Pickled vegetables are an essential part of any Japanese meal and these quick, simple sides dishes are to be eaten the day of making.
INGREDIENTS
Pickling liquid
½ cup sushi rice vinegar
1 tablespoon mirin
1 tablespoon caster sugar
¼ teaspoon wasabi paste
¼ teaspoon soy sauce
Radish and ginger
4 medium radishes
1 tablespoon julienned fresh ginger
Cucumber and chilli
1 Lebanese cucumber
½ a long red chilli
Daikon and carrot with sesame seeds
5 cm piece daikon radish
1 medium carrot
1 teaspoon sesame seeds, toasted
METHOD
Put the vinegar, mirin and sugar in a small saucepan and bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Simmer for 1 minute then whisk in the wasabi and soy. Cool for 5 minutes.
Place the vegetables (not the garnishes) in individual bowls and sprinkle each one with a teaspoon of salt. Leave for 20 minutes then rinse under cold water. Dry with kitchen towels and return to the bowls. Pour a third of the pickling liquid over each bowl of vegetables and leave for 1 hour before serving, turning occasionally.
Radish and ginger: Cut the radishes into small wedges, keeping a little of the green stem on if possible. Add the ginger to the radishes when the pickling liquid is added.
Cucumber and chilli: Thinly slice the cucumber and finely slice the red chilli, removing the seeds. Add the chilli when serving.
Daikon and carrot with sesame seeds: Peel the vegetables and cut into julienne. Add the sesame seeds to serve.
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In Dream Escape, we journey from Japan and Morocco to Italy, India and beyond, sharing recipes inspired by travel, heritage and comfort. We celebrate the champions of the Outstanding Food Producer Awards, explore the stories and recipes of chefs shaped by their cultural roots, and warm up with everything from West African soups and slow-braised lamb to porchetta, butter chicken and beef noodle soup. Alongside destination menus, Scandinavian sweets and cosy pub classics, Chrisanne Terblanche shares her favourite street-side dining spots in Bangkok, while Yvonne Lorkin explores red wine varietals. This issue, we invite you to slow down, turn the pages and escape through food.