On the twelfth day of New Year my mama said to me
12. lotus roots
Lotus roots, lin ngau, in Cantonese, sounds like ‘every year have’ or abundance every year. This was usually made as a soup with soft pork bones and octopus. This is an inexpensive dish and healthy as well. Lotus roots can also be sliced and fried as a snack or sweetened as a candy. This is one of my favourite vegetables.
A friend of mine said that the fibre in the root also symbolises relationships that are not easily cut. Another interpretation of the root is success in any new ventures or business or that the venture will take root and grow. Still one more interpretation of the use of this root is to keep an open mind (represented by holes in the root) to new ideas. This soup is not unique to just Singapore and Malaysia but is also served in Hong Kong.
I love this root simply for its crunch, whether in a soup or fried as a snack. When cooking this, it has to be soaked in water once the skin has been scraped off to prevent it from turning black.
Soup Restaurant, 90 Hougang Ave 10, #02-21 Hougang Mall S(538766). Tel: 6386 6188
The lotus roots are cut up. This is also a fibrous vegetable.
A bowl of lotus root soup. This soup is also cooked with octopus.
Sudah makan? Have you eaten? 