1. Wash and pat dry lotus roots. Cut off the end of each section of the nodes. Do not discard. You will use the end caps as a lid to keep the sticky rice from falling out.
2. There is no need to soak the sticky rice ahead of time. Cooking the sticky rice in the pressure cooker will soften it enough. If you are slow-cooking on the stovetop, consider soaking glutinous rice for at least 3 hours.
3. Wash the sticky rice and drain well.
4. Carefully and patiently stuff each lotus root hole with glutinous rice until all the tubes are filled with glutinous rice. Leave space at the end of each lotus root piece for the sticky rice to expand during cooking!
5. This is a time-consuming project, not a recipe to attack during the weekday. Instead, meal prep this sticky rice stuffed lotus root ahead of time.
6. Once the lotus roots are stuffed, fasten the lotus root end caps on top of the primary root with a few toothpicks. Try to gently push the toothpicks as far in as you can.
7. Place the secured lotus roots into the instant pot. Fill the pot with enough cold water to cover the submerged lotus roots.
8. Add remaining ingredients: rock sugar or dark brown sugar slabs, rate dates and dried osmanthus flowers.
9. Close the lid, set the pressure cooker to high pressure for 20 minutes, and let it naturally release pressure.
10. As you open the lid, you will notice a strong aroma of osmanthus fragrant syrup filling the air.
11. Remove and simmer for 5-10 minutes to reduce and thicken the syrup water.
12. Let the stewed lotus root stuffed with sticky rice steep in the sugar syrup overnight.
13. The next day, the lotus root will develop a lovely deep red colour. Most importantly, the sweetness will have penetrated the sticky rice thoroughly!
14. Remove the toothpicks and cut the lotus root into even-thick slices, approximately 1 cm thick

Assembly

1. Transfer sliced lotus roots to a serving plate and drizzle with cold or warm Osmanthus Infused Syrup 桂花糖浆.
2. Garnish with dried osmanthus flowers if desired.
3. Serve and Enjoy.

1. Osmanthus Infused Syrup 桂花糖浆
2. Make Osmanthus Infused Syrup ahead of time while the lotus root is cooling overnight. Use 250ml of stewing liquid and add rock sugar.
4. Simmer over low-medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Stirring frequently to prevent burning.
6. Reduce the syrup by 50% or the desired viscosity! Store in an airtight jar and set aside.