Stir Fried Fresh Lotus Root

I had talked about fresh lotus root in a previous post. Please refer to the post to see what it looks like, to learn more about the lotus root, its health benefits, and for cleaning and preparation methods.

To tell the truth, all I know about cooking lotus roots is to add it to soups. That is the way my grandmother always cooks it. Soups with lotus roots are refreshing, tasty and sweet. Lotus root is a "cooling" vegetable. So it is an ideal food at any time. I had a gigantic lotus root. The half of which, I made into a tasty soup. But I want to learn more ways to cook this crunchy, tasty root. Guess what is the first thing I did? Google, of course! :)

I found a recipe for raw, fresh lotus root salad. I wanted to do this very much, as this recipe sounded tasty; but I am not sure if the gigantic lotus root I got was still young (and tender). It is starting to turn a bit brownish, so I know, it is maturing already. I have to find a recipe where I have to cook the root. I found this interesting vegetarian, stir fry recipe from RecipeLand.com It sounds easy to do, and with the simple stir-fry, I had hoped it will bring out the true flavors of the veggies included in the dish.




1/2 lotus root, washed, prepared and sliced
1 carrot, peeled, julliened
200 gms snow peas, trimmed, washed
4 pcs dried shiitake mushrooms, softened, drained
1 red bell pepper, seeded, julliened
4 T cooking oil, preferably peanut oil
4 T minced garlic
1 onion, chopped
3 slices of ginger
2 T soy sauce
1/4 C Chicken broth
1 t sugar
1 T sesame oil

1. Heat up the oil in a wok or a skillet. Add in the ginger and stir fry until fragrant. Add in the onions. Stir fry until softened. Add in the garlic and stir fry until fragrant (but not burnt.)

2. Add in the carrots and the drained shiitake mushrooms. Cook for about a minute or two.

3. Add in the red bell pepper, snow peas and sliced lotus roots. Stir fry for a short while, only.

4. Add in the chicken broth, soy sauce and sugar. Mix everything up. Turn off heat. Adjust seasonings to taste.

5. Sprinkle some sesame oil before serving.


If you will notice, I prefer to semi-cook, semi-stri fry my vegetables so that they will retain their "crunch" which my family prefers. This will also ensure that the nutrients - the vitamins and minerals will not be lost during cooking.

The result? A tasty, cruchy treat, even kids will enjoy!







This stir fried dish is shared with the Bookmarked Recipes community, headed and hosted this week by Ruth of Ruth's Kitchen's Experiments. Bookmarked Recipes is a foodie event where anyone from anywhere can blog about a recipe they had bookmarked from a cook book, food magazine, food blog, food website, from TV etc, make it and submit it to a weekly roundup. To see last week's wonderful round-up, please check out Pam's Sidewalk Shoes.