Ingredients:
-lotus seeds (dried)
-lye water
-sugar
-mali flavor
-water


What to Do:
For every liter of water add ½ tsp lye water. Wash lotus seeds and soak in lye solution until fully ‘rehydrated’. Remove from solution and wash thoroughly. Simmer the seeds until tender. Drain and wash the seeds once more before determining the amount of sugar. Add sugar along with some mali flavor. Gently mix and marinate overnight. Next morning, drain seeds from excess sugar (by now the sugar had turned into a syrup). Follow instructions for “dry” version but instead of “tossing” the seeds gently stir them with a spatula or shake the pan (lotus seeds are very fragile, thus take extra caution when performing this final step). It is recommended that the last step is done with small portions of lotus seeds at a time.

Notes:
To make the Chinese version of this treat, omit mali flavor.