Dedicate to My Mom

Guess it is another post depicting my Mom's influence on my taste buds. I wonder why I was never interested in learning how to cook when I was much younger or especially when my Mom was still alive. There were times when I was standing at the side of the kitchen's window and watching her cook or when I was in the mood of giving her a hand I offered to do little things, like cutting vegetable or peeling garlics. That was all. Mom would definitely be willing to teach, just that I was never curious. Gosh!

Anyway, I would like to dedicate this dish to my Mom who introduced our family to the delicious taste of lotus roots. How many hundred times she had served her special lotus root soup and made us enjoy its special taste.



As I gazed into the bowl filled with floating red paprica slices, I came to admire how simple things could be so aesthetically beautiful!

FRIED LOTUS ROOTS AND SWEET PEAS
Serves 4 persons

Ingredients:
- Lotus root > 1 section approx.170 gram
- Red sweet paprica > 1
- Corn flour > 1 tablespoon
- Water > 2 tablespoons
- Sweet peas > 10
- Black mushroom > 6
- Garlic - mince > 2 cloves
- Roasted cashew nuts > 10
- Vegetable oil > 1 tablespoon

Seasoning:
- Soya sauce dressing > 1 tablespoon
- Oyster sauce > 4 tablespoon
- Sugar > 1 teaspoon
- Salt >1/4 teaspoon

Method:
- Mix corn flour and water. Set aside.
- Prepare seasoning by mixing all ingredients together.
- Slice lotus roots and red paprica.
- Fill one bowl with boiling water and another with cold water.
- Blanch sliced lotus roots, red paprica, and sweet peas with boiling water for 1 minute, then rinse with cold water.
- Saute garlic in vegetable oil until fragrant. Add black mushrooms.
- Fold in lotus root, sweet peas, and red paprica. Then add cashew nuts and seasoning.
- Finally thicken with corn flour mixture.
- Serve hot.