Stir Fried Hot and Sour Lotus Root 酸辣炒莲藕

My cousin Grace, brought this back from Seremban many many years ago. She told me a church member cooked this for her. One bite into it and I was shocked!! It’s sour!! I knew it could be spicy because I could see the dried chillies, but I didn't anticipate the sourness.

It’s nice. It’s addictive, the crunchiness of the lotus root, the spiciness of the chilli, the sourness of the vinegar, the smell of the flat leaf parsley…It’s a myriad of senses.

Maybe u can try this for Chinese New Year reunion dinner, for a refreshing change. I hope that u find this dish as yummy as I find it is.

100gm local lotus root (cleaned weight, so u better buy more than 100gm, China's lotus roots may not be as crunchy as the local type, and they could be more starchy too.)
2 Tbsp rice vinegar
½ cup chicken breast thin slices (marinate with 1/3 tsp salt and some pepper)
5 dried chillies (seeds removed, cut into 3 pcs each, rinsed, )
1 cup flat leaf parsley(Daun sup, cut into 2 inch lengths)
1 clove garlic (finely chopped)
1/3 tsp salt
2/3 tsp cornstarch + 1/3 cup water
2 Tbsp oil

1. Slice lotus root thinly and marinate with vinegar for 2 hours. Tossing the roots slices every now and then to make sure the vinegar is well distributed.
2. Heat wok and put in oil. Put in garlic and fry until fragrant but not golden. Put in dried chilli and fry until fragrant (the heat of the chilli might come up to ur eyes), put in chicken slices and stir fry until half cooked.
3. Put in marinated lotus root and the balance of liquid into wok and toss for about 20-30 seconds. Put in salt and cornstarch solution. When gravy has come to a boil and thickened, put in parsley. Toss until parsley wilts, dish up and serve.