Lotus seed and longan sweet soup

Step 1: Drain 5 ½ oz dried lotus seeds. Look at each seed: if a green sprout (the germ) is still inside, split the seed slightly and push it out with a toothpick.

Step 2: Put the lotus seeds in a pot with 5 cups water and 1 pandan leaf. Bring to the boil, skim off any foam, then turn the heat down so the water barely trembles. Simmer for 35 to 45 minutes until a seed crushes easily between two fingers and tastes creamy, like a cooked chestnut. Common mistake: a hard rolling boil makes the seeds split and turn floury while the centres stay hard.

Step 3: Add 4 oz rock sugar and 1 pinch salt and simmer gently for 5 minutes more so the seeds take in the sweetness and the sugar melts. Lift out the pandan.

Step 4: While the syrup cools slightly, ease one cooked lotus seed into the hollow of each 1 tin canned longans in syrup. Put any extra seeds aside to go into the bowls loose.

Step 5: Add the filled longans and 100 ml of the tin syrup to the pot. Warm through over a low heat for 2 minutes without boiling, so the fruit stays plump. Taste: it should be gently sweet and floral, not cloying.

Step 6: Serve warm in small bowls, or cool it, chill it and spoon it over crushed ice in glasses. It keeps for 3 days in the fridge.