Lotus Root Tempura
Thin slices of fresh lotus root are dipped in a light batter and deep fried to make lotus root tempura. We served ours sprinkled with seaweed and furikake.
Ingredients
- 1 lotus root
- 1 egg white
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons potato starch, or corn starch (see notes after the recipe)
- cooking oil, for deep frying
To garnish (optional)
- kizami nori, (shredded nori)
- aonori, (seaweed flakes)
- furikake, (Japanese rice seasoning)
Tentsuyu sauce
- ¼ cup dashi
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- ½ teaspoon grated ginger
- ½ teaspoon grated daikon
Instructions
- Peel the lotus root and cut into thin rings (between ⅛ and ¼ inch is a good peg).
- Place the sliced lotus on a plate lined with paper towels. Place another stack of paper towels over them and press down lightly to remove as much moisture as you can.
- In a mixing bowl, whip the egg white and salt until frothy.
- Stir in the starch, then drizzle in just enough iced water to form a thin batter.
- With the stove set on high, in a wok or frying pan, heat enough cooking oil to reach a depth of at least three inches.
- Dip each slice of lotus root in the batter (see notes after the recipe) and drop into the hot oil.
- Cook the battered lotus root slices in batches (never overcrowd the pan) until the batter turns into a crisp crust.
- Drain the lotus root tempura on a rack or strainer before tranferring to a plate.
- Serving suggestion: Stack the lotus root tempura on a plate, sprinkle with kizami nori, aonori and furikake.
- Serve your lotus root tempura with tentsuyu sauce for dipping.
Notes
Tapioca starch will make the crust of your lotus root tempura chewy while wheat flour will give you a bready crust. If you can’t get your hands on potato starch or corn starch, rice flour (not glutinous!) would be a good option.
Stir the batter often as you dip the lotus slices to make sure that the starch does not settle at the bottom of the bowl.
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