Honghu Lotus Root and Pork Rib Stew 洪湖莲藕炖排骨

How it is made

In Hubei, lotus root and meaty bones are simmered together over a low flame until the meat falls from the bone. The Hubei Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism gives two rules for the root: choose a floury variety, and leave out the tender tips and the ends, since the tips are too soft and the ends taste of pond water.

A lotus digger from Wanquan (万全镇) in Honghu, quoted by the Hubei Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, gives his home method. Meaty pork breastbone is cut into pieces, brought to the boil in a clay pot and simmered gently for an hour. Fresh lotus root, scraped, washed and cut into chunks, then goes in; the pot is boiled hard and simmered for another half hour.

Yang Fuyuan, general manager of Hubei Huagui Food (湖北华贵食品有限公司), a company registered in Honghu, told Hubei Daily in a report reprinted by the Honghu city government that soup needs 'powdery' lotus root (粉藕), and that Honghu lotus roots look much alike but differ in texture by variety and growing area. His company crossed local wild lotus with Miancheng (沔城) lotus to breed 'Honghu Lotus No. 1', a long, slim root with dense threads at the cut and a soft, floury bite. For its packaged version the company fries fresh ribs until fragrant, boils them into a stock, then cooks the fresh lotus root in that stock.

Flavour and texture

The soup combines the light sweetness of lotus root with the rich savour of the ribs. Another Honghu digger in the same report says Honghu lotus root turns the soup pink, melts in the mouth and makes the broth fragrant and sweet. The Hubei culture and tourism department says Honghu lotus root is reputedly the best to eat, and that the best season for it is after the Mid-Autumn Festival.

How it is eaten

Hubei people say there is no banquet without soup, and pork rib and lotus root soup is one of the dishes served to honoured guests; for many it tastes of home. In the Honghu report, a Jingzhou native working in Guangdong recalls that each autumn and winter she longed for the proper Honghu lotus soup that she could only drink at home. In the same report, the heated bowl is finished with a handful of chopped spring onion.