Andoh's Quick Fix Pickles: Fruity, Sweet And Sour Daikon (vegan & gluten-free option)

Rocket & Roses Kitchen Play List:

Thunder ~ Lola
Rival Sons ~ Open My Eyes
Stevie Wonder ~ Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours
Scissors Sisters ~ Take Your Mama
KT Tunstall ~ Saving Face
INXS ~ Never Tear Us Apart
Black Stone Cherry ~ Lonely Train
Dead Sara ~ We Are What You Say
Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band ~ Shame, Shame, Shame
Skid Row ~ Piece Of Me
Thunder ~ She's My Inspiration
VAST ~ Can't Say No
Alison Moyet ~ More
The Union ~ The Space Between Us

I recently bought myself a second hand copy of Elizabeth Andoh's Kansha cookbook. It is a cook book that celebrates the vegan and vegetarian traditions of Japanese cuisine. I had been coveting it for a while and knew it would be all the things a good cook book should be. From the moment I held it in my hands I was enchanted. I made a large pot of green tea and sat down with it and read it cover to cover. Visually it's cook book perfection and it is a captivating read. The recipes are on the whole simple and every one I have tested so far have been a little bit of vegan Japanese food heaven. Kansha has quickly endeared itself to me and I would say it's easily one of my most favourite cook books of all time. Its now a treasured possession...

I made these pickles because I was creating some Japanese inspired recipes of my own and had realised I was missing a key ingredient for the meal. Pickles!! Now traditional pickles take time to ferment. I did not have this luxury and turned to the Pickles section of Andoh's book. I found this recipe and seeing the words quick and fix in the title had me rummaging around in my fridge to check for diakon and apples as everything else was stock cupboard items. And 15 minutes later I had sliced diakon and apples in a covering of salt and soaking and a quickly heated stock/brine cooling in a pan. The hardest part of this recipe is the 'not' rinsing the salt off of the diakon and apple when they have had their soaking time and it was amazing how much liquid leached out from them. Giving them a good press and toss really helped as mine held onto their moisture until I started to..well..assist them! In under an hour I had a jar of pickles sat in my fridge awaiting use. Marvellous!

Ann, who was here for the day helping me recipe test, became addicted to these pickles. We divided them up on the day and she ate hers as a snack and I have since made her another jar. It's easy to see why she liked them because the resulting pickles were indeed sweet as the apple brings a great fresh sweetness to the pickles. The diakon is a sturdy texture and takes on the fruitiness perfectly. The brine isn't an overpoweringly salty one which can sometimes be off putting as the salt dissipates into the sweetened brine. We 'blanked' on our day of testing that Andoh suggests scattering toasted sesame seeds. So when I read the recipe through again a few days later I spotted it and did indeed scatter the beautiful black and white sesame seeds I had toasted and sealed in a tiny jar....and On My Goodness...the transformation from a great sweet pickle to exceptional pickle was a foodie mind blowing experience for me. Wow...and I never say that easily...

Andoh's Quick Fix Pickles: Fruity, Sweet And Sour Daikon (vegan & gluten-free)

Andoh's Quick Fix Pickles: Fruity, Sweet & Sour Daikon
(Recipe from KANSHA/Celebrating Japan's Vegan & Veggie Traditions/Andoh)

Sweet and sour marinate:

3 tbsp rice vinegar
1/4 cup stock or water
drop of light colour soy sauce (I used Braggs)
1 tbsp sugar (I used brown sugar/stevia blend)
2-3 strips of lemon peel or 1/4 tsp grated lemon zest
1" square of kombu
1 small tart apple about 6 oz, quartered, cored and thinly sliced or 1/4 cup 1/2" long matchstick cut apple peels 4oz
1 tsp kosher salt
1 chunk of daikon about 8oz unpeeled, cut into half moons
1 tbsp white sesame seeds, freshly dry roasted (I also used black)

Make the marinade:
Combine the vinegar, stock, soy (Braggs), sugar, lemon peel and kombu in a small saucepan over low heat and heat slowly, stirring, just until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat and pour into a one pint glass jar and let cool naturally. The marinade can be made up to one week in advance and refrigerated. Bring to room temperate before using. 

Place the apples in a small bowl, add 1/2 tsp of the salt, and toss to coat evenly. Place the daikon slices in another small bowl and toss with the remaining salt. Let the apple and daikon slices sit for 10 minutes; moisture will form. If your apple has red skin the colour may bleed, tinting the brine. Lightly press and squeeze to encourage further wilting. Drain the apple and daikon slices then press out the excess liquid. 

Transfer the wilted apple and daikon to the marinade. Place the kombu on top to keep the apple and daikon submerged in the marinade. Cover and marinate for at least 30 minutes at room temperature (refrigerate if you wish to hold for longer than four hours) or for up to 24 hours in the refrigerator. 

When ready to serve, use clean dry chopsticks or a fork to remove pieces from the marinade. Press out the excess liquid, then mound teepee style and garnish with the sesame seeds. 

Refrigerate and use within one week. 

Enjoy!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope your day is going well?

~Red~

NB: This is not my creation and I take no credit for it whatsoever. It is the hard-work and creation of Elizabeth Andoh and hers alone. I thank her for such an inspirational cook book and for sharing her beautiful recipes. ~R~

 

Vegan Bento: Tofu & Three-colour Pepper Stir Fry with Instant Cabbage & Cucumber Pickles (vegan & gluten-free)

Rocket & Roses Kitchen Play List:

VAST ~ I Can't Say No
Carole King ~ Crying In The Rain
Don Williams ~ You've Got A Friend
Alannah Myles ~ Lies And Rumours
Puccini: Gianni Schicchi - Oh Mio Babbino Caro
Joan Jett ~ The Only Good Thing
Soundgarden ~ Zero Chance
Audioslave ~ Gasoline
Stevie Ray Vaughan ~ Life By The Drop
Beth Hart ~ State Of Mind
Thunder ~ Have Mercy
Shakira ~ Underneath Your Clothes
Gin Wigmore ~ Happy Ever After
Foxes ~ Let Go For Tonight

Vegan Bento: Tofu & Three-colour Pepper Stir Fry adapted from The Just Bento Cookbook/Itoh

Oh...Bento! I recently became aware of all things Bento and I am now a devotee. I have my lovely fresh green Bento box (picture above) and I went for a two layered version. I have cute little flower silicone holders to stash pickles and the like in. I feel its only fair to warn you...it can take over your life. There is a whole Bento accessories industry out there.

Japanese cuisine has been very much on my mind since our trip down to London in November. And as I research everything I cook, thoroughly, I have spent many hours reading about Japanese culture and traditions. I have become fascinated and was able to purchase two cookbooks that have inspired me and thrilled me...the first was Kansha ~ Celebrating Japan's Vegan and Vegetarian Cuisine by Elizabeth Andou. I spent a full day resting as I read this most interesting cookbook from cover to cover. It was a blissful day and hope to bring you posts based around it very soon. 

The second cookbook was The Just Bento Cookbook by Mikiko Itoh. It's not a vegan or veggie cookbook but it does have a few veggie recipes and many that can be easily veganised...today is an example of that. Itoh's recipe calls for chicken to be used so I simply used some seasoned tofu pieces I had in my fridge. I also adapted the recipe further by using a scant amount of rapeseed oil, less salt and swapping out soy sauce for Braggs liquid animos. 

Itoh's cookbook is very easy to read, easier to use and a beautifully laid out and photographed book. I sat with my page markers (cookbook addict...hey..it's a process..leave me be! lol) and read through every suggestion she makes. She explains Bento in easy terms and leaves you feeling that it is so easy and achieveable even if you are pushed for time. Quite simply...I loved this cookbook and given the amount of page markers I stuck on its pages...I'll be using it often. 

Today's Bento is made up of two layers...the first I call the crunchy level with beautiful fresh veggies and freshly made pickles. The second layer is the serious layer. 

The stir-fry is very easy to make and I served mine with cooled brown rice with a lettuce divider. The stir-fry has great flavours although next time I will use slightly less Braggs. I use little salt in my cooking so I found it just a little too salty. But the tofu pieces worked fantastically with the fresh peppers. The spring onions and ginger settle into the back ground giving the stir-fry a savoury support. Itoh suggests serving the stir-fry with white rice as is the traditional accompaniment but I used brown rice. I don't enjoy white rice that much so for me it will always be brown rice. I enjoyed this recipe so much that I am looking forward to having it again...soon. 

The crunchy layer was made up by some blanched broccoli pieces and they were very enjoyable but next time I shall steam briefly. Again..it's just my preference. I went with Itoh's suggestion of cherry tomatoes and I also added some tulip radishes. And also a small bowl of raw almonds for snacking upon later. The Instant Pickles were very easy to make and the hardest work is squeezing out the liquid before potting them up. Itoh's recipe calls for one large cabbage leaf but I chose to use a savoy cabbage and used 8 small leaves. I wanted to have pickles left for the next few days and as I am a beginner at making my own pickles, I wanted to spread out the salt a little further. It worked and I really enjoyed my little pot of pickles. The veggies were tender and were sharp but not shockingly so. I can embrace the pickle tradition if this is a good example of them.

When I sat down to eat my lunch today I wasn't prepared for how much I was going to enjoy cold stir-fry and rice. I knew I would enjoy the crunchy layer of my Bento lunch and I did very much. But the two combined made for a very enjoyable and satisfying lunch. I have indeed been bitten by the Bento bug....thank you Mikiko Itoh for the inspirational cookbook.

Tofu & Three-colour Pepper Stir-fry

Tofu & Three-colour Pepper Stir Fry          Serves 1
(Recipe adapted from The Just Bento Cookbook/Itoh)

1 tsp rapeseed/canola oil
3 tbsp roughly chopped spring onions
2 tsp peeled and finely chopped fresh ginger
1/3 of each red, green and yellow bell pepper
 - de-seeded and chopped into 1/2" pieces
salt, for sprinkling 
2 oz seasoned tofu pieces cut into 1/2" pieces
black pepper, to taste
1 tbsp Braggs liquid animos
lettuce leaves as dividers

Heat the oil in a wok/skillet and add the spring onion and ginger, stir-fry for 1-2 minutes until the oil is fragrant. Turn the heat up to the highest setting and add the peppers to the pan. Stir-fry with a spatula or long chop sticks. Sprinkle with some salt - this drives out the moisture from the vegetables and makes them cook more quickly. (Reds notes - I omitted this step) Continue to stir-fry for 4-5 minutes or until the peppers are cooked. 

Push the vegetables to the side of the pan and add the tofu to the exposed bottom. Leave for a couple of minutes and then stir into the vegetables. Cook for a further two minutes. Then stir in the Braggs and season generously with freshly cracked black pepper. 

Turn the stir-fry out onto a cold plate to cool quickly. When cooled, using a lettuce leaf as a divider, pack into your Bento box. 

Instant Cabbage & Cucumber Pickles

 
Instant Cabbage & Cucumber Pickles    Serves 3-4
(Recipe adapted from The Just Bento Cookbook/Itoh)

8 small savoy cabbage leaves
2" piece of cucumber, sliced into thin rounds
1/2 tsp sea salt (I used Himalayan)
large squeeze of fresh lemon juice

Cut the tough vein out of the centre of the cabbage leaves, and slice into strips. Sprinkle the cabbage and cucumber with the sea salt and massage the veggies until they begin to go limp. Let rest for at least 5 minutes. Add the lemon juice 

Squeeze out any excess moisture before packing into your Bento box. (Reds notes: I took Itoh's advice and used a silicone divider to set my pickles into. So much easier) The pickles can be eaten straight away or stored in your fridge for 3-4 days. 

The crunchy Bento layer ~ Instant pickles, blanched broccoli spears, fresh vine-ripened cherry tomatoes, radish tulips and raw almonds.

  
Enjoy! 

Thanks for stopping by folks and I hope your week gets off to a good start...

~Red~

NB: These recipes are not my creation. They adapted from The Just Bento Cookbook by Mikiko Itoh. The original recipes are her hard work and creation and I take no credit for them whatsoever. I do send out thanks for such an inspirational cookbook. ~R~