Pickled radishes

Pickled radishes! It’s fun to have in the fridge during the summer, and even though the ingredients in this are mostly Asian– the pepperiness of the radishes and the ginger makes it fuse beautifully with Indian food too, that I tend to cook quite a bit too.

The recipe (by Lillian Choi, Gourmet 2007) called for less ginger and more sugar, but I tweaked it around to add more ginger and less sugar. It worked better for my taste, but pickling allows you to tweak it to your taste. And it doesn’t take much time, so have fun with some summer pickling!

Makes 3 cups

1. 1.Halve 1 1/2 pounds daikon lengthwise, then cut crosswise into 1/4-inch thick slices. Transfer to a large bowl and toss with 10 sliced red radishes and 1 tbsp kosher salt. Let stand at room temperature, stirring occasionally, 1 hour.
2. 2.Drain in a colander (do not rinse) and return to bowl.
3. 3.Add 1/4 cup unseasoned rice vinegar, 1 tbsp sugar and 2 tbsp very thin matchsticks of peeled ginger, mix until sugar is dissolved. 
4. 4.Transfer to an airtight container, or containers and chill, covered, shaking once or twice, at least 12 hours more, to allow flavors to develop.
   
   
   Pickled radishes can be chilled up to 3 weeks.
   Make small jars and give them out as gifts, a hand written or designed and printed label will make it look even more special. Wrap it in cellophane paper, tie with a red and bright green ribbon to complete the look.