Sautéed Lotus Roots and Chicken with Pickled Plum and Bonito Flakes is a quick side dish that has sweet, sour, and salty flavours, and is full of umami. The crunchiness of lotus roots is also enjoyable. The juicy plump chicken, the refreshing sourness of pickled plum, and the bonito flakes go so well together with the lotus root.
Don't forget to see the section 'MEAL IDEAS' below the recipe card! It gives you a list of dishes that I have already posted and this recipe that can make up a complete meal. I hope it is of help to you.
- 250g/0.6lb chicken thigh fillet (note 1)
- 250g/0.6lb lotus roots peeled (note 2)
- Microgreens or chopped perilla leaves for garnish (optional)
- 1 tbsp sesame oil (note 3)
- 1 tbsp mirin
- 1 tbsp cooking sake
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 umeboshi (mid-size, deseeded, note 4)
- 2g/0.1oz bonito flakes
- Salt to adjust flavour
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Cut the chicken fillet into bite-size pieces.
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Quarter the lotus root lengthwise (note 5), then diagonally cut each stick rotating the angle of the knife by 90 degrees to the opposite direction alternatively so that the lotus root pieces will be cut into tetrahedral shape (note 6).
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As you cut lotus root pieces, put them in the bowl filled with water. This will prevent discolouration of the lotus roots due to the oxidisation.
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Mince the umeboshi flesh, then make a paste using the side of your knife by sliding the knife on the umeboshi.
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Heat sesame oil in a frying pan over medium heat.
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Put the chicken pieces to the pan and sauté for a few minutes until the surface of the chicken becomes whitish.
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Drain the lotus root pieces well and add to the pan.
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Sauté for about 8 minutes until the lotus roots have just cooked through.
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Reduce the heat to low, and add mirin, cooking sake, and soy sauce to the pan. Mix quickly.
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Add umeboshi paste and bonito flakes to the pan and mix well ensuring that the plum paste and bonito flakes are mixed evenly. Taste test and adjust with salt if required.
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Transfer to a large bowl to share or serve as an individual side dish, topped with the garnish.
1. My thigh fillet came with no skin. You can use it with skin on as well.
2. Fresh lotus roots are sold at Asian grocery stores or Asian vegetable shops, if not sold at supermarkets.
If you cannot find fresh lotus roots, you can use frozen ones. But they will not be a crunchy as the fresh lotus roots.
If you can get large frozen lotus root pieces, that would be the best. Very thinly sliced lotus roots are not suited for this recipe.
3. Sesame oil give a nutty flavour to the dish. But if you don’t have it, you can use neutral oil with very little or no flavour.
4. My umeboshi was about 2.5cm/1” in diameter and weighed 20g/0.7oz before removing seeds. After the seeds were removed, it weighed 13g/0.5oz.
If your umeboshi is larger, you may need only 1 umeboshi. Hard umeboshi is not suited for this recipe because you need to make paste with the umeboshi.
5. The thickness of my lotus root was about 6-7cm/2⅜-2¾” in diameter. If your root is thicker, cut it into 6 or even 8 to make thin sticks.
6. See the photo in the post. The length of each side of the tetrahedral shape was about 3-3.5cm/1⅛-1⅜”.
7. Sautéed Lotus Roots and Chicken with Pickled Plum and Bonito Flakes keeps 3-4 days in the fridge. It is a perfect dish for a bento box.
8. Nutrition per serving.
serving: 140g calories: 183kcal fat: 9.2g (12%) saturated fat: 2.5g (13%) trans fat: 0.1g polyunsaturated fat: 2g monounsaturated fat: 3.9g cholesterol: 60mg (20%) sodium: 381mg (17%) carbohydrates: 12g (4%) dietary fibre: 2g (7%) sugar: 2.2g protein: 12g vitamin D: 0.1mcg (1%) calcium: 25mg (2%) iron: 1.1mg ( 6%) potassium: 379mg (8%)