Lotus Root

I bet you thought I'd given up on my root experiment. Well, you are wrong! It's just taking me FOREVER to get through them all. Anyway, I got something called lotus root from a sketchy little produce shop in Chinatown up in San Francisco.
Since it's an Asian root I decided to make a stir fry with it. I read on line that you have to peel it, and once you slice it the slices should be dropped in a bowl of vinegar water to keep the root from turning an ugly brown color. (It's similar to how a potato turns yucky colors if you leave them sit out.)
My favorite thing about the lotus root is it's amazing shape when sliced. It's really beautiful, and unusual, and I think it adds a really neat visual element to any stir fry. The root is oblong, and when sliced forms little circles, with even smaller circles within.
Texturally it's similar to a mix between a raw potato and a water chestnut. There isn't a whole lot of inherent flavor, and it's got a crunchy, starchy taste/texture to it. Even after it's cooked it retains the crunchiness. In fact now that I think about it, if you had a recipe that called for water chestnuts, lotus root would be a viable alternative, and make the dish much more exotic looking.
Anyway, I sauteed the root, then added the usual stir fry ingredients and let everything simmer together for a while doused in soy sauce and fresh chopped ginger. It wasn't a recipe really, just a bunch of veggies, some steak, and my lotus root.
Mixed with the stir fry the root turned brown (because of the soy sauce I think) but it still looked pretty cool. I left the wheels whole because I thought it looked more cool, but it was pretty impractical as each slice had to be eaten in at least two bites (so I would recommend quartering them unless the root was really small). Over all I think they were OK tasting. It was basically like eating a half cooked potato covered in soy sauce. It wasn't bad, or offensive at all, but I wasn't head over heals for it either. That being said, I'd probably pick up a lotus root every so often just because of how exotic it looks, and mix it in with my Asian cooking. It's something I think would impress those who have never had it. I also think it would make amazing amuse bouche (individual appetizers) because of it's unusual shape.Or how about chips?!? Wouldn't that be cool? I have never heard of lotus root chips, but I bet they'd be delicious since they are so potato like...Maybe I'll try that next.
In closing, if you like Asian cooking and do it often, I think it would be well worth your while to give this a try. Lotus root won't change the flavor of your dish, but it sure will make it look good! I don't think I would recommend it at all if not for it's shape, and that may seem like a silly reason to eat something, but then again maybe not. It's fun.