Lotus Root and Pork Belly in Asian Seasonings

Usually I would slice the lotus root so that it'll look like a round-shaped vegetable with some holes throughout. However, this time let's cut the lotus root into thick sticks instead in order to achieve maximum crunchiness in every bite.

Lotus root and pork belly in Asian seasonings - 

Ingredients?

• 1 medium section lotus root
• 370 grams pork belly
• 4 garlic cloves
• 2 big stalks scallion
• 6 dried red chilies
• 1 chunk ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 tablespoons preferred cooking oil
• 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce 老抽
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon aged Chinese Shaoxing wine

How?

Rinse and dry the lotus root. After washing away all the dirt on it, the lotus root's true color reveals and I absolutely adore it. The brownish appearance and scattering dark marks might be rustic, but somehow feel so artistic to me.

Peel the lotus root then cut to thick sticks. It might feel funny cutting it since there are holes inside, but just do it till you got like skinny woman's pinky finger sized lotus root.

Prepare a pot of boiling water and add in 1/4 teaspoon of salt and 1 tablespoon of rice vinegar. Transfer lotus root over and bring to a boil again. Let it cook for two more minutes. Once ready, drain and set aside.

Don't worry if you see some purple color throughout even after cooking the lotus root in vinegary water. It's because of the natural polyphenols in lotus root. When in contact with air, it triggers the oxidation and so the color change.

Cut the pork to medium size chunks with some thickness. Mine was a bit too thick, which might result in harder texture in the end depending on the cut of pork used. I would say keep the pork at about 1 to 2 mm thickness the best. 

Destem and section the scallion. Separate the white and the green parts. Peel and roughly chop the garlic cloves. Scrape the skin then chop the ginger, we'll need about 1 tablespoon of prepped ginger for this recipe.

Have a big wok ready and drizzle 1 1/2 tablespoons of preferred cooking oil. Switch to medium heat, but you can use medium high heat if confident enough. Remember, bigger fire means you have to work your way in the kitchen faster, and you'll get more wok hei as a reward in the end. 

Add in pork and sear till some fats start to render. Once slightly browned, make sure to flip and continue to sear the other side. It might take a few minutes here.

Add in garlics, ginger, white section of the scallion, and 6 dried red chilies. Cook till aromatic but not overly burn the garlics.

Pour in 2 tablespoons of dark soy sauce and 1 tablespoon of aged Shaoxing wine. Give it a quick mix. Cook for a minute.

Transfer prepped lotus root to the wok. Also add 1 tablespoon of soy sauce and 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce. Mix and cook for couple more minutes.

Add in green section of scallion towards the end. Give it a quick mix and scoop out to serving plate while that nice green color still remains. 

This recipe is quite different than the other lotus root dishes I've made in the past. Not because of the seasonings, but the shape of the lotus root. It is quite crunchy, but not in a way hard to bite. 

Mister is fond it I think, he even asked what those thick sticks were when I first serving him this dish. I guess without the signature thinly sliced shape and holes, lotus root can be hard to identify sometimes.