Tiger Lily Stems, Lily Buds, Golden Needles

Despite all the confusing names, all of these are dried unopened daylily flowers. Although I rarely use lily buds except when making hot and sour soup, I’ve read that they’re a popular flavoring in Chinese vegetarian dishes. I don’t think they have much taste, but this might be because they’re easily overshadowed by other ingredients.

Tiger lily buds are sold in small plastic bags. They should be moist and flexible when you buy them and not at all dried out. They should be soaked for 30 minutes in warm water to soften them and then shredded before being added to a pot of soup.