Living in a hot and humid climate where the temperature can get up to 35C, a refresher like this cold lotus seeds and basil seed drink is always the best drink to hydrate, especially as an afternoon snack.
🥣 Recipe highlight: Lin Chi Kang is packed with nutritious ingredients that not only keep you hydrated and help cool you down but may also offer healing benefits.
Table of Contents
- About Lin Chi Kang
- Benefits of Lin Chi Kang
- Ingredients to make Lin Chi Kang (with substitution)
- How to make Lin Chi Kang – Lotus Seeds Drink
- Additional ingredients that can be added to Lin Chi Kang
- Storage
- Other hydrating recipes you might like
About Lin Chi Kang
Lin Chi Kang translates to lotus seeds sweet soup. Also goes by Leng Chee Kang or Lai Chi Kang, this drink mainly includes lotus seeds along with other hydrating ingredients like basil seeds, malva nuts, and longan.
Popular in Malaysia and Singapore, this lotus seed drink is a unique fusion of traditional Chinese dessert with a Southeast Asian twist, reflecting the multicultural roots of Malaysian cuisine.
If you’re familiar with Chinese sweet soup or Tong Sui, like peach gum dessert, and snow fungus soup, Lin Chi Kang brings a Southeast Asian twist to the drink. Adding pandan flavor, with extra hydration and cooling effect from basil seeds and malva nuts.
Though Lai Chi Kang isn’t specifically a Chinese New Year dish, it makes a healthy sweet drink that symbolizes longevity and prosperity. Perfect for the season.
When I was little, like any other kids, I did not care so much about it being healthy, despite how much my mom told me whenever she made it. If you’re curious how this lotus seeds drink helps to hydrate and how it is claimed to be healthy, here’s how.
Benefits of Lin Chi Kang
Basil Seed boosts hydration and fiber. When soaked in water, basil seeds absorb water and create a gel-like coating. This gel is called mucilage, and it can retain moisture for a longer time, hence keeping the body hydrated. As basil seeds are rich in nutrition, especially fiber, they help with digestion and improve bowel movement.
Snow fungus hydrates your skin from inside out. This famous mushroom used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) can absorb and retain large amounts of water like a sponge. Snow fungus is known for skin hydration, anti-aging, and boosting immunity due to the natural polysaccharides and antioxidant properties.
Malva nuts have cooling properties to beat the heat. This nut have been used in traditional Asian medicine, from TCM to Ayurvedic practices, and across SE countries like Thailand and Vietnam. The nuts are known for their cooling, soothing effects, and healing properties. Traditionally, malva nuts have been used to help with sore throats, coughs, fevers, constipation, and even to ease pain.
Lotus seeds are rich in antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. They are highly nutritious, packed with protein, fiber, minerals, and antioxidants, which support overall health. Lotus seeds also have beneficial properties such as anti-cancer and anti-diabetic. They make a great plant-based protein filler that keeps you full and nourished.
Ingredients to make Lin Chi Kang (with substitution)
- Dried longan – Feel free to swap with canned longan, or even canned lychee, as some variations use lychee instead of longan.
- Basil seeds – Also known as Tukmeria and Sabja, this seed looks almost similar to chia seed.
- Malva nuts – Also goes by Pang Da Hai in Chinese, and Kembang Semangkuk in Malay, malva nuts need to be soaked in water for at least 4 hours before serving. Like basil seeds, they are added as a garnish once all the ingredients are cooked and cooled.
- Dried snow fungus – Soak them first to absorb water. Before you bring them to a simmer, cut them into smaller chunks.
- Red dates/Jujube dates – Halve them first, and you can choose to remove the pit before simmering.
- Dried lotus seeds – Dried lotus seeds looked like a bead, and it’s white in color. You can get them in the Asian market or buy them from the Amazon link.
- Pandan leaf – You’ll need only 1 piece of pandan leaf tied in a knot. Feel free to use pandan extract. For this recipe, I recommend going for 1/2 to 1 tsp of pandan extract.
- Sweetener – In this recipe, I use brown rock sugar. Sometimes I swap it with palm sugar, it gives a subtle toffee flavor. You can also use honey in lin chi kang, just make sure to add it once it has cooled down to retain the nutrients!
How to make Lin Chi Kang – Lotus Seeds Drink
Step 1. Soaking. Soak malva nuts, longan, and snow fungus in a separate bowl of water (normal temperature) for at least 4 hours (or leave it overnight).
Step 2. Simmering. Strain the longan and blooming snow fungus, then combine them with red dates, lotus seed, pandan leaf, and sugar in a pot with water and bring them to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat and leave it to simmer for 30 minutes or until the lotus seeds are soft. Turn off the heat and leave it to cool.
If you want it to cool faster, transfer an individual portion to a bowl and keep it in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Step 3. Prep the basil seeds. Rinse the basil seeds in a strainer to remove any dust, then soak them in a bowl of water for at least 15 minutes. After soaking, strain and discard the water.
Step 4. Assemble and enjoy. Add some ice cubes, garnish with the soaked basil seeds, and the strained blooming malva nuts into the bowl. Mix well and enjoy!
Additional ingredients that can be added to Lin Chi Kang
- Dried lily bulbs – Soak for 30 minutes to 1 hour before adding them to the simmer.
- Dried persimmon – Slice thinly and add it to the simmer.
- Goji berry – Rinse and add it to the simmer
- Boiled ginkgo nuts – Add them as a garnish
- Boiled Barley – Add them as a garnish
- Fresh or canned lychee – Add them as a garnish
- Fresh longan – Add them as a garnish
- Jelly – Add them as a garnish
Storage
Store any leftovers in a closed container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Other hydrating recipes you might like
Lin Chi Kang – Lotus seeds and basil seeds drink for hydration
4
servings4
hours30
minutes187
kcal1
h3
hours30
minutesA famous cooling and hydrating drink in Malaysia and Singapore, this lotus seed and basil seed cold sweet soup is packed with ingredients that nourish and boost hydration!
Ingredients
1/2 cup Dried lotus seeds – rinse
1/2 tsp Basil seeds (tukmeria/sabja)
5-8 pieces Malva nuts (kembang semangkuk/Pang Da Hai)
1/4 cup Dried longan
1/2 cup Red dates – rinse and halve
2 pieces Snow fungus (about 15g)
1 piece Pandan leaf – tie in a knot (remove it once cooked and cooled)
50 g Rock sugar – jump to substitute option above
6 cups Water
Ice cubes/crushed ice
Jump above for other ingredients you can add (optional)
Directions
- In separate bowls, soak malva nuts, dried longan, and snow fungus in water for at least 4 hours. You can also leave them overnight. Once they are nicely bloomed, strain and discard the water (except for malva nuts).
- Tear the snow fungus into smaller chunks or cut it with scissors.
- Combine longan, snow fungus, red dates, lotus seeds, pandan leaf, sugar, and water in a medium pot and bring them to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, reduce the heat and leave it to simmer for 30 minutes or until the lotus seeds are tender.
- Turn off the heat and move the pot away from the stove. You can scoop some into an individual bowl to help it cool faster.
- Rinse the basil seeds over a fine mesh strainer and soak them in a cup of water for 15 minutes. Once they bloom, strain and discard the water.
- Once the cooked ingredients in the bowl have cooled, strain the blooming malva nuts and add some to the bowl along with the basil seeds and ice cubes. Enjoy!
Equipment used
- Zwilling Stew PotCheck on Amazon
- Fine Mesh StrainerCheck on Amazon
