“Renkon” Lotus Root in sweet vinegar 酢れんこん

We received fresh “renkon” lotus root from Weee. Since it was quite a large amount of renkon, as usual I cleaned, washed, dried the surface, and wrapped each segment in paper towel and vacuum packed it. This treatment makes renkon last for a longer time in the refrigerator.  Although I made quite a variety of renkon dishes, I have not posted this rather basic renkon dish called “su-renkon 酢蓮根”. Actually more elegant version called “hana-renkon 花レンコン” or “hanawa-renkon 花輪レンコン” is always included in Sushi Taro osechi box. In this rendition, I did not bother to make a decorative cut and also added seasoned strips of kelp called “shio-konbu 塩昆布” which added flavor/umami but colored the renkon a bit. I served it with salt-broth soaked snap peas スナップ豌豆の塩浸し”.

Sweet vinegar 甘酢
There are many variations. The basic is rice vinegar, sugar and salt but this combination can be made milder by adding broth or water. The recipe shown below is the current sweet vinegar recipe we like. Not too strong but not too watery.

Ingredients:
For sweet vinegar
75 ml rice vinegar
75 ml water
20 gram sugar
1/4 tsp salt

2 inch segment of fresh renkon, 2 inch, peeled, sliced in 1/5 inch (3mm) thick, immediately soak in cold water (I sliced it a bit thickly for a nice crunch).
1 dried japanese red  pepper, seeds removed, cut into small rounds, optional
1/2 tsp Japanese salted kelp strips (shio konbu 塩昆布), optional

Directions:
Boil the renkon 3-4 minutes (you want to leave some crunch), drain, salt lighly while hot, set aside
In a bowl, add the renkon, red pepper and salt kelp and add the sweet vinegar so that all is just covered.
Marindate 2-3 days in the refregerator.

It came out really nice. The renkon is crunchy and fresh tasting but not too harsh. I removed the visible red pepper flakes especially for my wife but it was not spicy at all.