I worked a catering shift once that required me to chop lotus root into 1/4″ slices, then place the slices neatly in stacks of 10. This kitchen had no mandolin, which meant that an hour and a half (and 4800 lotus root slices) later I had a few large bins worth of slices and a fair-sized pile of poorly-sliced lotus root scraps. Lotus root really hates being cut straight for some reason.

So if the taiko player who prepared this dish for the Shinnenkai New Years Potluck at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre of Montreal last weekend sliced her lotus root by hand, I will be thoroughly impressed with her knife skills.

For such a simple dish I was blown away by how buttery the marinated lotus root tasted (as opposed to how it often tastes – like crunchy nothing). Please let me know where you bought your lotus root so that when I recreate this recipe my version will be as good as yours!

Lotus root Poached in Dashi and Vinegar (from Just Hungry)

Ingredients:

About a 2 inch / 5 cm length of fresh or parboiled lotus root, thinly sliced and cut in half

1 cup dashi stock (you can use water plus 1 tsp. of dashi stock granules)

2 tbsp rice vinegar

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. soy sauce

2 tsp. sugar

Combine all the ingredients except the lotus root and bring to a slow boil. Add the lotus root slices and simmer for about 5 minutes. Store in the cooking liquid.