Last weekend, we had a short trip to Houston. Thank God, we stayed over night and we had more time to hang
around. As a result, we took this chance to drop by at Houston Hong Kong Market which is situated in Chinatown along Bellaire Blvd. Plenty of Asian ingredients and choices were available here. Everything looks appealing! And we were a bit confused where's good to start!

As we strolled to the fresh vegetables section, my Significant Other kept reminding me not to buy perishable stuff since our traveling journey would take at least 3 hours from Houston to Austin. Otherwise, I think I'd bought a whole lot of month supplies. As we walked along the alleys, we fall for our first sight on lotus roots. I couldn't resist but to get closer and started picking a few pieces. They were so pretty compared to what I used to see in Austin's Asian Market. I was trying to justify in my mind that these roots were robust and should be able to pass the 3 hour-road test!

Both of us are a big fan of Lotus Root Soup. On the next day after our return from Houston, I went ahead to cook Chinese Lotus roots soup without hesitant. However, I was short of pork ribs and therefore I used lean pork loin instead. Even so, this savory soup turned out fabulous! After taking the first sip of the soup, my Significant Other probed me whether I did cook with a packet of 'secret ingredient' but to his surprise, everything was authentic yet very delicious!

Features and functions
Do you know that lotus roots are rich in dietary fiber, vitamin C, potassium, thiamin, riboflavin, vitamin B6, phosphorus, copper and manganese? At the same time, it contains very low saturated fat. Claimed as good remedy to stop diarrhea, expel heat and improve appetite (anorexia), lotus roots fiber content also prevent constipation or hemorrhage by stimulating peristalis.

Ready to get started?

Ingredients (Serving for 4)
3 section lotus root - peeled, rinsed and cross-section sliced
1 pound pork spare-ribs (I use lean pork loin because I ran out of ribs) - cut to mouth bite size
6 cup water
1 tbsp wolfberries
6 black date
1/2 cup peanut
salt to taste

Method
1. Scald the pork ribs to remove excessive fat/oil.
2. Grab a large saucepan and pour in water. Add lotus root, wolfberries, black dates and peanuts.
3. Bring the water and its content to boil using medium-high heat.
4. Once the water is boiled, place in the pork ribs and continue to simmer for 1-2 hours at low-medium heat or until the lotus root is soft and crisp.
5. Season with salt.
6. Serve.

Bon Appetit!

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Comments (1)

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written by Johnie Crocker , October 07, 2010

Great looking soup, but my experience is that Hong Kong Markets of Houston seldom actually have Lotus Root.

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