Lotus Root Patties

My friend Tina, who's married to a Japanese, made these patties as a starter when she invited us over for lunch one day. Tina must've used a teaspoon to drop the batter from. I used a tablespoon and it just doesn't taste as good or refined when the patties are big! So if you try this recipe, do it Tina's way -dainty- and serve them on fresh shiso leaves if you can get them.

Lotus Root Patties

400g lotus root, pared and grated finely*
8 fairly large prawns, minced or 3/4 cup of minced pork
3 to 4 T Japanese mayo
3/4 t salt
several dashes of white pepper
1 egg
3 T ordinary flour

1. Mix everything together well. The batter will be quite wet. Leave in fridge 1/2 hour to set.
2. Shallow-fry the patties by dropping the batter by the spoonful, then lightly pressing on it to flatten a little. Turn over after a minute and fry the other side.

* The finer you grate the lotus, the more water will come out from it. You can grate the lotus coarser if you want to taste the texture of the lotus.

Note: recipe updated on 17/2/08 to reduce the amount of flour. The patties taste better if the batter is wet.