Lotus Root Chips 蓮根の素揚げ

Here's a quize.

I am a vegetable.

I am long.

My flesh is white.

My skin is beige with some spots.

Do you know who I am ?

You don't know ?

Then, with these clues below, I guess many of you would know who I am.

I  grow in the muddy water.

I have lots of holes in my body.

Yes, I am

Another picture of me.

Renkon/ Lotus Root !

The Renkon season has come at last. 

You may be able to find it all the year round, but we can harvest it only from the autumn to the winter in Japan.

Unlike the vegetable I introduced before, Renkon does not grow in my town.

Therefore I have to buy it from my regular net shops that purchase the Renkon from the regions which cultivate them.

Renkon is considered very good for the resparatory organs, and effective to relieve the symptoms such as coughs and inflamation of lungs. 

We can enjoy different kinds of textures depending on how we cook it.

It is crunchy if we par-boil it for salad, and is crispy if we fry, and it can be  even chewy  if we steam,grill or fry after grating it.

In Macrobiotics we eat it even as a medicine, and have some recipes to maximize the effectivness of Renkon.

But there's one thing that I'm concerned .

The absorption rate of radiation is quite high compared with other vegetables.

Therefore I always buy it from the shops that conduct radiation check constantly, and consume it not as frequently as before.

However we do not have to  worry much as long as we stick to the good eating and cooking habbits.

For example, brown rice that I eat every morning can detox the poison to some extent,

Eating organic and fresh vegetables are powerful to revatalize our bodies compared with chemically raised weak vegetables,

Not eating processed food full of additives,

Washing and soaking the vegetables thoroughly,

Removing the scum thoroughly during  cooking etc. etc....

In these ways, we can always minimize the risks of not only radiation but also of other harmful substaneces which may weaken our body and cause our illnesses.

All right, I am introducing you the savory " Renkon Chips" today !

It is crispy and yummy.

I am sure you'd love it too !

Renkon Chips

Ingredients

1 piece Renkon/ Lotus Root      some Salt     1 cup Sesame Oil

Procedure

1. Wash Renkon/Lotus Rood thoroughly under running water.
2. Steam in the steamer till soft. (approximately 10min.~20min depending on its size.) 
3. Let it cool down in the room temeprature.
4. Slice rounds as thin as you can. (1mm~2mm desired.)
5. Heat up the sesame oil in a pot and deep fry Renkon till brown. ( If you have thermometer, 160℃ is the right temperature.  Do not put too many pieces at a time.)
6. Take them out on the kitchen paper, and sprinkle some salt over them.

Tips

• Get the lotus root with mud around it,  the cleaned ones may have been bleached.
• The point of this recipe is to steam lotus root first.  If you omit this procedure,  it cannot be evenly fried to nice brown color, some parts often get burned half way through the cooking.
• Oil's quality makes  differences for finish, taste and mostly for our health.   I found extra vergin sesame oil is leaset oxidized and causes least stomoch discomfort among the oil I used for deep-frying.   

The lotus root can be cooked in these ways too.

Sautee with mushrooms, and seasoned with soy sauce.

Grilled with tempura batter coating.

Pan fry the grated lotus root, hijiki sea vegetables and the flour mixture.

れんこんチップス

材料

れんこん　一節　　　　　塩　適量　　　　　　油　　1~2カップ

作り方

1. れんこんは　よく洗ってから　蒸し器で　柔らかくなるまで 蒸す。　（太さによって10分~20分）
2. 冷めたら、1mm～2ｍｍくらいの　薄切りにする。
3. 油を160℃くらいにあたため、スライスしたレンコンを入れて　素揚げする。　（一度に たくさん 入れすぎないこと。）
4. いいきつね色になったら、キッチンペーパーの上などに 取り出す。
5. 塩を振りかける。

ポイント

• れんこんは、生のまま 切って　揚げるよりも、こんな風に　一度　蒸してから揚げると、均一に　きれいに　揚がります。
  
• 油は、一番搾りのごま油がお勧めです。　食後の感覚が違います。　酸化度が低いということを　体で感じることができます。　高すぎてと　思うかもしれませんが、　ちゃんと　きれいに濾して、暗いところで保存すれば、もう一度使えます。　他の油では　そんなことをしたら　食べた後に不快感を感じますが、一番搾りのごま油では　そんなことがありません。　健康の事を考えれば、高いようでいて、高くないと　私は思います。

Happy Cooking !

タグ：れんこん れんこんチップス マクロビオティック ビーガン Lotus Root Japanese cooking macrobiotics Vegan