Monday, November 3, 2008

Sweet Pumpkin And Lily Bulb Soup

What you do with left over pumpkin(s) in... let's say half an hour? I had some pumpkin chunks left over from the soup I made previous days :-) I thought of stir-fry with some shrimps or just with plain with garlic or onions but changed my mind which I don't even know why. Then as I browsed the net for ideas, I realized that it was Halloween judging from all the pumpkin posts on foodies blogs! To all my friends, I wished you 'Happy (belated) Halloween!' I don't celebrate it but it's kind of fun seeing bloggers and friends having fun around you and it also reminded me that Winter is just around the corner!

Besides the pumpkin, I also found my pack of 4 pcs Lily Bulbs which I can't recalled when I bought it. I have to make mental notes not to buy things or ingredients that I don't intend to use early. I did a post about Fresh Lily Bulbs before - you can have a look at how the bulb looks like. The thing is, if I don't buy it now, I may not seeing them anymore on the shelves. It's either off season or last of the lasts. I have to wait next year again! You faced such predicament to buy or not to buy??? Until I find a bigger home for larger refrigerator, I have to content with what I have now... :-( Now, for a quick dessert, yes, I'm using the pumpkin and Lily Bulbs as dessert, for a change.


Sweet Pumpkin And Lily Bulb Soup
Serves 2-3 portions

150 g Pumpkin
50 g Fresh Lily Bulbs
30 g Rock Sugar (or to your taste)
400 ml Water

Method:
1. Wash and cut pumpkin into small chunks. Set aside.
2. Wash and remove any yellow petals from Lily bulbs. Separate bulb into petals.
3. In a pot, heat the water until it boils.
4. Add in the pumpkin chunks and let it cook for about ½ hour or until soft. Add in the rock sugar and Lily petals. When the rock sugar dissolves, remove the pot from heat to avoid over cooking the Lily petals. Serve hot or cold (you can add some ice cubes if you like.)

Note: If you can't find rock sugar, you can use your daily sugar or raw cane sugar. I'm not sure if you can find Fresh Lily bulbs in your regions (please check with your local delis, florists or Asian supermarkets) but you can use the dried lily petals. Soak the dried petals, preferably overnight and boil it until soften. Then add it into the pumpkin and syrup mixture.

Enjoy!

23 comments:

  1. Nice dessert, suitable for this dry cold winter and lucky you that you can get fresh lily bulbs in your surroundings.

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  2. That's a great way to use our Halloween pumpkins!

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  3. Sounds delicious ... I just made a pumpkin dessert on a whim too. Love pumpkin this season.

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  4. Never heard of cooking with lily bulbs but this looks very pretty!

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  5. and the taste will be like 'huan tzu thng'?

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  6. this is nice!! Although I am not a fan of pumpkin, I must say this looks really pretty:)
    I like Lily bulbs!

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  7. Hi Janet, I found the last few packs of fresh lily bulbs by chance on the supermarket shelf. I wished I knew when is their peak season. I prefer the fresh bulbs than the dried petals.

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  8. Hi Chocolate Shavings:~ I think it's one of the ways to utilize left over portions of pumpkin. I hate to waste such nice squash even though the price I paid for it is less than 1.50 € for 5.8 kg.

    Ola kala Maria:~ I love your idea of Pumpkin & Coconut Milk Panna Cotta! Pumpkin & Coconut are great pair in Southeast Asian cuisine!

    Hi Hillary:~ I hope you can find this fresh lily bulbs. It's common in Asian Chinese community or Chinartowns. It has a sweet and slight bitterness. I preferred fresh than dried petals which you have to soak overnight and precook before adding to any dish. You can find the dried petals either in Asian shops or Traditional Chinese Medical shops.

    Hi Cariso:~ yes, it's almost similar except no ginger added. Actually, I made 3 types... One version with lily bulbs, sago pearls & coconut milk and one mixed with chendol :-D Instead of 'huan chu' I used 'kim kwa'... errr, I hope my hokkien is correct. Taste wise, is different in texture.

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  9. Hi Christy, you can use papaya and sweet potatoes instead of pumpkin. I tried it with papaya and the dish came out with different fragrance & sweetness but don't add ginger. It kills the papaya's taste.

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  11. Looks delicious - incredible photos!

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  12. I'm fascinated by the lily bulb :)

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  13. Wow! What a creative dessert! Am sure my son will luv it. Will try it out soon.

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  14. Thanks for the info and pictures about lily bulbs. Another new thing to try :)

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  15. I've never really used lily bulbs in my cooking before, but I'm certainly inspired now... partly cos I'm a huge pumpkin addict! :D

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  16. That's a good way to use pumpkins. I do not recall seeing fresh lily bulbs around. I like the pictures :)

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  17. Hi Valleywriter ~ Thank you for the compliment :-) I'm trying...LOL

    Hi Cynthia ~ how are you? I'm just as fascinated like you about this bulb. It's quite difficult to get edible fresh lily bulbs. I hope you can find some the soonest.

    Salut, Laura ~ I hope you can find supplier for this lily bulbs. It has unique taste that made me sometimes in difficulty to match with other ingredients and also it would turned mushy if cooked too long... sigh...

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  18. Jude ~ It's an interesting bulbs. If you find the supplier, make sure the bulbs are free of bruises and dirt as much as possible. It's quite hard to notice when it's vacuum packed - some producers are clever at hiding the flaws... grrrrrrr...

    Turkish Cook ~ thank you for the compliment. I'm newbie in photography. Seriously, I need to polish up my skills. I hope you can find some edible lily bulb locally. Nothing beats the taste of fresh lily bulbs!

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  19. Hi Kenny ~ I didn't know you have addiction in pumpkin! :-P Don't worry, I will add more pumpkin recipes in future...

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  20. Haven't tried using pumpkin in this dish, usually sweet potato and I will add some white fungus.

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  21. I didn't know that lily bulbs are edible. But this looks great. It must be a very light dessert. We generally make pumpkin dessert by boiling and garnishing with some cream.

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  22. lily bulbs is such a fascinating ingredient- thank you for sharing that. i wonder where i could find them here in chicago...

    yvonne
    editor, my halal kitchen
    http:/www.myhalalkitchen.com

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