Lotus Root Chips

As a fun, just-playing-in-the-kitchen activity, there is nothing like cooking up some hot, crispy-fresh root-vegetable chips. Deep-frying thin lotus root slices yields a batch of lacy, crisp beauties that are an unusual, hard-to-resist nibble for a cocktail party. Use a mandoline, Japanese vegetable slicer, adjustable ceramic mandoline, or a very sharp knife to cut the root into paper-thin slices.