Thursday, September 11, 2014

PICKLED DAIKON AND DAIKON CAKES

It's been a very busy summer.  Summer weather is quite different then any other year.  Hotter and dry.   Some of the fruits in my garden are like in stunned mode.  Luckily in some part of California, weather has been great for crops.  These DAIKON were beautifully grown by community down in Salinas.  What to do with large DAIKON?   I didn't know what to do.  I just start cutting them into pieces or shredded them.  Julienned Daikons were used for MISO Soup; shredded Daikons were used to make radish cake - ROBO' GAO that we enjoy at the Dim Sum house on weekend;  large chunks and sticks ... well, I decided to pickle them.   I just placed them in a sanitized jars, filled all the way to the top with Japanese rice vinegar, chili pepper flakes... and also mixed some sugar with rice vinegar to add some sweetness.  Clean jar's neck clean to keep bacteria from forming.  Tighten the lid on; then, refrigerate.  After two months... oh my gosh, they are fantastic!  refreshing pickled Daikons that go well with rice dishes.

 For Rice Cakes
 For Pickles
 For MISO Soup
 For Pickles
 For radish cakes
 Rice flour for radish cake.... I think mixing some Tapioca flour would have been even better??
 Shorten the shredded Daikons into shorter threads.
 Pickling in recycled bottle after sanitized
 Refrigerate for 1-2 months; Then, enjoy!   *a reminder - always use a clean utensil to transfer pickles out from the jar to a serving plate.  Never reuse the utensil that has been used for other purpose to avoid contamination of the pickles.

Sunday, August 10, 2014

Making Stir Fried Eggplants

Stir fried eggplants is one of the most challenging Chinese dish to make at home, I think.   For some people, it is easy, but the sheer idea of dealing with lots of oil - precooking of the eggplants in "GUO  YOUW" -- passing through oil as in deep fried, but not quite deep frying makes the thought of cooking it at home formidable.  It is one of our favorite dish to order at the Chinese restaurant.   But I thought I would give it a try. 


 



California State Park Finale

This is a late late posting of photo journal of California State Finale