LILY BULB STIR FRY

I get enthused everytime i see blogs of new recipes, another version of a recipe i like or new ingredients. I get interested and sometimes find it a challenge if i can't get the ingredient or find any substitution. This "root bulb" is something new to me and i was on a mission to find this "veggie". Thanks to my friend Debbie for introducing this root/bulb.

As i mentioned before i get my Japanese ingredients and stuff at a small Japanese grocery/produce market near my place. I've seen lots of ingredients that looks "alien" to me and always wonder how they are cooked and the taste..lily root bulbs are one but didn't bother coz i had no clue. Another example are the burdocks but that's going to be another blog.

Okay..when i say i'm on a mission..i really mean it. I was disappointed to learn that they (Japanese stored) don't sell lily bulbs anymore, it wasn't selling. Since i couldn't find lily roots in my place, I thought i'd be able to find them in Chinatown Chicago...yeah we were there last weekend. As i was going through the aisle of a Chinese supermarket, taking pictures acting like a tourist , i came across these vacuumed pack white "thingy" that looked like the lily root Debbie blogged.

As you can see from the picture below it's only labeled in Chinese, so i had to asked the cashier who fortunalety speaks English. She said it's edible lily bulb, widely used in Asian countries esp. in Korea, China and Japan. She surprisingly is well versed w/ this lily bulb, and told me that there are an array of varieties for lily root/bulb. She then described these veggie exactly as what Debbie described in her blog...aside from it's nutritional and medicinal value, people like it becoz it's creamy, sweet and has this refreshing flavour.

Regrets, regrets..i bought only one package! what was i thinking? Actually i was still kind of apprehensive to buy a lot. So i ended up making just the stir fry for now ha!ha!. It was very good!!! something that we would love to have for dinner again...if only i can purchase them here. Oh well, guess it'll have to wait until we go back to Chitown.

Edible lily bulb (Chinese variety) but accdg. to the lady it taste the same as the Japanese kind.

They look like elephant garlic bulbs . Clean them and take out the blemishes. Slowly take off the petals.

They look gorgeous! I took a bite and they were indeed crispy, with a tinge of sweetness, they had a crunch like endives or thin slice of celery but a much sweeter and crunchy taste.

I still have streak o' lean in the freezer...so i opted to use them in lieu of bacon. Streak o' lean btw are just thin slices of porkbelly.

Slice them in bits and render out the fat.

Yummy!!! Save the fat/lard..they are good in moderation ofcourse.

I had no idea what veggies i was going to cook..these are the veggies i had in my ref, yellow, red, orange bell peppers, edame and scallions.

Saute garlic, onions, then add the rest of the veggies ofcourse including the lily petals seasoned w/ S&P. Stir fry no longer than 1 minute or they will lose their sweet flavour and the crisp. Mix soy sauce, oyster sauce, little of fish sauce (optional), slurry (mixture of cornstarch and water) as thickener. Pour into the veggie mix and stir until sauce thickens. Taste and adjust the flavor.

STIRY FRY LILY ROOT BULB

EDAMAME AS THE APPETIZER.

ENJOY!!!!