Lotus Root and Carrots Kinpira （蓮根と人参のきんぴら）

One of my favourite vegetables is the lotus roots. It has such a crunchy texture that makes noise when you bite into it. It's a root vegetable that eaten very often in Japan but unfortunately, they are only available from oriental food stores in the UK at the moment. This Japanese style of cooking, Kinpira きんぴら, implies to a pan-fried and simmered method of cooking and usually seasoned with soya sauce, mirin (sweetened rice wine) and finely chopped chilli. Some root vegetables, such as carrot, burdock (to make the most common Kinpira Gobo) and lotus root, however, you can, of course,use other ingredients like some types of seaweed or even meat.

Today I made this Kinpira hoping kids can enjoy it. Usually, when I make them, they are too spicy or too brown for them to appreciate it. So, I added some chunks of carrots, which are cut bigger than usual for a sweeter and softer experience. My daughter loved it but my son still didn't like it much saying it's too spicy. Next time, I'll reduce the amount of chilli for him but here is the recipe I'd recommend for those with prefers the kick. You can reduce the amount of chilli to half if you like just a hint of kick.