Lotus Root Soup Recipes: Chicken, Pork and Vegetarian 莲藕汤谱

Lotus root soup is very popular in Singapore. Many have their home recipes that include a range of ingredients like peanuts, dried cuttlefish, and dried tangerine peel.

Lotus root soup with pork ribs

7-hole lotus root versus 9-hole lotus root

There are 2 types of lotus root. One has 7 holes and the other has 9 holes. The one with the 7-hole is smaller, denser and contains a higher starch content. According to this cooking video, the 7-hole root is more suitable for soup and long cooking. The 9-hole lotus root is larger, paler and has a higher water content. It is better for salad and stir-frying.

This cooking video compares the two. You can clearly see the difference.

Here are a couple of lotus root soup recipes for your consideration.

Lotus Root Pork Soup

This recipe contains only a handful of red dates and pork ribs to help sweeten the soup.

Ingredients

• 600g lotus root
• 300g pork ribs
• 5 red dates 红枣 (hong zao)
• 1.5 litre water
• Salt to taste

Directions

1. Wash and clean the lotus root of any mud and dirt. Peel it or scrub thoroughly
2. Slice the root cross-wise about 1 inch thick so that they look like wheels
3. Add a tbsp of rice vinegar into a basin of water and soak the roots
4. Parboil the pork ribs for about 2 minutes
5. Rinse to remove any blood and grit and trim off excess fat
6. Bring the 1.5 litre water to a boil in a soup pot. If using a slow cooker or instant pot, use boiling water
7. Add the pork ribs, lotus roots and red dates
8. Bring the water back to a boil then lower the heat to simmer for about 1.5 hours or until the pork ribs are soft. For the slow cooker, put on high and cook for 2 to 3 hours. Adjust the amount of water for the slow cooker. It should be enough to cover all the ingredients but not more than 80% full
9. Add salt to taste

The chef in cooking video below uses a deep claypot to simmer the pork bones and lotus root.

This lotus root pork soup is traditionally cooked with pork ribs, but if you do not eat pork, you may substitute with chicken.

To this basic soup recipe, you can add the next 2 ingredients commonly found in lotus root soup of Southern Chinese influence: dried cuttlefish and peanuts.

The cooking video below uses broiled dried cuttlefish. The colour of the soup is a little darker and sweeter. The full recipe is available at malaysianchinesekitchen.com

You will notice that the lotus root is sliced differently in the 2 cooking videos. Folks in Southeast Asia prefers the cross-section cut because it is prettier.

Lotus Root Peanut Soup

This recipe uses ready-made stock to replace the need to use pork ribs. It shortens the cooking time and simplify the process too. Besides red dates, goji berries works as well.

Ingredients

• 300g lotus root, washed and peeled
• 1 small (about 75g) dried cuttlefish, rinse and clean (optional)
• 6 cups chicken or pork or bone stock
• 100g raw peanuts, skins removed
• 8-10 Chinese dried red dates, piths removed
• Salt to taste

Directions

1. Slice the lotus root into thick slices
2. Slice or trim the dried squid into smaller pieces
3. Bring the stock to a boil in a soup pot
4. Add all the ingredients
5. Lower the heat to a simmer and simmer for about 1 hour or until the lotus root is done. If you want softer lotus root, lengthen the cooking time.

Lotus Root Chicken Soup

This recipe uses chicken feet, peanuts and a pressure cooker. If you do not like or cannot find chicken feet, do substitute with chicken thighs.

Ingredients

• 1 section of lotus root
• 300g raw peanuts
• 1kg chicken feet
• 2 pieces of dried cuttlefish
• 2 chicken stock cubes
• Sufficient water to cover all the ingredients

Watch the cooking video for the technique.

Vegetarian Lotus Root Soup

This vegetarian recipe features several Chinese herbs.

Ingredients

• 40g raisins
• 450g lotus root
• 75g fresh lotus seeds 莲子 (lian zi)
• 40g dried lily bulbs 百合干 (ban he gan)
• 38g euryale seeds 芡实 (qian shi)
• Pinch of salt
• 1.5 litre of vegetable soup stock

Directions

1. Wash and slice the lotus root
2. Wash the lotus seeds, lily bulbs and euryale seeds
3. Bring a pot of water to a boil
4. Add the raisins, lotus root, lotus seeds, lily bulbs, euryale seeds
5. Bring back to a boil then lower heat to a simmer
6. Simmer for about 2 hours
7. Season with salt before serving

If you are uncomfortable using or cannot find Chinese herbs, check out this cooking video. It features a vegan lotus root soup cooked using an instant pot.

Japanese Lotus Root Soup

Another vegetarian recipe but with a Japanese twist. The combination of red miso, leek, lotus root slices, shiitake mushrooms, and silken tofu made it a great winter soup. Imagine digging into this big pot of steamy goodness with the winter winds howling outside.

Not all lotus root soups have to take long. If the root is thinly sliced, it can cook quite quickly.

Ingredients

• 4 cups kombu broth
• 1 large leek thinly sliced
• 1 carrot, thinly sliced
• 5 dried shiitake mushrooms
• 16 thin slices lotus root
• 1/4 pound tofu
• 2-3 tbsp red miso
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced

Directions

1. Bring the kombu broth to a boil in a pot
2. Soak the dried shiitake mushrooms in warm water for 30 minutes
3. Drain, remove the stems and slice thinly
4. Slice the leek and carrot into thin slices
5. Add the leek, carrot, mushrooms and lotus root slices to the broth and simmer for about 3 minutes
6. Cut the tofu into small bite-sized cubes
7. Add the tofu to the simmering broth
8. Dissolve the miso paste using a few spoonful of the broth
9. Add the miso liquid to the broth
10. Remove from heat and serve with the green onions as garnish

Sweet Lotus Root Red Bean Soup

I saw this lotus root soup recipe in a magazine. It is appropriate for pregnant ladies. It contains red beans and honey dates. The recipe serves 6.

Ingredients

• 1 section lotus root
• 200g red beans
• 4 honey dates
• 2 litres chicken stock
• Salt and pepper

Directions

1. Wash and soak the red beans overnight. Drain before use
2. Clean lotus root and rinse well. Slice and soak in water with a splash of vinegar to prevent browning
3. Bring the chicken stock to a boil in a soup pot. Add the red beans and cook at high heat for 15 minutes
4. Lower the heat and simmer for 1 hour
5. Add lotus root and honey dates. Continue to simmer until the lotus root is done
6. Add salt and pepper to taste

Lotus Root Congee

Another soupy way of using lotus root is in rice porridge or congee.

Congee is made up of rice. It resembles a thin rice soup and is a good base for a lot of ingredients and lotus root is one of these ingredients. I've got 2 simple recipes here that I hope you will try.

Vegetarian Lotus Root Porridge with Goji

Goji berries are sweet and the lotus root is crunchy. A nice contrast.

It is also a very nice gentle nourishing dish for the elderly. Make sure the lotus root is cooked till it is very soft so that it is not too hard on the teeth and gums.

Ingredients

• 200g lotus root
• 1 cup of rice
• 8 cups of water
• 1 tbsp goji berries
• 1/2 tsp salt

Directions

1. Wash and soak the goji berries till soft
2. Wash and peel the lotus root
3. Cut the lotus root into thin slices (cross-section)
4. Wash and soak the rice for 30 minutes
5. Place the rice in a pot and add the water
6. Bring to a boil and lower heat to a simmer
7. When the porridge is done, add the lotus root and cook till soft
8. Add the goji berries and salt

Lotus Root Congee with Pork

Ingredients

• 225g fresh lotus root
• 150g lean pork
• 10 goji berries
• 12 cups of water
• 1 cup of rice
• Pinch of corn starch
• Pinch of salt
• Dash of vinegar

Directions

1. Wash and peel the lotus root. Slice cross section and soak in cold water with a little vinegar
2. Clean the pork, slice thinly and coat sparingly with corn starch
3. Flatten the pork slices with a rolling pin (see cooking video below for how to do this)
4. Bring the water to a boil and add the rice
5. Lower heat and simmer for 20 minutes
6. Add the lotus root and cook for 30 minutes
7. Add the pork, goji berries and salt
8. Cook for a further 10 minutes

Ingredient Notebook

The recipes here feature a couple of Chinese herbs. You can find them near you on Amazon and Shopee.

• Asian Taste Dried Lotus Seeds 6 oz (Amazon)
• Dried lotus seeds (Shopee)
• Organic Dried Lily Bulbs 12 oz (Amazon)
• Nan jing Tong ren tang Dried Lily Bulb (Shopee)
• DOZO Gorgon Qian Shi 320g (Amazon)
• Gorgon Euryale Seeds - 250G (Shopee)
• Chinese Candied Dates 蜜枣 Mi Zao 8oz (Amazon)
• Candied Dates (蜜枣) 200g (Shopee)
• Healthworks Raw Goji Berries (Amazon)
• Love Earth Organic Goji Berry (Shopee)

There are also mentions of dried seafood and Japanese condiments.

1. Dried seafood large-sized squid 750g (Amazon)
2. Dried Cuttlefish 鱿鱼 (Shopee)
3. Hikari Organic Miso Paste, Red, 17.6 oz (Amazon)
4. Hikari Miso Soup Paste(Red) Miso Soup Base 500g (Shopee)
5. Awase Dashi Powder with No MSG (Amazon)
6. Marutomo Bonito Powder Soup Stock (Shopee)

I hope this collection of lotus root soup recipes is useful. Do check out these 2 other related posts:

1. How to cook lotus root
2. A collection of lotus root recipes (non-soup)

Happy Souping, Phoebe