Lotus root in soy broth (renkon no netsuke)

The soy broth or renkon no netsuke is made from dashi stock and dried fish like bonito flakes to form a sea flavoured stock. You can find lotus root, sake and mirin from Asian food shops.

• serves

  8

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  20 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 500 g lotus root (see Note), peeled 
• 1 litre dashi stock (see Note)
• 80 ml (⅓ cup) salt-reduced soy sauce 
• 60 ml (¼ cup) cooking sake (see Note)
• 80 ml (⅓ cup) mirin (see Note)
• wakame salad (optional), to serve

Instructions

Halve lotus root lengthwise and cut into 1.5 cm slices. Place all ingredients in a pan over high heat. Top with a plate to submerge lotus root. Bring to the boil, cover and cook for 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low. Simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes or until tender. Cool in broth, then serve with broth and wakame, if desired.

Notes

• Lotus root, sake and mirin are from Asian food shops.

• To make dashi stock, follow step 1 of New Year’s vegetable soup recipe, halving quantities for kombu, water and bonito, and omitting soy sauce. Or, dissolve 1 tsp instant dashi in 1 litre water.

Photography by John Laurie.

As seen in Feast magazine, December 2011, Issue 4. For more recipes and articles, pick up a copy of this month's Feast magazine or check out our great subscriptions offers here.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.