An Asian Feast - Lotus Stem in a sweet, sticky, sesame sauce.

When I was working for a stock broking firm in another life, working crazy hours, having no sense of balance, taking pride in being a workaholic, if someone had asked me what I liked to do, I wouldn't be able to think of anything, except work! But, I have realised that  to be happy, I needed more, more of a connection - spiritual, creative, with other people, with the environment!

Over the years, I have had a chance to pursue some of my interests and it has been absolutely wonderful to meet with people who shared this passion. Whether it is a shared interest in literature, sports, music or Food!

Recently a couple of my friends and I got together to make vegan sushi and the result was a massive Asian feast - Miso noodle soup, Vietnamese rice paper rolls, Lotus stem in a sticky sweet sauce and Sushi. The preparation involved only slicing and chopping some beautiful and colourful vegetables and cooking the most flavourful sushi rice and taking a ton of pictures (well, the credit for that goes to my friend Dipti Jain!). The real experiment and surprise of the lunch was the lotus stem preparation, simple, quick and yummy with a surprising texture. I am eager for all of you to try this recipe, its really great!

 

Lotus Stem in a sticky, sweet, sesame sauce

Ingredients

3 lotus stems
5-6 dried red chillies
1 tbsp (or more) sesame seeds
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp rice vinegar
11/2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp (or lesser) olive or sesame oil
salt to taste (although its probably not required)

Process

Soak and wash the lotus stems well. With a knife scrape the skin away. Now thinly slice the lotus stem in a slant fashion, this helps increase the cooking surface and decrease cooking time.
In a hot wok, pour in the oil, red chillies and sesame seeds. As they begin to pop and splutter, add the sliced lotus stems. Fry them for a couple of minutes and add the vinegar, sugar, soy sauce and salt if required. Stir, and the liquid will quickly become a sticky sauce. Let it cook for a few more minutes and  take it off the heat. The lotus stem should still be a little crunchy.
Enjoy hot!