Pickled Daikon

 

Update:  A photo!

I love Korean food, partly because of the mix of sweet, sour and spicy condiments or Banchan that many Korean restaurants give you with your main dish.   Especially places like Han Bat on 35th  street - my favorite cheap Korean place.  I recently got some Kimchi from the people that sell different banchan and greens and things at the Ft. Greene farmers market, but I was inspired to make my own pickled daikon when I noticed they hand some nice fresh organic daikon for sale.  I had ordered a new cookbook "Well-Preserved" by Eugenia Bone, which promised lots of pickle recipes,  but hadn't gotten it yet, so I looked around online for a good pickled daikon recipe.

I found many different recipes - all with different specific ingredients, but as with most pickles, the basics are the same:  kosher (or canning) salt, vinegar (white, rice or distilled), sugar and water.   Some called for garlic, some for slivers of fresh ginger, some for other spices.   I made up my own from the various recipes:

• 1 large Daikon radish
• 2 medium carrots
• 1/4 cup kosher salt
• 1 large piece of fresh ginger
• 1 cup rice vinegar (not seasoned)
• 6 T white sugar
• 3/4 cups water
• 4 cloves garlic, sliced into medium pieces

Cut the daikon into whatever shape you want the pickles to be in - either matchsticks or rounds.  Keep in mind that the thinner or smaller the pieces, the more the pickling solution will soak in and the stronger the flavor will be, but they will also retain less crunch.  Do the same with the carrots (I did daikon matchsticks and round carrots).  Put them all in a collandar over a bowl or the sink, and pour the salt over and mix it through.  Let stand for 1 hour, then rinse briefly and let drain.*  Cut up the ginger into small matchsticks and set aside.

Sterilize several small mason jars and lids in boiling water.

In a small saucepan, add the vinegar, water, sugar and garlic.  Bring to a boil and stir until all of the sugar dissolves, then remove from the heat.

Pack daikon/carrot mixture into jars, alternating with a few sticks of ginger, up to 1 inch from the top of the jar.  Add hot pickling solution to cover the vegetables.  Include 1 or 2 pieces of garlic if you want, otherwise discard the garlic.  Cover jars and let cool.  Refrigerate for up to 4 weeks.**  The pickles will get stronger as they age.

Makes about 4 half-pints.

Serve with steak, porkchops, rice dishes, or on Vietnamese type banh mi sandwiches.

* I was wondering why this step was one thing that was universally required in all of the recipes I looked at.  According to Harold McGee, "...salt improves crispness thanks to its calcium and magnesium impurities, which help cross-link and reinforce cell wall pectins."  From "On Food and Cooking," my new favorite reference book.
**  You could process these in a boiling water bath for 30 minutes and keep on your shelf, but you may want to use a different type of vinegar.   Rice vinegar is often not 5% acidity which is recommended for pickled vegetables (2.5% when diluted with water).  I prefer the flavor of rice vinegar, so I chose to make these as 'refrigerator' pickles and make a smaller batch and just keep them in the fridge.  I have processed pickled beets with rice vinegar and not had any issues, but I didn't dilute the mixture with any water.

Comments

[mark lazen]

Damn. I can't wait to get home to the states and get some decent Korean food. Only problem with that stretch on 35th is I can never remember which place I like.