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Fried Lotus Root with Pork – delicious pork & shiitake mushroom mixture sandwiched between lotus root and deep-fried until crunchy. It’s one of my favorite ways to enjoy lotus root growing up!
I hope everyone in the US is enjoying their 4th of July weekend (Independence Day). My weekend has been filled with continuous fun events with family and friends and I’m spending a little time away from the blogosphere.
Today, I’ll share a lotus root recipe. If you have spent quite a bit of time in Asia, then you are probably familiar with lotus root as an ingredient. I found out that lotus root is not so well-known in the US after I started blogging. Here’s my favorite way of eating lotus root and I hope you will give it a try!
Have a wonderful Monday to all of you, and Happy Independence Day to everyone in the US!
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Fried Lotus Root with Pork - delicious pork & shiitake mushroom mixture sandwiched between lotus root and deep-fried until crunchy. It's one of my favorite ways to enjoy lotus root growing up!
- 2 green onions/scallions (finely chopped)
- 2 shiitake mushrooms (finely chopped)
- 2-3 lotus root (renkon) (I used a pre-boiled “Rekon no Mizuni” package, cut into thin slices)
- ½ lb ground pork (227 g)
- ½ cup potato starch/cornstarch (100 g)
- Kaiware radish sprouts (to garnish)
- 2 Tbsp potato starch/cornstarch
- 1 tsp ginger (grated)
- 1 tsp sake
- 1 tsp miso (I used awase miso)
- ½ Tbsp potato starch/cornstarch
- 1 Tbsp water
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Gather all the ingredients. In a medium bowl, combine all the ingredients for Seasonings.
- Cut green onions, shiitake mushrooms, and lotus root.
- Add the meat, green onion, shiitake mushroom in the Seasoning bowl. Mix well with hands until the mixture gets sticky and set aside.
- On a slice of lotus root, place a teaspoon of the filling and spread. Put another slice of lotus root on top and press down to make a sandwich.
- In a large non-stick frying pan, heat ¼ inch of oil on medium-high heat.
- Dredge the lotus root in the corn starch and remove excess.
- When the oil is hot, gently place lotus root in the pan. Cook both sides until nicely browned. When the meat is cooked thoroughly, remove onto a paper towel to drain oil.
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Meanwhile, in a small saucepan/frying pan, add all the ingredients for Sauce and cook on medium-low heat. In a small bowl, combine corn starch and water and mix well. When the sauce is simmering, add corn starch mixture (make sure it’s completely mixed) in the pan and mix quickly and thoroughly. Turn off the heat and set aside until you are done with deep frying.
- Reheat the sauce just before you serve. Pour the sauce over the lotus root and serve immediately.
Recipe by Namiko Chen of Just One Cookbook. All images and content on this site are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without my permission. If you’d like to share this recipe on your site, please re-write the recipe and link to this post as the original source. Thank you.
Hmm, for the miso, could I use white miso?
Hi Jackie! Yes. I hope you enjoy this dish! 🙂
What do you call this in Japanese? 😮
Renkon no Hasami Age (蓮根のはさみ揚げ). 🙂
I tried this yesterday (froze some too, no idea how its gonna turn) and it was delicious! It was also my first time eating lotus (I live in Montreal and Asians are overcoming us haha but because of that its really easy to find asian and japanese ingredients, so i cook japanese daily, its my hobby) and im gonna buy it again! I even have some mustard sprouts on my balcony so i copied your presentation! Thank you for this idea, except the chinese versions i didnt see anything similar so I know its yours!
Hi Sunny! This is a pretty common Japanese food, and I learned that Chinese cuisine uses lotus root for soup a lot (according to the Chinese readers of my blog). So glad you liked this recipe, and thanks for your feedback!
It is a typical recipe for Chinese New Year Celebration as the deep-fried lotus roots look like gold coins, bringing prosperity! I have learned it from a friend from Hunan, China.
For vegetarian version, we replace the meet with mashed tofu, or mashed green pees!
It is one of the popular dishes when I entertain.
Hi Yvonne! Thank you for great ideas for vegetarian options! I’ll keep that in mind for the time when I need some vegetarian dishes. Thank you for your feedback! 🙂
I remember seeing some lotus and thought I’d try it, but then I realized I don’t have miso.. I’ll remember this though.
Hi Albert! You can skip miso since it’s only 1 tsp. I add it so that it has more complex flavor but it’s not necessary. 🙂 Thank you for stopping by to leave a comment!
If I use fresh Lotus root, do i need to boil it first? and what is the advised method of boiling the lotus root? should I chop them before or after?
Hi Hazel! No, you do not need to boil. Slice between 5-8 mm thickness. 🙂
tried this and many of your other recipes–they all taste wonderful and my husband loves them!!! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Hi Sasha! Thank you for your kind feedback. I’m so glad to hear you and your husband enjoyed my recipes! 🙂
I wanted to make this but, since I’m vegan (except for occasional fish), I needed a good substitute for the pork. I used portabello mushrooms instead and it came out wonderfully! I will make this again. For the filling: Coarsely chop 3 portobello mushrooms. Add to a food processor with the seasonings, 1/4 c of dried breadcrumbs, and enough liquid to make the mixture sticky; I used the liquid from my shitake mushroom soaking for this. Then finish the recipe as directed. If using a low-salt soy sauce in the sauce, you may want to add a pinch of salt to the mushroom mixture.
So sorry I didn’t take a picture…I was enjoying it so much that it was gone before I thought of getting my camera!
Hi Anni! Thank you so much for your kind feedback. I’m so glad you made into vegan version and thanks for sharing your tip! I’m sure other JOC readers will appreciate your feedback. No worry about the picture, I’m just happy that you enjoyed this dish! Thank you!
I recently found your website from an article that mentions your blog as one of the best asian food blogs. It is amazing! Your recipes bring me back to Japan where we lived for a year!
I love your pictures and all the recipes!
I wish you inspiration forever so you can share with the world our passion for cooking!
Thank you very much Nami!
Hi Ibeth! Thank you so much for finding my website, and welcome to JOC! So cool you found my site from the article. I hope you had a wonderful life in Japan and hope that you will find your favorite recipes on my site. 🙂 Happy cooking!
So good! I make this again and again.
Hi Janelle! I’m glad you like this dish! Thank you for your kind feedback. 🙂
Hi there! I have to travel a ways away to a market to get a lot of the more authentic foods. I wanted to look into the Lotus Root recipes and know I wont use all the root in one or two goes. Is there a specific way that I can freeze the root so I can buy more at once? I’ve tried to look on the page, and Facebook and was unable to find anything. Any help would be appreciated!
Hi Jasmine! It’s a great idea to buy bulk (especially you live far to get the ingredients). For louts root, peel and cut into however you want to use. Slices, bigger chunks, any cut is okay. Then soak in vinegar water (water plus a teaspoon or two of vinegar) to prevent from changing color and making it white. Then drain and blanch in boiling water for 2-3 minutes. Blanching helps maintain texture. Then drain and dry with a paper towel or clean cloth and place it in an airtight bag or container. You can freeze up to 2-3 months! 🙂 When you are ready to cook, defrost or use frozen directly (if it’s for simmering food, etc). Enjoy!
Nami, I love lotus root in all its forms. Have made your side dish version many times for my mother-in-law to accompany her meals–so addictive! Just made this for Chinese New Year potluck with my church friends–such a hit. We ended up using the pre-cut, pre-soaked lotus root available from local Asian grocery store, so I could not control the thickness of lotus.
Perhaps I should have sandwiched more meat between the lotus slices? They started to separate from filling after frying one side. Make sure to really press down? Still tasty, nonetheless! Thank you!
Hi Peg! Thanks so much for trying this recipe! So glad you and your church friends enjoy this dish. I love the crunchy lotus root (and all the root vegetables) too!
Hmm, I would say you must press at a certain extent (but no need to press “hard”). You coat with the starch too, so that helps put together. However, maybe one or two slices may fall off while you deep fry but I don’t have an issue with majority of them falling off. How thin were your slices? Maybe they are thin and cook too fast?