Name: Lotus Root Tempura
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
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); kizami nori ((shredded nori)); aonori ((seaweed flakes)); furikake ((Japanese rice seasoning)); ¼ cup dashi; 1 tablespoon soy sauce; ½ teaspoon grated ginger; ½ teaspoon grated daikon

Lotus Root Tempura

Connie Veneracion

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.

Lotus root tempura sprinkled with nori strips, aonori and furikake

Prep Time 10 mins

Cook Time 10 mins

Total Time 20 mins

Course Appetizer, Side Dish, Snack

Cuisine Japanese

Servings people

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.

A stack of lotus root tempura on a wite plate

Keyword Lotus Root

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