Osmanthus Lychee Delight
This dish has an elegant name, called [Osmanthus Lychee Delight]. The first time I tasted it was at a hotel dining table. When the dish was served, delicate and vibrant red cherry tomatoes were embedded inside translucent white lychee spheres, inverted on a round plate. The smooth, refreshing appearance, with its white-and-red contrast, stood out immediately and captured everyone's attention. Taking a bite, the osmanthus fragrance is subtle and calming, the lychee tender and delicious, the cherry tomato sweet and tangy, with steamed glutinous rice inside that's fragrant, soft, and sticky. It's undoubtedly a delightful and eye-catching pre-meal dessert~~~ The preparation is simple, and the ingredients are easy to find. Remember the ancient phrase 'As the palanquin rushes, the concubine smiles'? It tells of an emperor mesmerized by just a few 'concubine-smile' lychees, proving how truly charming this fruit is. However, eating too many can cause internal heat, so go easy on them, friends!
Ingredients
Steps
Prepare ten or so fresh lychees and cherry tomatoes.
Wash the cherry tomatoes and set aside. To quickly peel lychees: look for a thin vein in the textured skin of the lychee, which is the weakest point.
Pinch at the thin vein using your fingernail to create a small incision. Then, gently squeeze the lychee, and the shell will crack open easily.
Use the same method to peel all the lychees and set aside.
Take a peeled lychee, and cut horizontally around the top one-third of the fruit with a knife.
Gently pull apart the halves, removing the seed. You'll have one hollow half and one half with the seed.
Cut each cherry tomato in half.
Take the hollow lychee half and a smaller half of the tomato.
Gently insert the cherry tomato into the hollow lychee.
End result.
Steamed glutinous rice.
Take a small bowl, and arrange the lychees cut-side facing the bowl wall in sequence.
Fill the center with glutinous rice, pressing and smoothing it down.
Take a small plate, and invert the bowl onto the plate.