Lotus Root is a good source of Vitamin C and fiber. It’s often used in stir-fry or soup. It has such crunchy sweet taste. This Kung Pao Lotus Root is a vegetarian version of very popular Kung Pao Chicken. It’s healthy and tasty.

About Lotus Root:

The distinctive dried seed heads, which resemble the spouts of watering cans, are widely sold throughout the world for decorative purposes and for dried flower arranging.
The flowers, seeds, young leaves, and "roots" (rhizomes) are all edible. In Asia, the petals are sometimes used for garnish, while the large leaves are used as a wrap for food, not frequently eaten (for example, as a wrapper for zongzi). In Korea, the leaves and petals are used as a tisane. Yeonkkotcha (연꽃차) is made with dried petals of white lotus and yeonipcha (연잎차) is made with the leaves. Young lotus stems are used as a salad ingredient in Vietnamese cuisine. The rhizome (called ǒu (藕) in pinyin Chinese, ngau in Cantonese,thambou in Manipuri, kamal kakri in Hindi, renkon (レンコン, 蓮根 in Japanese), yeongeun (연근 in Korean) is used as a vegetable in soups, deep-fried, stir-fried, and braised dishes and the roots are also used in traditional Asian herbal medicine. Petals, leaves, andrhizome can also all be eaten raw, but there is a risk of parasite transmission (e.g., Fasciolopsis buski): it is therefore recommended that they be cooked before eating.
Lotus rootlets are often pickled with rice vinegar, sugar, chili and/or garlic. It has a crunchy texture with sweet-tangy flavours. In Asian cuisine, it is popular with salad, prawns, sesame oil and/or coriander leaves. Lotus roots have been found to be rich in dietary fiber,vitamin C, potassium, thiamin, riboflavin, vitamin B6, phosphorus, copper, and manganese, while very low in saturated fat.
The stamens can be dried and made into a fragrant herbal tea called liánhuā cha (蓮花茶) in Chinese, or (particularly in Vietnam) used to impart a scent to tea leaves. This Vietnamese lotus tea is called trà sen, chè sen, or chè ướp sen. The lotus seeds or nuts (calledliánzĭ, 蓮子; or xiān liánzĭ, 鲜莲子, in Chinese) are quite versatile, and can be eaten raw or dried and popped like popcorn, phool makhana. They can also be boiled until soft and made into a paste, or boiled with dried longans and rock sugar to make a tong sui(sweet soup). Combined with sugar, lotus seed paste becomes one of the most common ingredients used in pastries such asmooncakes, daifuku, and rice flour pudding.
In South Indian states, the Lotus Stem is sliced, marinated with salt to dry, and the dried slices are fried and used as a side dish. In Kerala and Tamil Nadu, this end product is called " Thamara Vathal".
In Vietnam, the bitter tasting germs of the lotus seeds are also made into a tisane (trà tim sen).
A unique fabric from the lotus plant fibers is produced only at Inle lake, Union of Myanmar and is used for weaving special robes forBuddha images called kya thingahn (lotus robe).

Ingredients:

1 Lotus Root, about 1 pound
2 chili peppers, broken in half and seeds removed
1/2 teaspoon Sichuan pepper corn
4 slices ginger
6 pieces scallion white part
2 tablespoon chopped scallions, green part
2 tablespoon roasted (or fried) peanuts
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 tablespoon dark vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon corn starch, mixed with water
2 tablespoon canola oil


Method:

1. Peel lotus root, cut into dices, and soak in water for 10 minutes.
2. Drain lotus root. Heat up oil to medium heat. Add chili peppers and Sichuan pepper corn, and sauté for about 1 minute.
3. Add ginger and scallion pieces and sauté for about 1 minute
4. Add lotus root and sauté for about 3 minutes. Add soy sauce, vinegar, sugar and salt in and mix well.
5. Add wet starch and mix. Top with peanuts and chopped scallions. Serve.