Crispy Lotus Root Chips (Renkon Chips) fried to perfection and sprinkled with Himalayan pink salt and Japanese aonori seaweed powder.
My favorite local Japanese restaurant Izakaya Ginji in San Mateo offers these Renkon Chips or Lotus Root Chips. After ordering this menu a few times, I knew I had to make these at home. With a pinch of Himalayan pink salt and sprinkle of Aonori seaweed, these fried crispy root vegetable will be your favorite type of chips!
What is Renkon?
Renkon (蓮根) is a Japanese word for lotus root. We often use this root vegetable in a simmered dish, like Chikuzenni (Nishime), or Tempura. It has a crunchy texture like typical root vegetables, and the most unique part is that the root has bunch of holes.
When you slice the root, you will see the beautiful pattern. When you deep fry thin slices of lotus root to a golden color, they will turn into a beautiful appetizer. It’s actually a very simple dish to make, too.
They are crunchy and crispy, and once you eat some, you cannot stop eating. So addicting! You might want to double the recipe! 😉
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- 1 lotus root (renkon) (1 lotus root = 1/2 lb)
- Rice vinegar (see recipe below)
- Neutral flavor oil (vegetable, canola, etc) (for deep frying)
- Himalayan Pink Salt (or sea salt)
- Aonori (dried green seaweed) (optional)
-
Gather all the ingredients.
- Rinse the renkon and either cut with knife or use a mandolin slider to make 1/8 inch thin slices (see below). I don’t peel off the renkon skin as it gives nice look but it’s up to you.
- Add a few drops of rice vinegar and soak the sliced renkon in vinegar water for 5-10 minutes. Vinegar water will prevent the renkon from changing to a dark color.
- Rinse and drain well.
- And pat dry on paper towel – make sure to wipe off all the liquid.
- Heat the oil to 340F (170C) on medium high heat. Drop a piece of renkon to see if it’s ready. If it comes right up, then it's time to deep fry.
- Deep fry until renkon gets crispy and golden color.
- Once they are nicely fried, spread on a wired rack or paper towel to drip excel oil. Season with salt and aonori 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 in your own words and link to this post as the original source. Thank you.
