One More

[greenstorm]

For those of you who liked watermelon radish, have you ever tried lo bok? It's a chinese radish (diakon is the japanese version) that's pretty similar in taste. It's usually local, in season, and is 19 cents a pound at sunrise produce right now.

I wanna try these two:

Braised Beef and Radish
2 tbsp (30 ml) oil 1 large Oriental radish, peeled and cubed
2 lbs (1 kg) Stewing beef 1 tbsp (15 ml) Oriental Five Spice Powder or 1-2 Star Anise
Water Soy sauce or salt to taste
Heat oil in a braising pot, add beef and brown well on all sides. Add radish, spice powder and water to a depth of 1 inch (2.5). Cover and simmer gently until meat is tender. Adjust seasoning using salt or soy sauce to taste and serve.
Makes: 4-6 servings

Pickled Oriental Radish
1 lb (500g) Oriental radish, peeled and thinly sliced 1 tbsp (15 ml) salt
2 cups (500 ml) white vinegar Pinch salt
1 clove garlic, crushed 2 ¼ cups (550 ml) white granulated sugar
Combine radish with salt. Toss 5-6 times every five minutes for 20 minutes. The salt will draw the moisture from the radish, so the finished pickle will be crisp. Meanwhile bring vinegar to a boil and add salt, garlic and sugar. Simmer gently until sugar is completely dissolved. Rinse radish and pat dry, place in sterilized jars and pour hot brine over leaving ½ inch headspace, and seal. Allow jars to cool and then refrigerate. Pickles should be ready to eat in three to five days, keep refrigerated.
Makes: 2 pints

Comments

[dw00.livejournal.com]

mmmm, when I was a cook we used to do all sorts of cool stuff with daikon. if you shred it instead, it's an awesome substitute for sauerkraut.

[greensinger.livejournal.com]

dw00--there's actually a number of traditional fermeted vegetables from Germany, including a saurkraut made of shredded turnip. Mmm...

Erin--I like pickles of all kinds, but if you want a true (actually fermented) pickle rather than a refrigerator pickle, make a brine with 1.5 Tablespoons of salt per litre of water, a little less salt if it's cold in your house, and let ferment several weeks. Add oak, grape or horseradish leaves for tannin to keep the pickles crisp.

I'm putting up a batch today with red radishes...

[greenstorm.livejournal.com]

Now that's something to remember. Have to be resourceful to get leaves this time of year though.

True pickle-- that's your Jewish roots speaking.