Name: Chicken Rice Gratin & Lotus Root Tempura
Yield: 2 people
Ingredients: Chicken Breast - 1 piece (~100 gram); Onion - 1/2 a whole; Oyster Mushroom - few (substitute with any mushroom); Yellow Bell Pepper - 1/4 a whole; Red Bell Pepper - 1/4 a whole; Cooked Rice - 1 cup; Mozzarella cheese - handful; Dried parsley - optional (garnish); Worcestershire Sauce - 1 Tablespoon; Spaghetti (Tomato) Sauce - 3 Tablespoons; Butter - 1 Tablespoon; Lotus Root - 1 whole; Vinegar - 1 Tablespoon; Flour - 1/2 cup; Flour - 2 Tablespoons; Water - 1/3 cup of water; Parsley - few shakes; Salt - few shakes; Ice Cube - 1

Chicken Rice Gratin & Lotus Root Tempura. It’s been a while since we put cheese (or butter) into any of our recipes. So, let’s splurge this week! We’ll start with chicken-fried rice, stir-fried in tomato-sauce and topped with a cheesy crust. For our side menu, we will have lotus root tempura. Pair the two and we got ourselves a deeelicious lunch.

Skip to Recipe

Chicken Rice Gratin

Who would’ve thought of combining spaghetti sauce and Worcestershire Sauce! But the combination works. With a touch of butter, that combination turns into a restaurant-quality taste! I also enjoyed this recipe as it was a nice break away from soy sauce based marinades. It works great for lunch and even better for dosirak!

Substitutions: If you can’t find Worcestershire Sauce, use Soy Sauce.

Lotus Root Tempura

Lotus Root is very popular in Korea. And it’s one of my favorite vegetables to throw into stir-fries. What does it taste like? Well, this root vegetable has a signature, crunchy texture – like a raw potato. When deep-fried, the vegetable holds its crunchy bite and doesn’t turn soggy. If you see it in a market somewhere, give it a shot! You’ll love it.

P.s. Next week, I booked a session at K26 (Asia’s deepest diving pool). Excited to practice scuba-diving! I got my license last year but never got a chance to do more dives. Expect a few (fun) shots on our IG. Alrighty, wishing our Neighbors a blessed weekend as well.

Dan-yul out! 🕺

Chicken Rice Gratin & Lotus Root Tempura

Yield 2 people

Ingredients

Chicken Rice Gratin

Chicken Breast - 1 piece (~100 gram)
Onion - 1/2 a whole
Oyster Mushroom - few (substitute with any mushroom)
Yellow Bell Pepper - 1/4 a whole
Red Bell Pepper - 1/4 a whole
Cooked Rice - 1 cup
Mozzarella cheese - handful
Dried parsley - optional (garnish)

Rice Sauce

Worcestershire Sauce - 1 Tablespoon
Spaghetti (Tomato) Sauce - 3 Tablespoons
Butter - 1 Tablespoon

Lotus Root Tempura

Lotus Root - 1 whole
Vinegar - 1 Tablespoon
Flour - 1/2 cup

Tempura Batter

Flour - 2 Tablespoons
Water - 1/3 cup of water
Parsley - few shakes
Salt - few shakes
Ice Cube - 1

Instructions

Chicken Rice Gratin

Cut the chicken breast into small bite-sized chunks.
Next, cut mushroom, onion and bell peppers into similar-sized chunks. Try to get even amounts of all ingredients.
Put a large frying pan (or wok) out on medium-hot heat. Place in oil. Once the pan is hot, place in the onion pieces. Stir-fry until onion turns translucent.
Then place in the chicken pieces. Stir-fry until most of the pink is gone.
Now, add in all the other vegetables. Sir-fry everything for 1-2 minutes - until most of the liquid from the veggies has cooked away.
Add in Worcestershire Sauce (1T). Stir-fry for 10-seconds. Then add in your Tomato Sauce (3T). Stir around and evenly coat everything.
Now add in the Cooked Rice (1 cup). Place in Butter (1T). Stir everything around. Turn off heat. Then add a handful of Cheese into the rice and stir-again.
Put the fried rice into oven-safe bowl(s).
Without guilt, sprinkle-on a layer of cheese on top of the bowls! Give a few shakes of parsley on top for garnish.
Place into oven and set on broil. Cook until cheese gets a nice browning! Bon Appetit.

Lotus Root Tempura

Peel the skin-off the lotus root. Cut into bite-sized section (Don't cut them too thin - or else it turn into a potato chip)
Fill a mixing bowl with cold water. Place in vinegar (1T). Then place-in the lotus root pieces. Let them soak for 10 minutes.
While you wait, let's make the tempura batter: Mix flour (2T) with water (1/3 cup). Season with few shakes of salt. Also, add 3-4 good shakes of parsley. Give a thorough stir.
After 10 minutes, drain the water and thoroughly rinse the lotus pieces under the faucet - get the vinegar scent off. Set aside and let it drip-off any excess water.
Now, fill a plastic bag with some flour (1/2 cup should be enough). Place the soaked lotus pieces inside. Twist off bag and give it a nice shake. You'll end up with nicely-coated lotus pieces.
Now, take out a large frying pan or wok. Place oil in and place on medium heat.
While you wait for the oil to get hot, drop one ice-cube into your tempura mix - to make it extra cold.
Then, place each coated lotus root piece into the tempura batter. Carefully place each piece into the hot oil.
Let it fry until you get a slight browning on the pieces. Pick them out and set aside. It's ready to eat.
Optional: Make a soy-sauce dip - mix soy sauce (1T) with a few drops of vinegar. Add a few shakes of sesame seeds. Bon Appetit!