梅酢大根ピクルス Radish with Red Plum Vinegar

日本語のレシピは　ビーガン、ベジタリアン情報満載の　Hachidory から　ご覧下さい。

Wild hydrangea are now blooming on the path to the mountain.

The rainy season seems to have started already.

We have more rainy days these days, and I sense more humidity on my skin.

The green plume trees are laden with lots of grown up leaves as they are always so in this season.

 

But Oh my goodness !
I cannot find even a single fruit there, though I searched for them thinking some must be hiding in the bush of leaves.

 

I know that those fruit trees bear abundant of fruits every other year, but even in a poor crop year, a small portion of plums can be harvested.

But, but, None !

No green plumbs is very disappointing as I love their fragrance most of all in this world.

Well, can’t be helped.

The nature is taking its course..

The mulberries are abundant this year,

and I am now enjoying foraging them.

What is happening around us is happening because it is good for us.

I still have many umeboshi and a few jars of plum vinegar from previous years in my pantry.

 

So today I am sharing a recipe of daikon radish with plum vinegar with you.

It is super-duper easy to make !

It is so refreshing !

It can revitalize you !

 

Buy the way, what is the plum vinegar ?

It is the byproduct of umeboshi.

When we make umeboshi, the green plums are mixed with salt.

The juice starts coming out of the plums a few days later.

This juice is “Umezu” which is translated to plum vinegar in English.  (We call it vinegar, but unlike the normal vinegar of any kinds, no fermentation takes place in its process.)

I like to add lots of shiso red peril herb to the plain plum vinegar as I prefer the taste in this way, and also it can work as a natural food coloring.

I told you that the plum vinegar is the byproduct of umeboshi, but for me, umeboshi is the byproduct of plum vinegar.

Umeboshi is not often necessary in my cooking other than for onigiri, rice ball making.

However the plum vinegar is indispensable.

 

I need it everyday for my breakfast, mixing with natto, grated radish and green onion.

 I like to add to the dressing for fresh salad.

 I add it to the oily food for refreshing taste and also to break down the unnecessary oil in my body.

 I add it to keep the food fresh during humid season to avoid the food turns easily rancid.

 I drink it after diluting with some water when I feel uncomfortable consuming something unwanted such as sugar laden sweets, unwanted food additives which are prepared outside. 

I often use it for my bento making and also for the side dishes as its red color makes the food look more attractive.

The left item looks like the real egg, but it is not. 
I made it with the pumpkin and the soy milk.

The right top one may look like the grilled eel, but it is not. 
I made it with tofu.

The one below the flower shaped radish pickles looks like the scrambled

egg, but it is not.  I made it with the pumpkin and tofu.

It is indeed a super food that I myself found its greatness from my experience.

I hope you will also find it is effective for you too.

 

Enjoy today’s super-duper easy recipe as a start.
(It is just to mix the radish and the plum vinegar ! )

You do not need to make umeboshi in order to obtain the plum vinegar.  

It is easily available from the net shops.

Here are some links of reliable shops.
 (They are written in Japanese only.)

https://umenokuni.com/collections/all/products/umesu-aka

https://kawashima-ya.jp/?pid=80205508

Hopefully some net shops in your country are dealing the plum vinegar too.

Umezu Daikon Pickles  

Radish Mixed With Red Plum Vinegar

 

Ingredients

Desired amount of Daikon radish

20% weight of Daikon

 

Procedure

1.    Cut the radish into thin slices along its fiber.

2.    Cut julienne along its fiber.

3.    Transfer to the bowl, add plum vinegar and mix.

4.    10 minutes later, you should see the radish are wilted in the juice.  Then mix them again. 

At this stage, some parts are pink and some parts are still while.

5.    30 minutes later, all the radish should be pink color.  Then mix again.

6.    You can eat it straight away or keep it in the fridge for up to two weeks.   However the bright pink color will fade day by day and turn to greyish pink.   Therefore try to use it earlier if you want to enjoy the pink color.

 

Notes

l  　The commercial red plum vinegar may not be as dark as the one of my handmade.  In that case add more plum vinegar to compensate the color.  However do not add too much as it may turn too salty eventually. 

    The alternative ways are 

    adding the red peril herb marinated in salt to the plum vinegar, if the shop also sells it or

    adding the red color vegetables or flowers in the plum vinegar, though I have not tried this method yet.

 

 

l     I like the texture of julienne slicing so I introduced this way of slicing today, but you can also enjoy the different texture by slicing the radish into different shapes.

 

 Slicing into this kind of thick sticks gives you crunchy texture.

 

 Happy Cooking！

タグ：plum vinegar green plum ume Umeboshi umezu Daikon pickles rainy season traditional Japanese food Bento Japanese cooking macrobiotics Vegan GlutenFree Japanese vegan cooking 梅酢 梅干し 青梅 大根 伝統食 スーパーフード ビーガン料理 グルテンフリー料理 マクロビオティック 和食 ビーガン料理教室 マクロビオティック料理教室 英語料理教室