42. 霸王花 (bà wáng huā) – Pitaya Flowers – Selinicereus undatas
Dried Pitaya Flowers
Of course, as soon as I say the topic is done and dusted, I think of another herb.
Pitaya - Dragon Fruit
Pitaya, pitahaya, dragon fruit; call it what you will. The Chinese is 火龙果 (huǒ lóng guǒ), literally ‘fire dragon fruit’. They are the fruit of a night-flowering cactus, native to the Americas, but long cultivated in China.
What is perhaps less well known is the flowers are also edible and used both in TCM and as a herbal dinner ingredient. The flowers are sold dried and are known as 霸王花 (bà wáng huā).
Both the flowers of the white (Selinicereus undatas) and red fleshed (Selenicereus costaricensis) varieties are used. They are used to make tisanes and other drinks as well as being used in a number of soups.
The flavour, stronger than the fruit, is mildly herbal and refreshing with a sweet scent.
Here is a video of one recipe, which for obvious reasons, I have never made exactly as shown! I have done similar soups missing that one disgusting ingredient she uses. The narration is in Cantonese, but there are English subtitles. Note she refers to the flowers as Hylocereus undatus, an older scientific name, now disused.
