China · Home-style
Quick-Fried Diced Lotus Root
Lotus root blanched to keep it crisp, then stir-fried hard with chilli and finished with soy and oyster sauce. Snappy, savoury and faintly hot.
Lotus root keeps its perforated cross-section through almost any cooking method, which is why it stays recognisable on a Chinese plate. Blanching it first stops the root from turning rubbery in the fierce heat of a wok. Cooks who prep ahead usually keep the cut pieces under water, since the exposed surfaces darken within minutes.
Ingredients
- bird's eye chili2 pieces
- light soy sauce30 ml
- dark soy sauce15 ml
- oyster sauce15 ml
- cooking oil5 ml
Directions
- 1
Cut the large spring onion and bird's eye chili into short lengths and set aside.
- 2
Peel the lotus root and cut it into pieces no larger than 3 cm, then keep them in water (this stops them oxidising and turning black).
- 3
Take a wok, add 500 ml cold water and bring it to the boil.
- 4
Lower the diced lotus root into the boiling water, blanch for 2 minutes, then lift out and put on a plate.
- 5
Pour off the water, dry the wok over the heat and add 10 to 15 ml cooking oil.
- 6
When the oil is hot, add the chopped spring onion and bird's eye chili and fry until fragrant.
- 7
Add the blanched diced lotus root and stir-fry over high heat.
- 8
Add light soy sauce, dark soy sauce and oyster sauce.
- 9
Stir-fry for 2 minutes and turn out.
Source: HowToCook · WorldBite adaptation · Unlicense source text; bilingual recipe adapted by WorldBite.