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Su-renkon
Pickled lotus root
Su-renkon (酢れんこん): lotus root pickled in sweet vinegar for the New Year
Lotus root is full of holes you can see straight through, so in Japan it stands for a clear view of the year ahead, and these crunchy, snow-white slices of sweet-vinegared lotus are a fixture of osechi boxes on New Year's Day. Often cut into flower shapes, they taste bright and lightly sweet with a satisfying crispness. The common mistake is boiling the slices for too long: more than 2 minutes and they turn starchy instead of crunchy. Chef's tip: add a splash of vinegar to the boiling water as well as to the pickle, which keeps the lotus root brilliantly white.
- Total time
- 20 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
- 9 oz fresh lotus root
- 1 tbsp rice vinegarfor soaking and boiling
For the sweet vinegar
- ½ cup rice vinegar
- 3 ½ tbsp water
- 3 tbsp sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 dried red chilli (optional)seeds removed, sliced
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Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Bring ½ cup rice vinegar, 3 ½ tbsp water, 3 tbsp sugar, ½ tsp salt and 1 dried red chilli to the boil in a small pan until the sugar dissolves. Leave to cool.
Step 2: Peel 9 oz fresh lotus root and slice into 3–4 mm rounds. For flower shapes, cut a small V-shaped notch between each hole around the edge before slicing. Drop the slices straight into cold water with half of ½ tbsp rice vinegar.
Step 3: Boil the slices in water with the rest of ½ tbsp rice vinegar for 1–2 minutes, until just translucent at the edges but still crunchy.
2 minStep 4: Drain and, while still hot, put into the cool sweet vinegar.
Step 5: Leave for at least 2 hours, or overnight in the fridge. Serve cold; it keeps for a week.
120 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 50 kcal
- Protein
- 1 g
- Carbs
- 12 g
- Fat
- 0 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does su-renkon take?
- About 20 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 5 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of rice vinegar?
- Cider vinegar with a pinch of sugar, same amount.
- What can I use instead of rice vinegar?
- Cider vinegar with a pinch of sugar, same amount.
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