It's Fry-day - Japanese Style Stuffed Lotus Root & Spicy Garlic Chicken

Well TGIF - Thank God it's Fry-day, literally. The Missus was craving some fried food, and decided on a Japanese style stuffed lotus root dish. Not wanting to waste a rare fried food opportunity, and any oil, I decided to make some Spicy Garlic Chicken, which I haven't made in over a decade.

Sometimes 4 cups of rice ain't enough for me!

Japanese Style Stuffed Lotus Root

This recipe is based on the one from a book called Recipes of Japanese Cooking, and just recently translated into English. You may be able to find it in various Japanese Bookstores.

1-1 1/2 Lb Lotus Root
1/2 Lb Shrimp, cleaned,peeled, and deveined.
1-2 Stalks Green Onion Green Parts only sliced thin
2" Piece of Ginger Grated
1 Tsp Sake
1 Tb Katakuriko (Japanese Potato Starch)
1/2 Tsp Salt
1 Tsp Sake
10-12 Shiso Leaves(also known as Perilla, or Beefsteak plant leaves), rinsed clean.
1 Sheet Nori cut into 1/3" strips
1/2 Cup Flour
Salt
Oil for Deep Frying
2-3 Tb White Vinegar in 4 Cups water
Lemon

1 - Peel the lotus root and slice into 1/8" pieces, then slice pieces into "half-moons". Soak Lotus Root in vinegar-water for 5 minutes. This will remove any bitterness from the lotus root.Remove from water, drain, and dry.

2 - Place shrimp, green onion, ginger, sake, katakuriko, and 1/2 tsp salt into the bowl of a food processor and grind until a ball of "paste" is formed.

3 - Slice shiso leaves in half.

4 - Pair the lotus root slices. Place a shiso leaf on on half of the sliced lotus root, add shrimp paste, and place other half of the lotus root on top, creating a "sandwich". Wrap the sandwich with the strip of nori.

5 - Dust the lotus root with Flour, and deep fry in 350 degree oil. When the sandwich floats, and the bubbling lessens, remove from oil and drain.

6 - Slice lemon into wedges and serve with Stuffed Lotus Root.

Spicy Garlic Chicken

I don't remember when or where I got the original recipe. I've made several changes to it over the years.

3-4 Lbs Boneless Chicken Thighs, cut into cubes, wedges, strips, or whatever shape you desire.
1/4 Cup Soy Sauce
Black Pepper
2 Tb Granulated Garlic
1/2 Cup Flour
1/2 Cup Cornstarch
1 Tsp Baking Powder

Sauce:
1/2 Cup Soy sauce
1/2 Cup Sugar
1/4 Cup Mirin
1 Tb Red Pepper Flakes
2 Whole Heads of Garlic Minced
1 Tsp Black Pepper
2 Stalks Green Onion Minced
2 Tb Cilantro Minced

1 - Coat chicken with soy sauce and season with pepper and granulated garlic.

2 - Mix together flour, cornstarch, and baking powder. Add chicken, mix well, and refrigerate overnight.

3 - Combine together first six sauce ingredients in a small pot, over medium heat. Stir together until the sugar is dissolved, and alcohol from mirin is burned off. Remove from heat and add green onion and cilantro. Set aside to cool.

4 - Heat oil to 350 degrees and fry chicken pieces. When the chicken is done, drain quickly, and dip/dredge chicken in the sauce, and remove.

5 - Eat with plenty of rice!

Just another thing to love about Fry, ummm Fridays! Have a great weekend!

Comments

[Kathy]

LOL! My mom is standing right behind me now, copying down the stuffed lotus root recipe. She just said that she's going to bring the recipe over to my grandma's. I've never seen any grandma as obsessive over lotus root as mine - she'll be so to make this. Deep fried and lotus! Now that's a party! Thanks for the idea :)

[Suanne]

Great blog. Enjoyed reading it!

[Scott]

Oh man, it makes my Costo oven baked orange chicken look like turds.

[rooney]

when you say a bulb of garlic, do you mean a clove or a whole head? thoroughly enjoy your blog.

[dietchilicheesefries]

kirk,

dunno why but i always thought a Lotus was a flower or a name of a car..

seemed like some weird fictional tool to promote bad Chinese movies.. i never thought you could eat it, thanks for the clarification and education

seasoning a wok, eating lotus, i think you should get a grant from PBS. i think i learn more from reading your blog than the Discovery Channel and National Geographic combined.

thanks AB blood!

[Kirk]

Hi Kathy - Let me know what adjustments She needs to make an how it comes out!

Hi Suanne - Thanks so much for the kind words. I have been lurking on your site:

http://chowtimes.com/

For a while now. I'll make sure to link to it, when I have a chance!

Hi Scott - LOL! You crack me up. But at least your portion size is alot larger!

Hi Rooney - So sorry, I made the change to 2 Whole Heads of Garlic - I hope that clarifies things. Thanks for visiting; and I appreciate the comments and kind words!

Hi DCCF - Well I've got to make sure you eat some when you get down here! Eat the Pho!!!

[Scott]

Ah man, Kirk - I'll have to remember not to post after a bottle of wine. So sorry! :)

[Rachel]

hi kirk!!! Those recipes sound so awesome !!! I absolutely love lotus root and just looking at the garlic chilli chicken makes my mouth water. I can almost taste it !!

[clare eats]

oooh! this is enought to get me to contemplate deep frying at home....

they look AWESOME!

[Kirk]

Hi Scott - I thought what you wrote was very funny.....

Hi Rachel - Thanks, the chicken was really good - lot's of garlic, though. No social events after eating that!

Hi Clare - I know what you mean! Clean-up can be a hassle, and all the leftover oil. That's why I try to make the most of it!

[Pam]

mmm! everything looks delici-yoso!!!

ha ha i love the word "Fry-Day"...many times I like to treat myself to fried oysters, chicken karaage and a cold beer at my local izakaya joint on friday night after a long week at work! fry-day indeed!

[Kirk]

Hi Pam - Thank God for Fry-days.....

[Jack]

Forgot to comment that your "fry-day" was looking delici-yoso! Looks like you might have to add a couple extra cups of rice to the rice cooker for this one.

[Kirk]

Hey Jack - Thanks, man. Even the Missus enjoyed the chicken. But hey, if it's fried, it's bound to be good, right?

[Jack]

I have yet to find anything fried that I would refuse to eat....luckily I haven't run into that "very special dish" you had a couple of months ago!

[Kirk]

Hi Jack - But if it didn't say "rectum" you might've eaten it........

[Christine]

I tried your spicy garlic chiken recipe. I loved it and so did my family. Thank you for posting it. Do you think this recipe could work for chicken gizzards or livers?

[Kirk]

Hi Christine - Thanks for letting me know how the recipe worked! I'm glad your family enjoyed it. They must love garlic too..... I don't see why it wouldn't work. For some reason thin cut spareribs come to mind as well.

[foodhoe]

whoa, I just saw this on your list of recipes and ok it's a couple years later, but I have a lotta shiso leaves and have run out of ideas. This sounds fantastic!

[Kirk]

Hi FH - It's a nice recipe. Looks pretty too!