Sweet and Sour Lotus Root 糖醋藕片

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We both know that sweet and sour anything starts out in the “win” column by default, but sweet and sour lotus root is even better than it has to be thanks to the vegetable it is built on being so all-around appealing. Even served mostly plain, lotus root is thoroughly delicious. Crunchy texture, similar to celery or apple, flavor subtly sweet. Lotus root exemplifies the notion of food which is "light, clean and refreshing."  

 

I probably should stop right there and beg your indulgence to play “Mr. Science” for a minute so we can get one burning issue clarified and out of the way: Lotus root is not really a root; it’s a rhizome. 

 

A rhizome is actually part of the plant's stem, not part of the root system. This lotus plant grows best in shallow lakes and muddy bogs and most of the stem runs parallel to and beneath the surface of the ground. This submerged stem is pinched into fat segments, resembling links of sausage. These segments store nourishment to feed the growing plant. They are chocked full of nutritional goodies and they are what is harvested as a foodstuff. Rootlets emerge from the nodes and go down, deep into the mud, while vertical stalks also originate at these nodes to go upwards, giving rise to spectacular holy flowers.

 

 

     

                                                                                                                     Photos Baidu

 

Digging them up is demanding stoop labor, not for the weak or dainty. You wade into the muck up to your knees and pull hard after loosening them with a stick or spade-like tool. Put the harvested lotus pieces on a flat-bottom boat or mud sled. 

 

     

                                                                                                                            Photos Baidu 

 

When you buy them in the market, the seller weighs out as many of these segments as you need. Sometimes two or three small ones are sold joined together. More often the individual “links” are 8 or 10 inches long and can be bought separately. The lotus lady where I usually get mine always asks how I plan to use it, so she can select pieces with the appropriate level of tenderness for me to buy. Today she asked, “你会炒还是炖？” (Will you fry it or stew it?) For stews, a big old tough piece is best.

 

I explained my culinary plan, at which she nodded sagely and suggested one that “had my name on it.” I agreed, she scraped away most of the dried mud and weighed it. My trophy cost 11 Yuan, weighing in at a little over 900 grams.  I try to select a lotus piece that is heavy for its size; but this is supremely inexact since I just heft two or three and make a face intended to convey I know what I’m doing, mostly for show. What does count, however, is to buy a piece of lotus that has closed ends. If the segments have been separated improperly, sand and grit get into the interior of the lotus are extremely difficult to fully wash away. The photo below right is taken end-on to show what I mean.  

 

 (Please click the photos to enlarge them.)

 

            

 

 

Next stop was for a red bell pepper. Spoiled for choice, I easily found a beauty. Peppers are abundant and perfect now. A large, shiny unblemished one cost 4 Yuan. Green peppers were half of that. These peppers start out green, and to get red ones, the farmer must leave some on the bush longer to allow them to ripen in place before picking. Extra time, extra risk. Makes them cost a little more. 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At home I decided to cook it up for a lazy Sunday lunch. The plan was to have it alongside a grilled chicken leg with a glass of iced Dian Hong 滇红茶 Yunnan red tea. Listening to Mozart fitted in somehow and I had Don Giovanni coming through bluetooth earphones. It was the Vienna Philharmonic recording with Sherrill Milnes and Anna Tomowa-Sintow.

 

Note: Strategic thinking is important here. If you prep things in the wrong order it’s more work. But no worries: you have just received a battlefield promotion from grunt private to full bird colonel, so “big-picture” strategy has become your bread and butter. What I advocate is to divide the task into several distinct and separate parts and address the lotus itself last. If you clean and slice the lotus at the outset, it will discolor to an ugly brown unless you submerge the slices in cold water. Then you are committed to drying them well before frying. Better to eliminate that step entirely by dealing with the lotus last.

 

With that rationale in mind, I got busy on the sweet and sour sauce first. Six tablespoons 汤勺 of vinegar go in a bowl. Three of those are white vinegar 白醋 and three are dark aged vinegar 老陈醋。 White vinegar is more sour and acidic; dark aged vinegar is more mellow and rich. A half-and-half blend works out just right. One tablespoon of light soy sauce 生抽 completes the liquid part of the sauce. Add 4 tablespoons of granulated sugar 白砂糖, a teaspoon 茶勺 of cooking salt 食用盐，and a half a teaspoon of MSG 味精. Mix this well several times. The solids are granular and tend to settle to the bottom.

 

Equal amounts of vinegar and sugar is the most common recipe equation. If you like your sweet and sour sweeter, go a little heavier on the sugar. The opposite holds true as well, and I’ve elected to use slightly more of the sour note in my mix today. Then I make the thickening sauce by combining two or three teaspoons of corn starch 玉米淀粉 and about a half cup of cool tap water. This doesn’t need to be exact.

 

Slice the red bell pepper 红甜椒 into thin rounds, discarding the white pith and seeds. Crush and coarsely chop a head of garlic 蒜头。(I use single-clove garlic 独蒜 because it’s milder.) Survey your handiwork, checking mentally to be sure you haven’t skipped anything essential.

 

     

 

 

Everything else is ready now, so turn your attention to the lotus. I go so far as to even put the pan on the burner (don’t turn it on,) add a tablespoon of oil, and get my spatula handy before starting "lotus work." I generally use a flat bottom non-stick pan 平地不粘煎锅 for this dish, even though a wok will also do just fine.  

 

Scrub the lotus with a brush under running water. The piece I bought today has both ends closed. As mentioned, that’s important because the last thing you want to turn out is an order of gritty lotus root. Serve it to the wrong table, and there goes your hard-earned Michelin star. Poof! Just like that.

 

     

 

 

Peel it with a vegetable peeler or scrape vigorously with a very sharp knife. Work quickly; the clock is ticking now. If you dally, the whole thing will change from pearly white to muckle dun. Slice it into rounds about ¼ of an inch thick. If they are slightly uneven it doesn’t matter, but it’s best to avoid cutting large chunks, wedges or slabs because they will require more cooking time. Uniform pieces are one of the keys to success with this dish. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Turn on the gas, medium flame, and quickly sauté the garlic. When you start to smell its aroma 爆香 (15 or 20 seconds) add the lotus and stir it briskly 翻炒 so as to coat both sides with oil. When it just barely begins to color 七成熟 add the sweet and sour sauce, stirring it to coat the lotus well.  

 

     

 

 

Cook it for a minute or so, still over medium heat, tossing the lotus so that all of it gets well sauced. Add the corn starch suspension; stir and toss a minute more. Add the red pepper rings. The lotus slices and the peppers should maintain their crisp texture; keep the flame at medium and shake the pan with one hand while you stir with the other. 

 

When the juice thickens 粘稠 and most of it has been absorbed, you are done.  Transfer it to a serving plate with the remaining sauce poured on top. This is a dish which wins most prizes if eaten right away because the lotus and the peppers are still 脆嫩 crunchy but tender then. It’s not the end of the world if it comes down to room temperature, but don’t make it an hour or two ahead on purpose since it's less interesting if it becomes soggy.

 

     

 

 

Sweet and sour lotus root is a warm-weather staple throughout most of China, and it is especially beloved in Yunnan. Hope you will try it and see what you think.  

 

Here's the recipe all in one place for your convenience: (Click the "Reveal hidden contents" tab.)

 

Spoiler

The recipe: Sweet and Sour Lotus Root

 

Ingredients:

• 1 or 2 segments of lotus root, total weight under 500 grams, scrubbed and sliced
• 1 red or green sweet bell pepper, sliced into thin rounds
• 1 single-head garlic or two cloves of standard garlic, crushed and coarsely chopped
• 3 tablespoons white vinegar
• 3 tablespoons dark aged vinegar
• 4 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon coarse cooking salt
• ½ teaspoon MSG
• 2 or 3 teaspoons of corn starch mixed in half a cup of cool water

 

Method:

1.    Make the sweet and sour sauce first by combining vinegar, sugar, salt, and MSG in a bowl.

2.    Make the thickening sauce in a separate smaller bowl, combining 2 or 3 teaspoons of corn starch with a half a cup of cool water.

3.    Slice the bell pepper into thin rounds, discarding the seeds. Crush and chop two or three cloves of garlic

4.    Oil the base of a non-stick pan with a neutral oil such as corn oil.

5.    Turn on medium heat and stir the garlic until you can smell its aroma. (Don’t try to brown it.)

6.    Scrub and peel the lotus. Slice it into thin rounds.

7.    Immediately add those to the hot pan and stir fry, coating the lotus pieces with oil and letting them just begin to develop golden highlights.

8.    Add the pre-made sweet and sour sauce, continuing to stir fry with a flipping motion.

9.    Add the sweet pepper rounds, stir everything together for a minute or two.

10.  Add the corn starch suspension.

11.  Cook, continuing to stir vigorously until the sauce thickens and becomes sticky.

12.  When most of the sauce has been absorbed or reduced, serve it to a platter.

13.  Eat while still warm.

 

 

 

[mungouk]

Masterly, and I love the "science" bit!  

 

藕 is an odd word... how does one pronounce "ǒu"?

 

[889]

Rhymes with 有：

 

没有

美藕

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6 hours ago, mungouk said:

藕 is an odd word... how does one pronounce "ǒu"?

 

What I usually hear and see written in the market is 莲藕 "lian ou" instead of just 藕 "ou" alone all by itself. This is when referring to whole lotus root sections. Not sure why both characters are used instead of just one. Guess it could simply be custom, and also I cannot speak for all of China, just my neighborhood.  

 

In reading recipes, I usually see 藕 coupled with a "shape term" such as 藕片 ou pian (lotus root slices) as used in today's post.

 

It's common to cut lotus into irregular chunks to make a soup or stew. Those are 藕块。

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stirfry lotus recipes often call for small square-ish pieces 藕丁 or sticks 藕条。

 

   

 

 

莲花 "lian hua" are the flowers. 莲子 are the dried lotus seeds. 

 

   

 

 

 

 

Later in the year, pushcart vendors will be selling entire seed pods, usually green. People buy them and shell out the seeds themselves. They are lian tou 莲头。

 

 

Here's more about the seeds and seedpods: https://www.chinese-forums.com/forums/topic/49425-lotus-seeds-莲子/