Cha canh hoa sen takes patience, but it looks beautiful on the table. A pork and shrimp filling is wrapped in a lotus petal and fried until golden, so each roll smells of lotus and tastes sweet from the meat.
The tricky part is choosing the petals, because very thin ones tear as they are rolled. Keep the second layer of large petals from the outside for wrapping, and shred the small inner petals into the filling. The filling needs a tablespoon of pork lard so it does not dry out in the pan.
This batch weighs about 780g, at roughly 202 calories per 100g.
Method
Soak the lotus petals in lightly salted water, then rinse clean. Keep the second layer of large petals from the outside for wrapping, and shred the small inner petals and the stamens for the filling.
Soak 20g wood ear mushroom and 20g shiitake mushroom until soft, rinse and chop finely. Peel 200g shrimp and cut into small dice.
Mix 400g ground lean pork with the shrimp, shredded lotus petals, lotus stamens, wood ear mushroom, shiitake mushroom, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon seasoning powder, 1 tablespoon pork lard, 1 chicken egg and 1 tablespoon cornstarch. Rest for 10 minutes.
Lay a lotus petal on the palm with the curved side up, spoon on a moderate amount of filling and roll it up gently.
Fry the rolls in oil over medium heat until golden and fragrant, then lift onto paper towels.
Make the dipping sauce: stir 1 tablespoon kOBE Monk Fruit Blend into 1 tablespoon lime juice and 3 tablespoons water until dissolved, then add 2 tablespoons fish sauce, and finish with minced garlic and chili and a few lotus stamens.
Arrange the rolls on a plate, garnish with lotus petals and serve hot with white rice.
Tips
Lotus buds that are about to open have thick, fragrant petals, while fully open flowers have thin petals that tear easily.
The tablespoon of pork lard keeps each roll tender, and leaving it out makes the filling dry and grainy.
kOBE Monk Fruit Blend dissolves slowly, so stir it fully into the water and lime juice before the fish sauce goes in, and the garlic and chili will float evenly on top.
Medium heat is right for the oil, since a hot pan scorches the petals before the filling cooks through.
Ten minutes in the refrigerator firms the filling up and makes it much easier to roll.
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The recipe above is sweetened with kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, measured 1:1 like sugar. See the product page or send us a message.