As the saying goes: "Lotus root is a treasure, and autumn lotus root is the most nourishing." Autumn is the season when lotus roots are on the market, so eat more. Lotus root tastes crisp and sweet. It can be eaten raw or cooked. It also has high nutritional value. Lotus root contains five essential elements-protein, fat, sugar, vitamins and minerals. In particular, the content of calcium and iron is very high, and eating lotus root often has the functions of enriching blood and benefiting qi and enhancing immunity.
Although lotus root can be eaten raw, it is not recommended. Because lotus root is an aquatic plant, it is easy to carry parasites, so it is safer to sterilize it at high temperature after cooking.
There are many ways to "cook" lotus roots, such as cold salad, stir-frying and stew, which one do you prefer? My children prefer to eat fried lotus root slices, which are crisp, delicious and light. This is a relatively healthy way of eating.
Stir-fried lotus root slices seem simple, but it also stumbles some people, because the white lotus root slices turn black when cooked, and the taste is not crisp.
Why is this happening? Mainly because the practice is wrong. Most people fry lotus root slices, all of which are cut and fried directly in the pot. No wonder they turn black. Today, I will share with you the method of frying lotus root slices by hotel chefs, and learn three tricks to ensure that lotus root slices are white, crisp and delicious.
Fried lotus root slices
Prepare fresh lotus root, onion, ginger, green pepper, salt, edible oil and white vinegar.
working methods
The first step is to make fried lotus root slices. Be sure to buy a pair of lotus roots. Lotus root has seven holes and nine holes, which are very different. Seven-hole lotus root has a large starch content and is soft after cooking, which is suitable for stewing lotus root; Nine-hole lotus root has less starch content and is crisp after cooking, which is suitable for cold salad and cooking.
Step 2: Buy some nine-hole lotus roots, wash them, peel them, cut them into thin slices, wash them twice with clear water, add a spoonful of white vinegar, stir them evenly by hand, and soak them for 10 minute.
Tips The reason why lotus roots turn black is because the phenols contained in them are oxidized into quinones after contact with air. Therefore, after the lotus root slices are cut, they should be quickly isolated from oxygen. Soaking them in white vinegar water not only makes them whiter in color, but also crisper in taste.
Step 3: Slice green onions, shred ginger, remove seeds and pedicels from green peppers, wash and cut into large pieces.
Step 4: Pour a proper amount of water into the pot, bring it to a boil with strong fire, add a proper amount of salt, cooking oil and white vinegar, pour lotus root slices into blanched water 1 min, take them out, pour them into cold water, let them cool, and drain the water.
Tips: Remember to blanch the lotus root before you put it in the pot. Blanching water can make lotus root mature quickly, shorten frying time and make it more crisp and delicious. At the same time, high-temperature blanching can inactivate the oxidase in lotus root, and it will not turn black when frying. Lotus root slices are more crisp and refreshing after being too cold.
Step 5, pour the right amount of oil into the wok, add the onion and ginger slices when it is 50% hot, stir-fry until fragrant, then pour the pepper slices and stir-fry until raw.
Step 6, add lotus root slices, stir-fry them quickly for half a minute on high fire, absorb the fragrance of onion, ginger and pepper, and add appropriate amount of salt and sugar to taste, so that the lotus root slices are more delicious.
Tip: Stir-fry lotus root with big fire, with less water loss and more crisp taste.
Step 7, pour a proper amount of water before taking out the pot, so that the lotus root slices are crisper and more uniform in taste, and can be taken out of the pot after being evenly fried.
-The moment of skill sharing-
Stir-fried lotus root, whether it is lotus root slices, diced lotus root or lotus root sticks, should bear in mind three points, namely soaking in white vinegar water, blanching and frying in high fire, so that lotus root can be white, crisp and more delicious.