Honghu Fried Lotus Root Sandwiches 洪湖藕夹

Honghu Fried Lotus Root Sandwiches (洪湖藕夹) are pairs of thin lotus root slices with a meat filling between them, coated and deep-fried until golden. The dish is made across Hubei and this version is named for Honghu (洪湖), a lotus-growing city on the Jianghan Plain (江汉平原).

How it is made

Fresh lotus root is cut into thin slices and a savoury minced-meat filling is pressed between two slices. The sandwich is coated in a batter of egg and flour, which fries into a crisp shell, and goes into hot oil until it turns golden. In Honghu the dish has also moved into factories: Xinhua reported in 2024 that Hubei Huagui Food Co. (湖北华贵食品有限公司) runs production lines there for lotus root sandwiches alongside pearl lotus balls and lotus strips.

Flavour and texture

A bite goes through a crisp outside to a tender inside, and Jingchu Net calls the texture rich and varied. The same outlet describes Honghu lotus root as rich in starch, long between the nodes and with few threads, and floury, fragrant and sweet.

How it is eaten

In Hubei, fried lotus sandwiches, lotus balls and lotus strips are counted among the dishes a Spring Festival table cannot do without. Besides lotus-root soup, Hubei people often make fried lotus sandwiches and pickled-chilli lotus shoots.

Where it comes from

Honghu is named with Hanchuan (汉川) and Caidian (蔡甸) as the main areas in Hubei for growing lotus for its root. According to Honghu's agriculture bureau, the Jianghan Plain city has plenty of water and pond mud rich in organic matter, which gives its lotus root a good flavour.