How to eat Buddha's Hand

I never knew that Buddha's Hand can grow in New Zealand. I would thought the cold and frosty winter would have kill this subtropical plant but it has been growing happily in the backyard of my friend's house.

So what is a Buddha's Hand? It is a type of citron which looks like a cross between a giant lemon and a squid. In olden days, the Chinese and Japanese have prized the bizarre Buddha's Hand and use it to perfume a room for weeks with its mysterious fragrance.

The Buddha's Hand is a hybrid, though some say a mutant form of the normal citron, it splits longitudinally at the end opposite the stem into segments that look remarkably like long thin gnarled human fingers.

In the ancient time, this fruit symbolizes happiness, wealth and longevity. The golden fruit is especially popular at New Year's, for it is believed to bestow good fortune on a household. Though esteemed chiefly for its exquisite form and aroma, the Buddha's Hand citron is also candied as a dessert, and prescribed as a stimulant, expectorant, and tonic in non-traditional medicine.

Just because the fruit is used mainly as ornaments and air refresher does not mean that it is not edible. In fact, it has a very nice fragrant smell and tasted more sweeter and subtle compare to lemons.

Lately, it has been making its appearance in the recipes posted by some fellow bloggers. Please note that these are mainly for personal consumption only. For those foodie purists, these recipes are not meant for you, so please stay away! :))

Chicken Rolls Steamed in Lotus Leaf

Ingredients:

• 1 whole boneless chicken breast
• 1-2 Tablespoons Smithfield ham
• 2-4 Shiitake mushrooms, soaked for twenty minutes
• 1 small finger of a Buddha's hand, minced fine
• 2 lotus leaves, each cut into four pieces
• 1 teaspoon corn oil
• 1 scallion, minced fine
• 1 teaspoon ginger root, minced fine
• 1 Tablespoon Shaoxing wine or dry sherry
• 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
  

Preparation:

1. Cut chicken, ham, and mushrooms into thin strips and put in a bowl, tossing them to distribute well.
2. Use half of the oil to brush the inside and outside surfaces of each leaf.
3. Mix the rest of the oil, scallion, ginger root, wine, and cornstarch well then mix thoroughly with the chicken mixture.
4. Put one eighth of the mixture on each lotus leaf section and roll putting the sealed end down on a plate.
5. Steam, on the plate, over boiling water for 15 minutes, then move to a serving plate, garnish as desired, and serve.

Stewed Fruit and White Fungus

Ingredients:

• 1 ounce dried white fungus
• 2 pieces rock sugar
• 2 cups apple, Chinese apple-pear, longans and other fruits, as desired
• 1 small finger of a Buddha's hand, minced fine
• 2 Tablespoons peeled and sliced almonds

Preparation:

1. Soak the white fungus for one hour and then remove any hard pieces. Cut it into one-inch sections.
2. Bring two cups of water to the boil, add the white fungus, lower the heat and simmer for thirty minutes. Drain, rinse with cold water, and set aside.
3. Put the sugar in a small bag and crush it with the back end of the cleaver until the chunks are very small.
4. Dice the fruits into one to two inch cubes and put them and all other ingredients into a heat-proof serving bowl. Mix them well.
5. Bring half cup of water to the boil and pour over the fruit mixture, then place it in a steamer and steam over boiling water for half an hour. Then serve.

Buddha's Hand Jam

Ingredients:

• Peel of one Buddha's Hand (equal to about 6 lemons), thinly sliced
• 4 cups of water
• 3 cups of white sugar
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 3 tablespoons Amaretto liquor (for those who tried my jam, now you know where that special fragrance came from!)

Preparation:

1. Put the Buddha's Hand peel (or lemon peel) into a large pan and cover with the water. Leave it sit for about 1 hour.
2. Place pan over high heat and boil for about 30 minutes. Reduce heat to medium so it only boils gently. Add the sugar and stir until completely dissolved. Boil it gently for another 45-60 minutes. Also stir in the Amaretto.
3. Add some lemon juice about 10 minutes before the cooking time is over.
4. pour the jam (which is still pretty liquid) into a big glass jar.

Buddha’s Hand Crème Brûlée

Ingredients:

• Egg yolks – 4
• Sugar – 1 tsp + 3 tbsp
• Salt – 1/8 tsp
• Half and half – 2 cups
• Nonfat dry milk – ½ cup
• Buddha’s Hand zest – 1 tsp
• Sugar – 6 tbsp, for sprinkling over the top

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 300F. Whisk egg yolks, 1 tsp of sugar and salt together and set aside.
2. In a medium pan, pour half-and-half, along with 3 tbsp of sugar, zest and dry milk.
3. Whisk occasionally while the mixture gently heats.
4. Heat until tiny bubbles form around the edge.
5. Remove from heat and gradually whisk in the milk mixture to egg mixture.
6. Mix thoroughly, strain and pour into 6 ramekins.
7. Place the ramekins in a large baking pan and pour enough hot water into the pan to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins.
   
8. Bake for 45- 50 minutes or until the crème brûlée is just set, and the center wiggles when shaken.
9. Remove ramekins from the water bath and cool at room temperature.
10. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
11. When ready to serve, spread evenly 1 tbsp of sugar on the top of each ramekin.
12. Use a blow torch to caramelize the sugar evenly. Alternately, place the custard under a broiler to blister.
13. Allow brûlée to sit for 2 minutes before serving.

Braised Buddha’s hand gourd with mushroom

Ingredients:

• 300g Buddha’s hand gourd (peeled, removed core and cut into thick strips)
• 50g mocked chicken slice (cut into thick strips)
• 3 dried shitake mushrooms (soaked and cut into thick strips)
• 50g carrot (cut into thick strips)
• 2-3 slices of gingers
• 1 tbsp oil

Seasonings:

• 1 tbsp vegetarian oyster sauce
• 1 tbsp light soya sauce
• ½ tsp salt
• Dash of sesame oil and pepper
• 200ml water
• 1 tsp cornflour (diluted with water) – for thickening

Preparation:

1. Heat up oil, saute ginger until fragrant.
2. Add in mocked chicken and stir-fry until fragrant.
3. Add in mushroom and stir-fry for a while.
4. Add in carrot and Buddha’s hand gourd and stir-fry until well mixed.
5. Add in seasonings and bring to boil. Simmer until Buddha’s hand gourds are soft and well-absorded with the gravy. Adjust seasonings if necessary.
6. Thicken with cornflour solution. Dish up and serve.

Grilled coral trout with pickled Buddha’s hands

Ingredients:

• 4 coral trout fillets, pin-boned (about 175gm each)
• 25 ml extra-virgin olive oil

To serve: green salad

Pickled Buddha’s hands

• 2 large Buddha’s hands or unwaxed organic lemons
  
• 50 ml lemon juice
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• 1 fresh bay leaf

Olive oil sauce

• ½ tsp white peppercorns
• 1 star anise
• 1 tbsp each coriander seeds and fennel seeds
• 250 ml (1 cup) organic extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, halved
• ¼ bunch each tarragon, parsley, dill and chives, finely chopped
• 1 lemon, finely grated rind and juice only

Preparation:

1. For pickled Buddha’s hands, slice Buddha’s hands very thinly and transfer to a bowl, add remaining ingredients, 25gm sea salt and 50ml water. Scatter over a non-reactive tray in a single layer, cover with a damp absorbent cloth and stand at room temperature, turning occasionally, keeping cloth damp, until pickled (1-2 weeks).
2. For olive oil sauce, dry-roast spices in a small frying pan until fragrant (1-2 minutes). Combine extra-virgin olive oil with spices and garlic, refrigerate to infuse (6 hours-overnight), pass through a fine sieve, then add herbs, lemon juice and rind and season to taste.
3. Heat a non-stick frying pan or char-grill over high heat. Season fish with sea salt, brush with olive oil and cook skin-side down, applying a little pressure so fish cooks evenly (3-5 minutes), then turn and cook until just cooked through (1-2 minutes). Drain on absorbent paper, transfer to a serving plate, top with pickled Buddha’s hands, then dress with olive oil sauce. Serve with a green salad.

Buddha's Hand Tropical Fruit Smoothie

Ingredients:

• 1/2 Papaya peeled chopped into small pieces
• 1/2 Organic Mango peeled
• 1 Organic Bananas peeled
• 1 teaspoon Buddha's Hand zest
• 2 teaspoons Organic Lemon juiced
• 1/2 cup Vanilla Yogurt nonfat
• 1 teaspoon Organic Low Glycemic Agave Syrup
• 1/2 cup Ice Cubes

Preparation:

1. Simply place all the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. If too thick, add ice water as needed. Pour into a cold glass and enjoy. Perfect after a hot workout or as a quick, healthy snack to hold you over until dinnertime

Melon Salad With Mint And Buddha’s Hand

Ingredients:

• Honeydew melon – 2 cups, cubed
• Buddha’s Hand citron – ½ cup, small dice
• Strawberries – ½ cup, hulled
• Mint – ½ cup, minced
• Salt
• Pepper

Preparation:

1. Mix all the ingredients and let sit for 15 minutes before serving.
2. Serve at room temperature.