This stir-fried lotus root recipe is one of my favorite vegetable dishes. If you’ve never tried lotus root, you’re really missing out! This lotus root stir fry recipe has a delightful mixture of textures and flavors, and it’s incredibly tasty considering how simple it is.
What is Lotus Root?
Lotus roots are the stem of the lotus plant. These stems can grow quite long underwater (several feet!), with segments that look almost like connected links of sausage. Harvesting lotus roots is a muddy and labor-intensive process, but the work is repaid with all of its healthy fiber and nutrients!
Lotus roots are one of the most loved vegetables in Asia, and in Chinese cooking. The lotus root’s texture is crunchy when stir-fried, soft and potato-like when boiled.
Where do you buy Lotus Root?
While lotus roots have yet to make it into mainstream American grocery stores, they are readily available in Asian markets. The segments of the long lotus stems are separated into more manageable pieces for sale. When selecting lotus roots, look for heavy, firm specimens with a fresh clean smell.
To prepare the root, simply cut off the ends and peel with a vegetable peeler. Then simply slice or dice to use in stir-fries and soups.
Our Lotus Root Stir Fry Recipe
Simple stir-fried lotus root is hard to beat as a vegetable side dish. Lotus roots have a very subtle sweet flavor that takes on the flavor of whatever they’re cooked in.
This recipe features a light but surprisingly flavorful sauce made with ginger, scallions, garlic, oyster sauce, an Shaoxing wine. Other simple ingredients like salt and sugar balance it out.
I also added wood ear mushrooms and red bell peppers to add color and additional texture to the dish. Serve this lotus root stir-fry alongside any main dish with rice, and you’ll have a very good meal.
Lotus Root Stir-fry: Instructions
Prep the lotus root by peeling them, trimming the ends, and thinly slicing them, until you have about 12 ounces (340g). Really make an effort to get thin slices! A mandolin is a handy tool to use for this if you have one. If not, simply use a sharp knife to carefully cut the lotus root into thin slices.
Bring a large wok or pot of water to a boil and blanch the lotus root, wood ears, and bell peppers for 45 seconds. Drain thoroughly and set aside.
Combine the chicken stock, oyster sauce, salt, sugar, and white pepper in a small bowl to create the sauce mixture and set aside.
Add the oil to the wok over medium heat along with the ginger. Cook for 30 seconds to a minute, and then add the garlic and scallions.
Cook for another 20 seconds or so, and then add the blanched vegetables.
Stir-fry the vegetables for 1 minute. Then add the Shaoxing wine around the perimeter of the wok, followed by the sauce mixture. Cook for 30 seconds, until the sauce is at a simmer. Stir your cornstarch and water mixture, making sure the cornstarch hasn’t settled and add it to the wok.
Stir-fry for another 20-30 seconds until the sauce coats the vegetables.
And serve!
Some of our other dishes using Lotus Root:
- Crispy Stuffed Lotus Root with Pork
- Ma La Xiang Guo (Spicy Numbing Stir-fry Pot)
- Lotus Root & Pork Soup
Lotus Root Stir-fry
Ingredients
- 12 ounces lotus root (340g)
- 8 wood ear mushrooms (rehydrated and cut in half or thirds)
- 1/2 cup red bell pepper (cut into small chunks)
- 1/4 cup chicken stock
- 2 teaspoons oyster sauce (or vegetarian oyster sauce; can also use gluten-free oyster sauce to make this a GF dish)
- 1/4-1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
- 1/4 teaspoon sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon white pepper
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 6 slices ginger
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- 2 scallions (white parts only, cut into 1-inch pieces)
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch (combined with 1 tablespoon water)
Instructions
- Prep the lotus root by peeling them, trimming the ends, and thinly slicing them, until you have about 12 ounces (340g). Also prep your wood ear mushrooms and bell pepper.
- Bring a large wok or pot of water to a boil and blanch the lotus root, wood ears, and bell peppers for 45 seconds. Drain thoroughly and set aside.
- Combine the chicken stock, oyster sauce, salt, sugar, and white pepper in a small bowl to create the sauce mixture and set aside.
- Add the oil to the wok over medium heat along with the ginger. Cook for 30 seconds to a minute, and then add the garlic and scallions. Cook for another 20 seconds or so, and then add the blanched vegetables.
- Stir-fry the vegetables for 1 minute. Then add the Shaoxing wine around the perimeter of the wok, followed by the sauce mixture. Cook for 30 seconds, until the sauce is at a simmer, and then add the cornstarch and water mixture, making sure the cornstarch hasn’t settled.
- Stir-fry for another 20-30 seconds until the sauce coats the vegetables, and serve.
nutrition facts
Hi! I am surprised to see salt in this recipe sauce, and no soy sauce. Can I substitute?
You can, Elena, but I think soy sauce takes away from the fresh flavors of the dish!
Love trying to prepare foods that interest me from other countries.
Nice, Kia! Hope you enjoy this lotus root stir-fry!
A very delicious alternative to the lotus root soup I used to make. My family loves it. Will definitely cook it again.
Thank you Annabelle! I also love this dish and make it often. :)
Made this today and also threw in some fried tofu at the end! It was delicious! I couldn’t find fresh lotus root at my asian grocery store, but I did find it packaged by a Korean manufacturer in the refrigerated aisle, so it came sliced in water and salt in case others have a hard time finding it.
Thanks for giving this recipe a try, Lily! I was also going to make this for dinner this week, but the fresh lotus roots at my local Chinese market didn’t look so hot. Good to know they come packaged in the refrigerated aisle as well!
It’s a great recipe, very helpful with easy to source ingredients and comes out fantastic.
Yay! Glad you liked it, Emma!
Excellent, as always! Today I discover Lotus Root in a very nice way, thanks to you.
That’s awesome, Kay! Thanks for coming back to leave us a comment!
I can’t wait to try this recipe. I love the crunchy texture of the lotus root and the softer wood ear. I’m lucky that I’m close to Asian markets so lotus roots are abundant in the summer. Thank you for providing such an easy and excellent recipe that my carnivorous husband will love also!
We hope you both like this one, Ming!
I use lotus root in my vegetable stir fries. It adds a wonderful crunch and adds some contrasting colour. Tx for the recipe!
You’re welcome, May! Agreed on the crunch and color factor.
I have a question about the wood ear mushrooms. When I worked near San Francisco I had the good fortune to work with a number of Chinese, mostly from HK (born and raised then migration to B.C for undergraduate work and from there to the US for Ph.D). They had told me that there are two types of wood ear. One was called (phonetically) “moke yee” and one was called “one yee”. Are you folks familiar with this distinction?
Hi Tom, yes, the “mook yee” literally means wood ears and are larger have more body. The “one yee” is literally cloud ears and are smaller and softer than the larger wood ears. Most people use the name wood ears interchangeably but there is a difference. We have wood ears and white cloud ears on our dried and preserved ingredients page but we have to update the entries to better explain the differences in the black wood and cloud ears. Thanks so much for your question!
I love lotus root! My local restaurant uses it in a dry pot. It’s fantastic. Thanks for letting me know what to call it. I’ve been searching for weeks.
Glad we could help crack the code, Dawn! Also love lotus root in dry pot as well. My mom’s dry pot recipe uses it too: https://thewoksoflife.com/ma-la-xiang-guo/