Japanese lotus root dish
About Japanese lotus root dish
This time, I will write about a Japanese lotus root dish called “Kinpira Renkon”. “Renkon” is lotus root in Japanese. “kinpira” is a cooking method in which vegetables are fried and seasoned with soy sauce, mirin, sake and/or sugar. In Japan people use commonly root vegetables, such as burdock root, lotus root and carrots for kinpira. Kinpira, which uses burdock root and carrot, is especially popular.
Since kinpira’s taste goes well with rice, it’s a very common side dish in Japan. Hence you can make it at home or buy it at the supermarket. It takes about 30 minutes to cook and you can store it in the refrigerator for 3-4 days, which is convenient when you want to make another dish.
Regarding Lotus root
Lotus root is a common ingredient in Asian countries. Japan is no exception, and it often appears in various dishes. It is delicious whether you make fried, boiled, or grilled food. You can enjoy various textures depending on how you cut and heat. If you want a crispy texture, cut it into thin slices. If you want a soft and fluffy finish, cut it into thick pieces and heat it slowly. I think you can buy lotus roots at Asian supermarkets.
It is used for New Year’s dishes. As there are many holes in the lotus root, you can see ahead through the holes. People have thought it to be an auspicious ingredient for a long time with the wish to “improve the future outlook”. If you like, read the link below about the nutrition and health benefit.
Now let’s go to the recipe.
Japanese lotus root dish
Equipment
- a frying pan
Ingredients
- 450 ~ 500 gram Lotus root
- 1 tablespoon Sesame oil
- 1 ~ 3 Dried red chili — I like to make it a little spicy, so I add it without cutting, but if you like spicy, remove seeds and slice it.
- 3 tablespoon Japanese sake or Chinese rice wine
- 3 tablespoon Mirin
- 3 tablespoon Japanese soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon Sugar
- 1 tablespoon Roasted sesame seeds
- 1 tablespoon Vineger
Instructions
- Wash the lotus root and remove the black and damaged parts. Then you can peel the skin off, or you can leave it on. Cut into thin slices. If the lotus root has a large diameter, cut it in half and slice it into thin slices.
- Soak lotus root in 2 ~3 cups of water and 1 tablespoon of vinegar for 5 minutes and drain.
- Put sesame oil and dried chilis in a frying pan and heat over medium heat.
- Add sliced lotus root and fry on medium heat for about 5 minutes or until tender.
- When the lotus root is soft, add the seasoning (Japanese sake, mirin, Japanese soy sauce and sugar). Fry it for 5~10 minutes or until it becomes glossy. (At this point, almost no liquid is left.)
- Sprinkle with roasted sesame seeds, mix gently and turn off the heat.
- Serve on a plate. You can sprinkle extra white sesame seeds if you like.
Notes
If you can buy lotus root, please try it. I’ll put a link to the recipe for Asian vegetable side dishes below, so please make it if you like.
Thank you for reading and Bon Appetit!
