Simmered Lotus Root and Pork, made with FlareLine “KASUMI GLOW”

This dish, if anything, tastes better once it has cooled. Make it, let it cool, and it will still carry through to tomorrow's lunchbox.

FlareLine “KASUMI GLOW” carries shiitake and kombu. It is a blend that sits straight into anything simmered in dashi, and its job is to lay down one more layer of savour. Over that come the scents of highland red sanshō and ajwain, and the heat of habanero stays behind the sweet-salty simmering liquid. With that heat there, the faint sweetness of the lotus root never turns monotonous.

The thing to watch is the water on the lotus root. Soak it for just five minutes after cutting, then drain it and wipe it with a paper towel before it goes into the pan.

Total time: about 35 min

Ingredients (Serves 4)

• FlareLine “KASUMI GLOW”: 1 tsp
• Lotus root: 400g (about 2 medium sections)
• Thinly sliced pork offcuts: 250g
• Carrot: 1
• Ginger: 1 piece
• Japanese leek: 1/2
• Dashi stock: 300ml
• Soy sauce: 2 tbsp
• Mirin: 2 tbsp
• Sake: 2 tbsp
• Sugar: 1 tbsp
• Oil: 1 tbsp

Preparation

1. Peel the lotus root and cut it into irregular chunks 1.5cm thick. Soak the cut pieces in water for 5 minutes, drain them and wipe them thoroughly dry with a paper towel. Water left on them thins the simmering liquid and blurs the flavour.
2. Peel the carrot and cut it into irregular chunks about the same size as the lotus root.
3. Peel the ginger and cut it into fine threads.
4. Cut the white part of the Japanese leek into 4cm lengths, slit them lengthwise, take out the core and shred them finely along the fibres. Soak them in water for 3 minutes and squeeze them dry.
5. Cut only the larger pieces of the pork into easy-to-eat sizes.

Instructions

1. Put the oil: 1 tbsp in a pan over medium heat and lay the pork out in it. Leave it untouched for about a minute to sear, and once it has taken colour, break it up and turn it. Keep it moving and the meat gives off water, which thins the simmering liquid.
2. Add the lotus root, carrot and ginger and fry for about 2 minutes, until the oil has coated everything. The corners of the lotus root turning translucent is enough.
3. Add FlareLine “KASUMI GLOW”: 1 tsp and fry for about 30 seconds to work it into the oil. Dropped into the liquid as dry powder the aroma comes out unevenly, so it meets the oil first.
4. Add the dashi stock: 300ml, sake: 2 tbsp, mirin: 2 tbsp and sugar: 1 tbsp, bring it to the boil, then lower the heat, put on a drop lid and simmer for 10 minutes.
5. Add the soy sauce: 2 tbsp and simmer for a further 10 minutes with the drop lid still on. Leaving the soy sauce to the second half keeps the lotus root from staining dark, and the aroma stays as well.
6. Take off the drop lid, turn the heat to medium and reduce the liquid for about 3 minutes. Shake the pan, and when the liquid clings to the ingredients, turn off the heat.
7. Finally, taste and adjust the salt. KASUMI GLOW is salt-free, additive-free and 100% plant-based, so the amount of soy sauce can stay exactly as you always use it.
8. Serve, and top with the squeezed-out Japanese leek. It is just as good with nothing on top.

The liquid works its way in better once the dish has lost its first heat. Keep it in the fridge and eat it within about two days.

KASUMI GLOW carries habanero. When you are eating with small children, cut the amount you simmer with down to a pinch and shake the rest over the adults' bowls at the finish. If it is your first time, start with less and add it at the table.