I am sure you're all aware that American potato chips become crisps when you set foot in the UK and it probably doesn't come as a surprise that Japan sits in the American camp using the term chips as well.
What might be more surprising is that the Japanese use other vegetables to make their chips (sorry, UK readers, I mean "crisps").
One of the most visually appealing alternative chips, I think you will agree, is the lotus root. This root vegetable is quite common in Japanese cooking and is used a fair amount in other Asian cooking as well so it's quite easy to find it. Just pop along to an Asian food store and you should find them in stock. Lotus root is also a pretty healthy foodstuff, containing plenty of vitamin B, C, thiamin, copper, iron, potassium and zinc as well as dietary fibre (which makes it a lot more nutricious than a white potato).
The Japanese cook their lotus root in a number of ways and one is as lotus root chips. You can eat these as a snack, just seasoned with salt (although I find they taste really nice with salt and parsley).
Alternatively, you can mix them into a salad for a decorative garnish and a little extra crunch.
My personal favourite is to make my miso tahini sauce and use this as a dip. You'll have time to make a dip because the lotus root chips can be made in a matter of minutes.
So if you fancy giving them a try, you can find the Youtube tutorial by clicking Lotus Root chips or scroll to the bottom of the page. for the written recipe.
Happy frying! Kurumi XXXX. (ps: these are heaven with a glass or two of chilled Japanese lager!)
If you would like to think about another lotus root recipe, why not try out my Pan fried Lotus Root?
Lotus Root chips
ingredients:
150g fresh lotus root
1 tsp vinegar
some kitchen paper
veg oil for deep frying
a little salt and dried parsley for garnishing
how to:
peel the skin of the lotus root and slice it as thinly as possible, then soak in water with 1 tsp of vinegar for 10 mins
drain on the kitchen paper
fill a pan with 2cm of veg oil and heat to 180’C
add a few lotus slices at a time & deep fry until golden brown
drain on kitchen paper
these are best eaten within 24 hours of preparation
https://static.wixstatic.com/media/d60c54_8ebef52af5ea4ce593802c055776e023~mv2_d_2728_2002_s_2.jpeg/v1/fill/w_1000,h_734,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01/d60c54_8ebef52af5ea4ce593802c055776e023~mv2_d_2728_2002_s_2.jpegKuru (2024))
