Yiner Hangzao Lianzi Geng For The Grand Finale

Thirty days of non stop blogging was fun.Today is the last day of the marathon and finishing with a sweet note.

One of my Chinese friend had come home yesterday and she taught me to prepare this wonderfully healthy dish-Yiner[a kind of fungus] hangzao[red dates] lianzi[lotus seeds] geng.

Yiner also know as snow fungus is said to have medicinal properties and is used in Chinese cuisine for centuries.It is also considered an internal beauty suppliment to the skin for it has a spacial affinity towards the skin ,making it soft,moist and plaint when consumed regularly.Hangzao or red dates[also called chinese date,jujube] and Lianzi or lotus seeds have been a part of Chinese traditional medicine.Red dates strengthens the functions of heart and lung, as well as nourish the stomach and spleen.

So what we prepared yesterday was a treat to the tastebuds and tonic to the body.

You need:

Yiner-4 pieces
Red dates-15 numbers
Lotus seeds-a handful
Crystal sugar to taste

1.Soak yiner in water and after sometime cut into bitesize pieces .
2.You may find some brown or red color in the centre of the some yiner pieces [which looks like this]  .

3.Cut it out after soaking for a few minutes and then resoak in fresh water.[If you are preparing it for the morning let it soak overnight.If its for dinner let it soak from the morning.]
4.Wash lotus seeds and pressure cook till done[I cooked for 15 minutes]
5.Before preparation wash the yiner again and put into a pan with water.The quantity of water used depends on how thick or watery you prefer the soup to be.
6.Put in the cooked lotus seeds,red dates and bring to a boil.
7.Add the crystal sugar and stir to mix.
8.Let it simmer .[I let it cook for 20 minutes]
9.Remove from heat and serve hot.

When the soup was simmering the sweet aroma of the red dates filled the kitchen and made me all the more hungry.This is served both as a sweet soup as well as a dessert.

Bon Appetit…