Renkon means lotus root in English, and is a great source of vitamins and minerals. They are deliciously crunchy, with a slightly sweet after taste – have a look in your local Asian grocery for them next time you’re out. If you can’t find them, you can use egg plant (aubergine) or even green peppers (capsicum) instead. Hasami means to put in between two things (like this hamburger shape!) and yaki means to fry. That’s your Japanese lesson for the day
This is a traditional dish usually made with chicken mince, but here in Sydney chicken mince is a bit expensive and a little dry, so I prefer cooking with pork mince.
Ingredients

16 slices of lotus root

400g minced pork or chicken

1 thumb ginger (minced)

5-10 shiso leaves (optional)

1tsp salt

1tbs sake
1tsp soy sauce

1tbs sesame seeds (optional)

1/2 bunch spring onions or 1 leek

Flour

1tsp sesame oil

Sauce
3tbs mirin

3tbs soy sauce

1tbs sugar

1tsp potato starch

2tsp water
Step 1

Slice the lotus root into 1/2 cm slices and soak them in water with a little vinegar for a couple of minutes. Meanwhile, mince the ginger and chop the shiso leaves and spring onion. Add the to a bowl with the minced meat.
Step 2

Shake any excess water off the lotus roots and then lay to dry on some kitchen paper. Place some more kitchen paper on the top of the roots to soak as much as the water as possible. Then sieve a thin layer of flour over them. In the bowl, add the soy sauce, sake, sesame oil, sesame...