Lotus season

(Baonghean) - In mid-April, lotus flowers bloom, and by the end of May, the lotus seeds have begun to ripen. In addition to the flea markets, there are some stalls selling fresh lotus seeds, the first batch of lotus seeds still dotted with green and dark brown. Just a few ounces of lotus seeds in a small bag nestled next to bunches of rustic spinach, colorful bunches of mixed vegetables always attract the attention of gourmet urban customers. Only a few thousand per ounce, fresh lotus seeds are only available for a few days each year, so sellers do not need to invite customers to buy. So, fresh lotus seeds have a strange charm for housewives, perhaps because they are rare and because they have many interesting values ​​that dried lotus seeds do not have.

To have a bunch of ivory white lotus seeds to prepare food also requires a lot of meticulousness and patience of the housewife. Fresh lotus seeds are bought, peeled, then meticulously peeled off the inner silk layer, then a toothpick is inserted through to take out the lotus heart without the seeds splitting in half. Fresh lotus seeds are used to cook lotus seed sweet soup with a light, cool aroma or to cook porridge for children; can also be stewed with pig's feet or a hen or crab to nourish the health of the elderly or people who have just recovered from illness; or used to cook a bowl of chicken feet and mushroom soup to treat the whole family on the weekend.Lotus heart is collected, dried and mixed with green tea, becoming a very good medicine to nourish the mind and calm the nerves.

In early May, the bright sunlight slanted straight into the house when the sky had just dawned. At this time, the lotus was not fully ripe, the lotus seeds were still green but the clouds had already spread out and covered the lotus pods. People harvested the whole stalks and tied them with soft ivory-colored strings, each bundle had about 5-6 lotus pods, only about ten thousand. At that time, the lotus could not be cooked into sweet soup or porridge, because if it was not ripe, it would be hard and had no powder. Mother boiled it and peeled the seeds to eat. The lotus seeds, still in a small and mysterious world, suddenly popped up and lay neatly in the palm of her tiny hand and before the eager eyes of us sisters. Just peel off the thick shell and you can put it in your mouth, hear a gentle, smooth popping sound and along with that was a sweet, cool, gentle flavor, a pure, elegant fragrance that evoked so much charm and invitation.

My sisters and I sat by the kitchen, eating the young lotus seeds that had not yet tasted the bitterness of the lotus heart like a rare gift from our mother. In the end, only the lotus pods that still had their full shape left on the steps remained. Mother collected them and put them on top of the kitchen cabinet. Every morning when she made green tea for my father, she put a few lotus pods at the bottom of the teapot. The scent of green tea mixed with the elegant scent of lotus, familiar and strange. My mother poured tea into a small bowl and said as if to justify: "Green tea should not be mixed with any other scent, but with these lotus pods, it is extremely pleasant, soothing to the stomach, and it would be a pity to throw them away!"

Many lotus seasons have passed so smoothly, many lotus seasons have passed and I have gone to the market myself to choose plump lotus pods or bunches of lotus seeds still dotted with dark green. Now, no one in my family drinks green tea so I can “cheat” into it the fragrant lotus pods, no one uses lotus hearts anymore. Luckily, my daughter is now also very eager to roll boiled lotus seeds in her tiny hands like I used to be. As for me, I reserve for myself the ripe lotus seeds with the lotus hearts intact, to taste the elegant sweet aroma mixed with the bitter taste, and also, to hear the taste of childhood with my mother’s immense love gently flowing back…

Phuong Ngoc