A lotus seed bun (Traditional Chinese: 蓮蓉包；Jyutping: lin⁴ jung⁴ baau¹; pinyin: lián róng bāo) is a Chinese baozi filled with lotus seed paste. They are most commonly served as a form of dim sum.

History

Lotus seed paste is a traditional Chinese cooking ingredient, commonly used as a sweet pastry filling, such as in Lotus seed mooncakes. Lotus seed paste was used as a filling for sweet buns by Cantonese chefs, and rose to prominence sold as a form of dim sum. More recently lotus seed buns have become less popular, being sold at fewer dim sum restaurants, often being replaced by other buns with different fillings, such as cocktail buns.

Variations

longevity peaches, or 壽桃 (pinyin: shòu táo; Jyutping: sau⁶ tou⁴) are a form of lotus seed buns served to celebrate the birthdays of elderly people, symbolizing a good omen of longevity.

Preparation

Lotus seed buns are prepared by steaming a yeast-leavened dough that contains lotus seed paste. Depending on which variation of lotus seed bun is served it can take different shapes, but is traditionally made from the same dough as cha siu baau. When served as a longevity peach, the dough is twisted into a peach shape and given a pink dye to resemble a peach.