Guys!! I know you all have been wondering where the hell I’ve been the past 2 weeks. Well, the answer is – unwell, in bed, under the weather and terrible. It started with a harmless little cough, followed by high fever, multiple doctor visits, a malaria and then a typhoid scare (!!!). I’m exhausted just talking about it. Luckily, after a bazillion blood tests and lab reports, the doc gave me a green signal to have my life back and I’m now A-OK!👌 Phew.
But while this was all happening, it was really heartening to know that you guys missed the posts and my rants in general. Love you guys – y’all keep me going and help make Girl With A Spoon a super success.
Anyway, now that I’m done with my emotional blabber, let me tell you guys about how amazing the weather has been in Gurgaon the past few days. It’s been raining and getting cooler everyday (I can enjoy the weather now, I wasn’t feeling so romantic about it when I was coughing my gut out last week) aside from the fact that there was an 8 hour traffic jam in Gurgaon. Yeah. Crazy. Because of the rain. Do not ask me how because it’s totally beyond me and honestly a bit agitating the way people drive when it rains, dodging the puddles. Third world problems.
So, since it was raining over the weekend and the weather was so beautiful, it called for a fitting munch fest. And what better on a rainy day than some fried crispy lotus stem in a sweet and spicy honey chili sauce. It’s this beautifully sticky sauce with a subtle sweetness from the honey and a nice hit from the ginger and dried red chilies. Perfect when served hot and shared with your favourite person. Or not ( I would gobble this up all by myself).
Crispy Lotus Stem in Honey Chili Sauce:
Serves 2| Prep time: 5 min | Cook time: 10 min
Ingredients :
Lotus Stem – 300 gm,washed, and sliced thin
Cornflour – 4 tbsps
Fresh ground back pepper – 2 tsps
Salt – to taste
Vegetable Oil – to deep fry
Sesame seeds – 1 tsp
Spring onions- to garnish
Garlic- 4 cloves, finely chopped
Ginger – 1/2 inch, finely chopped
Ketchup – 1/2 tbsp
Honey Chili Sauce –
Honey – 4 tbsps
Dark Soy Sauce – 1 tsp
Dry Red Chilies – 4, chopped, seeds removed
White vinegar – 1 tsp
Steps :
Ensure you pat the lotus stem dry once you have washed it; it tends to get sticky otherwise. When it’s ready, tumble it into a bowl and add in the cornflour, salt and pepper and mix it all up.
In a deep pan, get some oil heating up. Carefully add the cornflour coated lotus stem in. Make sure you go slow and bit by bit, adding the lotus stem from the side of the pan to avoid the oil splattering around. Quickly move it around the oil so it does not stick to the bottom of the pan. Fry until nice and golden brown.
In a clean bowl, mix all the ingredients for the honey chili sauce and set aside. In another pan, add some oil, ginger, garlic and the chopped dried red chilis. Once aromatic, add the fried lotus stem. Mix in the honey and soy sauce mixture and give it a good mix. Now, add the ketchup and stir till it all coats the lotus stem well.
If you feel like the lotus stem is sticking to the bottom of the pan, add a few spoons of water, this will bring it all together and clean the pan. Check for seasoning. You wouldn’t normally have to add more salt because the soy sauce is salty enough. Get this on to your serving plate and garnish with spring onions. Sprinkle the sesame seeds over.
Bring those chopsticks out and serve piping hot!
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