Did you catch Annie’s Nine Things Every Food Blogger Needs? Let’s just say I almost feel like an imposter blogger. I routinely use the same table, placemat and bowls for my photos. Mostly that’s just how I eat and I like the blog to maintain a reality of my kitchen. The reality of someone with a full-time job and still manages to cook healthy, creative food.
With that being said, I have a handful of decorative dishes and it was nice to unearth them after moving. I bought these plates as a souvenir in Japan, so it would seem fitting to use it to plate a Japanese dish.
Wandering Asian markets leads me to new ingredients and lotus root is no exception. I flipped through The Japanese Kitchen which is structured by learning about each ingredient separately. With many local Japanese ingredients I have not even come across, it makes me want to see what else I could find in Toronto should I look hard enough.
Lotus root is slightly bitter, especially when raw, and thus it is recommended to peel and soak the vegetable in water to prevent discolouration, similar to potatoes. However, unlike potatoes, its intricate lattice network is unfolded.
Here, in this recipe, its soft structure is retained with a saute in a sweet/salty sesame marinade with mirin, tamari and toasted sesame oil. Pretty, indeed. Enjoy!
I am sharing this with Extra Veg.
Simmered Lotus Root (Renkon no kimpira)
From The Japanese Kitchen
2-2.5 cups lotus root, peeled and thinly sliced
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tbsp mirin
2 tbsp soy sauce or tamari
1 tsp toasted sesame seeds
dash of chili flakes, optional (shichimi togarashi is recommended)
1. Soak the lotus slices in cold water for 10 minutes and drain.
2. In a large saucepan over high heat, warm both oils. Once hot, add the lotus root slices and cook until they become soft. Stir in the mirin, soy sauce/tamari and reduce heat to low. Simmer until the marinade has almost disappeared. Remove from heat, sprinkle with sesame seeds and shichimi togarashi prior to serving.
Serves 4.
the taste space 
According to that article I am the worst food blogger known to man. I just want to cook… the photography part is such a pain. LOL!
This looks incredible though. I’ve only eaten it out at restaurants, but I did finally find the Asian market here. May need to give it a go!
🙂 My “9 things” says more about my obsessions than your blog cred! Keeping it simple and real always works!
Hey Annie, I think I figured it out. Your article needs to be renamed to Nine Things Every Food Photographer Needs. You are more than a blogger, you are an excellent Food Photographer and those are your secrets. 🙂
Well, I’m in trouble as a food blogger too! I don’t have any props per se – I use all the regular dishes I have in my kitchen in my photos. This recipe looks delish – I’ve never cooked lotus root, but I really like it!
I’ve never seen lotus root before, it looks really pretty cut into slices like that. Thanks for sharing with #ExtraVeg
Just gorgeous! I think I need to do some lotus root recipes just for their prettiness.
I did not catch that post… I think I will skip it so I don’t feel like an imposter as well haha ;p I really need to work on my food photography skills. The plate in the pictures is gorgeous =)
I haven’t tried lotus root yet – I like the way you prepared it.