Sichuan pepper salt lotus root crisps
Thin lotus root slices lightly dusted in cornflour, air-fried until golden and crisp and tossed with Sichuan pepper salt and spring onion — savoury, not greasy.
- 30 min
- Serves 2
- Air-fry
- Easy
Why it suits you: Phlegm-damp types need to strengthen the spleen and resolve damp, avoiding sweet, greasy and fried food. Cooked lotus root turns warming and helps digestion, Sichuan pepper warms and dries damp, and the air fryer needs only a spoonful of oil — a crunchy swap for crisps.
Method
Prep 15 min · Cook 15 min- 1Peel the lotus root and cut into slices about 2 mm thick. Soak in water for 10 minutes to rinse off the surface starch, then pat dry.
- 2Toast the Sichuan pepper and salt in a dry pan over low heat for about 1 minute, then stir in the white pepper.
- 3Brush the lotus slices with a little oil, dust thinly with cornflour and lay them flat in the air fryer without overlapping.
- 4Air-fry at 180°C for 12–15 minutes, turning once, until golden and crisp.
- 5Toss with the pepper salt and spring onion while hot and eat straight away.
Cautions
- Sichuan and white pepper are drying and heating — use less if you have a dry mouth, sore throat or constipation.
Chef's tips
- Thin, even slices crisp best; air-fry in batches without stacking so they cook evenly.
The TCM view
Cooked lotus root is sweet and warm, strengthening the spleen, stirring the appetite and nourishing blood; Sichuan pepper is pungent and warm, warming the middle and drying damp; white pepper is pungent and hot, warming the middle and moving qi downward. Low in oil and sugar, it warms the digestion for phlegm-damp types.
