Asian-Inspired No. 6

It will be lunar New Year in ten day’s time. This is the last of my six Asian-inspired recipes. Now you have six new dishes to try out before the new year, or to make for your special family gathering on New Year’s Eve.

I’ve posted recipes with the medicinal root vegetable ‘shan yao’ (Chinese yam), before. Today’s recipe however, is a sweet dish. I feel it is quite fitting to end off the year, and start the new year – on a sweet note.

The sweet, aromatic fragrance of the Osmanthus flowering tree is very popular in Asia. The Flowers are a pale yellow and white, and the scent as you walk under the trees is almost overpowering.

Osmanthus (gui hua in Chinese), flowers are used to make tea, as well as to cook with. They are also used in many body products, for their sweet fragrance.

Other than its fragrant smell, the Osmanthus flowers are also good for your health:

It is used to treat toothache
It expels dampness from the body
It is good for your lungs
It improves digestion
It is soothes your liver
It removes toxins from your body

Shan Yao and Osmanthus

(naturally gluten free, egg free, nut free, corn free, soy free, dairy free)

Servings: 2-4

By: gfchopstix

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 5-10 minutes

ingredients:

250g of shan yao (Chinese yam)
1 teaspoon of cooking oil (not olive oil)
1 Tablespoon of rock sugar
1 Tablespoon of dried Osmanthus flowers
1/4 cup of filtered water

instructions:

Peel and thinly slice the shan yao. Rinse, but do not soak in water
In a wok, or pan, heat one teaspoon of neutral tasting cooking oil (I use sunflower oil) on low-medium heat
Place the shan yao into the pan/wok and gently fry for 3 minutes
In a separate bowl, place the rock sugar and water
Add the Osmanthus flowers
Pour into the pan/wok
Cover and simmer for five minutes
Carefully remove the lid, enjoying the sweet heady fragrance of the Osmanthus flowers
Place into a serving dish and serve immediately

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NOTE: I only added a little sugar, since I do not like this dish to be overly sweet. If you have a very sweet tooth, feel free to add more sugar to your liking.