absorbing water. Pour away the boiled water; let it cool down a bit and remove the cores. Each and every seed must be opened up to check, as keeping the core will make the lotus paste bitter.

3. Add the peeled lotus seeds to 300 ml of water and cook for 15 minutes, until the seeds become soft and easily mashed, and most of the water has evaporated. It is important to control the moisture at this step; do not let it dry out completely, as this can lead to scorching. Remove from heat.

4. Add 2 tablespoons of oil and use your hands to mix and knead the mixture into a white lotus seed paste. While the paste is still warm, add the raw sugar, maltose (if the lotus paste has cooled down, slightly heat it so the temperature is enough to dissolve the sugar), and stir until the sugar is completely dissolved. Sift in the clear flour (if making a matcha flavor, add matcha powder at this point) and mix well.

5. After sifting through a sieve, remove any unbroken hard grains from the lotus seed paste, wrap it tightly with cling film to prevent moisture, and store it in the refrigerator for later use

Tips

• Lotus seeds do not need to be soaked before use, and no matter whether soaked in hot or cold water, the lotus seeds that have been soaked will not soften when cooked
• Camellia oil is a plant oil extracted from camellia seeds. It has the characteristics of low smoke, high-temperature resistance without producing toxic substances, making it very suitable for stir-frying, deep-frying, and baking. However, it is important to pay attention to purchasing only “cold-pressed” quality.

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