Lotus Roots

HOW TO PICK FRESH LOTUS ROOTS

Depends on what you are planning on doing with your lotus roots, there are different sections of lotus roots to choose from. The more elongated section of the lotus roots: They are crunchy when cooked, and are best for sauté or stir fry.

• The shorter, rounder section of the lotus roots: They are softer in texture when cooked. They are best for soup or stew. (When see these different sections from the same root, you can simply break off the section you desire.)

LOOK FOR THESE:

• Fresh looking beige skin throughout, with as little imperfection as possible (Fresh lotus roots bruise easily. Once bruised, that part of the skin turns darker beige or even black. You can test the flesh underneath that part of the skin by digging your fingernail under those bruised spots, to reveal the flesh color underneath. If the flesh underneath is the fresh looking beige color, then the lotus root is still fresh to buy.)
• Beige color meat underneath the darker beige skin (When in doubt, you can always use your finger to dig into the skin of the lotus to check the color of the meat underneath.)
• Beige color meat in the tubular structure and the cross section (You can simply break the section of the root you want apart from the root to double check that.)

AVOID THESE:

• Dried up deeper brown color skin
• With too many of deep cuts and brown patches
• Brownish or even black meat underneath the skin
• Mud or brown color meat in the tubular structure or the cross sections between sections of the root (The mud in these tubular structure will greatly comprise the flavor of these lotus roots.)

HOW TO STORE FRESH LOTUS ROOTS

IN THE FRIDGE: Unwashed fresh lotus roots, when wrapped in paper towels, can last for up to 10 days in the crisper drawer. Breaking up the the lotus root into sections can make it easier for storage.

IN THE FREEZER: Once the skin is peeled off with a vegetable peeler, the fresh lotus roots can be cut into any forms, and be frozen for up to 1 month. Make sure you soak the chopped lotus roots in water until they are all cut up.

HOW TO PREPARE FRESH LOTUS ROOTS

Once chopped, lotus roots can turn color pretty quickly, a sort of bluish tint, unless you submerge them in a bowl of water until use. The water will keep them looking nice and white. 

FUN TO KNOW ABOUT LOTUS ROOTS

Lotus roots, when translated in Chinese, it is 蓮藕. 蓮 means lotus. 藕 means lotus roots. 

Lotus, in Asian culture, it has been a symbol of purity. It is because lotus grow from the mud in the bottom of a pond or lake, but the it grows tall, straight and unstained. In Chinese, it is 出淤泥而不染. 出淤 means came from. 泥 means mud. 而不染 means yet unstained. 

藕断丝连, you might hear this saying sometimes if you spent any time watching Chinese television shows or stayed in China. 藕断 means broken lotus root. 丝连 means silk still connected. The phrase means Lingering connections. 

煲老藕 is one of my favorite soup with mature lotus roots in them. In slangs thought, it means that young people who like to dating people who are a lot older than them, and I mean a lot older.

In Chinese New Year, when I was a kid, one of my favorite snacks is the candied lotus root slices, along side of candied lotus seeds and candied winter melon bits. Check out the photo below: