Fried Stuffed Lotus Root (Zha Ou He)

[Rachel Perlow]

Fried Stuffed Lotus Root (Zha Ou He)

Our friend Lin's mother made these for us when she was visiting from China. Here's a url: Lotus Root, Can you deep-fry it?

"Fried lotus root was one of the holiday dishes you could see on many families' dining tables" especially for "Spring Festival."

All ingredient measures are approximate below, Lin didn't give any measurements, I'm basing this on other Chinese dumpling fillings and her notes to me. As Lin said, "I don’t have the exact measure. It does not matter you have put in too much ground pork or too many scallions. Just follow your experience or instinct, and do not put too much sesame oil or salt."

• Whole Lotus Root
  
• Oil for deep frying
  

Filling

• 1 lb Ground Pork
  
• 3 Scallions, chopped
  
• 1 T Soy Sauce
  
• 1 tsp Sesame Oil
  
• 1/4 tsp Salt
  

Batter

• 1/4 c Flour
  
• 1 Egg
  
• Water
  

Wash your fresh lotus root. If the skin looks very clean, keep the skin; if not, peel the skin. Steam or boil the whole lotus root until it is cooked. Cool then slice the lotus root crosswise into thick slices, then slice each of these in half, like a clamshell with one end still attached.

While lotus root is cooking, stir the filling ingredients together. Optional seasonings include 5-Spice Powder, Ginger, Black Pepper.

Prepare the batter: "Several tablespoonful of flour. Add 1 egg, and some water. Stir well. When it is well mixed, it should look like pancake mix, but a lot thinner."

Spread some filling between the double sliced lotus root. Heat the oil in a wok or deep fryer. Dip each filled double slice into the batter. Then deep-fry it until it turns brown.

Keywords: Appetizer, Side, Hors d'oeuvre, Intermediate, Pork, Vegetables, Dinner, Lunch, Snack, Chinese, Deep Fryer

( RG175 )