Quick Answer: What Are Lotus Seed Buns?
Lian Rong Bao (蓮蓉包, lián róng bāo) are steamed wheat buns filled with sweet lotus seed paste. A soft wrapper surrounds a smooth, dense centre; some versions also contain salted egg yolk.[1][2]
- Dough: wheat flour, water, sugar and leavening.
- Filling: lotus seed paste, made from cooked seeds rather than lotus root.
- Texture: fluffy outside and smooth within.[1][2][3]
Lotus paste and egg custard are different fillings, even when the buns look similar.
The name points to the filling, not to a flower-shaped dough. A lotus bun can be a simple rounded steamed bun.[1][2]
Lian Rong Bao and the Lotus-Paste Centre
Lian Rong (蓮蓉, lián róng) is the smooth, sweet paste made from cooked lotus seeds.[3]
The bun combines that filling with wheat dough. One producer’s ingredient list includes wheat flour, lotus paste, water, sugar, vegetable oil, yeast and baking powder, illustrating a plain filled version without egg yolk.[1]
Dough, Sweet Paste and Optional Egg Yolk
The ingredients do separate jobs:
- Wheat dough forms the wrapper and rises before steaming.
- Lotus seed paste supplies the concentrated sweetness and smooth centre.
- Salted egg yolk can be enclosed inside the paste in a richer variation.[1][2]
A home recipe offers cooked salted yolk inside the paste. Hong Kong’s official dim sum inventory also documents this variation among steamed buns.[2][5]
Preparing a Smooth Lotus Seed Filling
An original paste recipe starts by removing the bitter green germ from the seeds. After soaking and cooking until soft, the seeds are blended smooth. The purée is then cooked with sugar and oil until it thickens into a workable paste.[3]
Recipes differ in flavour and colour. Another cook caramelises some sugar and uses peanut oil in her formula. A pale or deeper golden paste therefore need not mean a different filling altogether; check the actual ingredients when oil or nuts matter.[4]
Cool the paste before portioning it for buns.[3]
Wrapping, Proofing and Steaming the Buns
One home preparation uses four stages:[2]
- Knead the dough until smooth and allow its first rise.
- Divide the dough and roll wrappers with the centre slightly thicker than the edge.
- Enclose the paste, seal the dough and place each bun on parchment.
- Proof again and steam; that recipe uses 8–10 minutes after its second rise.
Follow the complete formula for dough quantity and bun size; frozen-product timings apply to that product.
Texture and Sweet Dim Sum Traditions
Warm soft dough contrasts with a thick, smooth filling. Let a hot bun become comfortable to bite before eating it.[2]
Lotus-paste buns appear among steamed choices in Hong Kong’s documented dim sum repertoire. The egg-yolk variation sits alongside other steamed bun varieties, including egg-custard buns.[5]
FAQs About Lotus Seed Buns
Is lotus seed paste made from lotus root?
No. The paste is made from cooked lotus seeds, not the root.[3]
Does every lotus bun contain salted egg yolk?
No. Plain paste-filled buns and egg-yolk versions both exist. Ask which one is being served.[1][2][5]
Is lotus paste the same as custard?
No. Lotus paste is seed-based. Hong Kong’s dim sum inventory lists egg-custard buns separately from lotus-paste buns.[3][5]
Источники
[1] Gobo Dim Sum. Lotus seed bun: ingredients
[2] Mrs P’s Kitchen. Dim Sum: lotus paste bun
[3] Judy, The Woks of Life. How to make lotus seed paste
[4] Bee Leng, The Burning Kitchen. Homemade lotus seed paste
[5] Hong Kong Food and Environmental Hygiene Department. Chinese dim sum study: food inventory, Annex III