Braised lotus roots

Yeon-geun-jorim 연근조림

Today’s recipe is for braised lotus roots (yeon-geun-jorim: 연근조림), something that my readers and viewers have been requesting for years! The roots taste somewhere between a potato and a radish, and braising them (cooking at low heat in sauce) like this makes for a sweet, salty, and chewy side dish. It’s for special occasions and not something that you eat every day. It takes some time to make but the texture is very unique: soft with some crispiness, but also chewy and jellylike. This recipe is new to my website but it’s in my cookbook published in 2015.

When I lived in Korea yeon-geun-jorim was something we often put in lunchboxes for school picnics. Just a few of them in the lunchbox, pretty and shiny like gems surrounded by other side dishes, make the whole lunchbox look beautiful. The braised root slices look like garnishes but are actually really tasty to eat.

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Lotus roots are tough, so you first need to prepare them properly. You can actually eat the roots raw but for this recipe we soak and blanch before braising them. Soaking them removes excessive starch. The root has a subtly astringent taste, but a little bit of vinegar (any kind) will remove it. The vinegar also makes the root slices a little whiter.

Lotus roots can be found at a Korean, Chinese, or Japanese grocery store. These days, when I visit a Korean grocery store, I see pre-sliced lotus root packed in some liquid being sold. You can try them but make sure they aren’t sliced too thin. They should be¼ inch (0.6 cm) thick.

Choose roots that are smooth and evenly colored with no blemishes. It’s almost impossible to find a perfect one with no brown spots at all, so you need to compromise and get the one with the fewest freckles. : ) I like to get the roundest one I can so my yeon-geun-jorim ends up round like a circle. But writing this, I kind of feel bad for triangle or distorted shaped roots. Yeon-geun-jorim can be triangular, why not? You might like that better as long as it tastes the same as round one!

Ingredients

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lotus roots

Directions

  1. Slice lotus roots into ¼ inch (0.6 cm) thick discs. Soak them in cold water for 30 minutes.
  2. Boil some water in a pot. Add vinegar and blanch the lotus root slices for 5 minutes, uncovered. Rinse in cold water and strain.lotus root rinsinglotus roots rinsed
  3. Heat up vegetable oil in a heavy non-stick pan. Stir fry the sliced roots for a few minutes until they get a little softer and translucent.lotus root frying
  4. Add 2¼ cup water, garlic, and soy sauce. Stir and cover. Turn down the heat to low, and cook for 40 minutes. Occasionally open the cover and turn them over to brown evenly. Add more water if necessary.lotus root soy sauce
  5. Add rice syrup and stir. Cover and let simmer for another 20 minutes.lotus root syrup
  6. Open and turn up the heat to medium high. Carefully stir and turn over the roots and braise for 10 to 12 minutes, until each slice gets shiny like jelly and almost all the liquid is evaporated.
    lotus root braise
  7. Remove from the heat and stir in sesame oil. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.
  8. Serve as a side dish for rice. If you have some leftover, put it in an airtight container and keep it in the fridge up to 2 weeks.

Yeon-geun-jorim

Posted on Sunday, March 19th, 2017 at 8:14 pm. Last updated on March 23, 2017.
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21 Comments:

  1. tteokbokki Orlando, FL joined 4/19 & has 1 comment
    Posted April 2nd, 2019 at 4:11 pm |

    This is probably my favorite side. So good!


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  2. Jg73 & has 1 comment
    Posted November 24th, 2018 at 4:28 pm |

    Maangchi, how do I make this with lotus root bought in a bag (pre-blanched I think)? Thank you!

  3. loraein Singapore joined 9/12 & has 5 comments
    Posted December 9th, 2017 at 4:33 am |

    Just made this.. but I think I totally dried out the sauce after turning to medium heat… other than that, taste not bad…


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  4. Min_MNF MALAYSIA joined 11/17 & has 2 comments
    Posted November 25th, 2017 at 11:37 am |

    Hi Maangchi,
    Thank you for the recipe. I had finished cooking my Yeongeun-jorim. Really like it even though i put to much soy sauce. Can’t wait to try other recipe.

    God bless you Maangchi.


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  5. Trini Queens, NYC joined 8/17 & has 1 comment
    Posted August 11th, 2017 at 8:50 pm |

    This is probably the 100th Maangchi recipe I’ve made this month. My Korean husband insists I’m a “cooking genius”, but really I just have a Maangchi cookbook! Thank you so much for making me look good!


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  6. ElizabethXO joined 7/15 & has 3 comments
    Posted June 23rd, 2017 at 6:32 pm |

    Can I use corn syrup instead of rice syrup?

  7. Mdefields Indiana joined 1/17 & has 11 comments
    Posted June 5th, 2017 at 5:44 pm |

    These were SOOO good!! Thank you!

  8. Aniron Oklahoma joined 5/16 & has 6 comments
    Posted May 20th, 2017 at 9:11 pm |

    Hi, Maangchi! I have packaged lotus root from my local Korean grocery. Is there any way to adapt this to work with pre-sliced? If not, any tips on what to do with them?

  9. cottony paradise joined 5/17 & has 7 comments
    Posted May 18th, 2017 at 1:00 am |

    hi, any burdock root recipes, please?

  10. [email protected] Netherlands/United States joined 5/17 & has 2 comments
    Posted May 4th, 2017 at 2:22 am |

    I have been waiting for the Recipe in anticipation! It’s one of my favorite banchans! Thank you!! Will you be posting a video on how to make 우엉 조림???

  11. derekins Cambridge, MA joined 3/16 & has 2 comments
    Posted April 1st, 2017 at 3:49 pm |

    Hi Maangchi. My store only sells lotus root that is already peeled and boiled. I skipped to step 3, but I’m not sure it came out right. Do you have recommendations when the lotus roots are already prepared in this way?

  12. theeggmel Toronto, Canada joined 3/17 & has 1 comment
    Posted March 20th, 2017 at 5:53 pm |

    Such a good recipe! I always want to braise everything in soy sauce and rice syrup, it always tastes so good :)

  13. sanne Munich joined 8/14 & has 226 comments
    Posted March 20th, 2017 at 6:03 am |

    Don’t you skin them first? I did when I had frozen ones.
    I used to make that a lot from dried and skinned roots, but they aren’t available anymore…
    (Not much difference taste-wise.)
    A Korean friend introduced them to us at her birthday party many years ago. I knew what it was, but she pulled some other guest’s leg by telling her that she had drilled the holes…

  14. John in Baton Rouge Baton Rouge Louisiana joined 12/16 & has 40 comments
    Posted March 19th, 2017 at 9:51 pm |

    You are posting so many videos lately :) Thank you!!!!!! <3

  15. Alan Chang Chicago joined 3/17 & has 2 comments
    Posted March 19th, 2017 at 9:50 pm |

    The dish looks delicious! One question: there is currently no mention of vinegar in the “Directions” section. Is vinegar supposed to be used in the soaking step?

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