Pan-Fried Stuffed Lotus Roots

Eating lotus root is auspicious for Chinese as we believed that eating it during Chinese New Year will foster the grow of your new venture or business.  When I saw this dish on Chinese T.V. cooking show, I thought that it would be perfect for Chinese New Year.  And then I saw a similar dish at a Taiwanese cooking show, was it asking me to make it?  Haha...  Anyway, it looked delicious and I couldn't wait to try it myself.  Sharing here is my version.  I served it with a sauce so that the stuffed lotus root remain crispy.  A bit time consuming to make this but the result is well worth the effort.

Today is also 人日.  The 7th day of Chinese New Year and also everyone birthday.  祝大家人日快乐!! This day people normally celebrate it with longevity noodle, tang yuen (glutinous balls), yee sang (raw fish salad) and another great feast!

 
Crispy stuffed lotus root drizzled with scallion garlic soy sauce.  Click next for the step-by-step pictures guide.

I am also sharing this recipe with Aspiring Bakers #15: Auspicious Dishes for CNY hosted by Wen's Delight.  The deadline for submission has been extended to Feb 6th, the last day of CNY.  So go see the roundup on the 7th!  :-)

1.  Peel and wash the lotus root.  Thinly slice like picture above.  Butterfly it thinly, be careful of your fingers.

2.  Then, put in a bowl of salted water to prevent it from turning dark.

2.  Get ready your filling.  You can use any filling that you like.  I used my leftover ground pork chives filling from making my dumplings/ jiao zhi.

3.  Take one lotus root and fill the opening with the filling, flatten the filling and close it.

4.  Coat both side of the stuffed lotus root with cornstarch.

5.  Pan-fry in medium heat until golden brown and the filling is cooked.  Drain on paper towel and serve with scallion garlic soy sauce.  You can serve the sauce on the side or pour the sauce and mix it with the stuffed lotus roots.