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Cheap Eat Beat: Quite a Pickle
I like sour things, especially those that have been dunked in vinegar. And what better way to indulge in my cravings than pickles. Real and worthwhile Kosher dills are difficult to find in this dear metropolitan and a small bottle often costs a bundle. Plus a bottle of pickles will only last me...I admit it...probably about a day. For those who need something crunchy and sweet and sour to lighten up a heavy meal, brighten up a sandwich or satisfy a craving why not try making quick pickles the Chinese way? I'm relatively lazy when it comes to pickles, so I don't deal with any of that "boiling in brine" nonsense. The secret to success is slicing your veggie thin, salting the slices heavily and manually squeezing out the water before adding your vinegar and sugar.
I usually use those huge Daikon radishes for my pickles, because they're super crunchy, get rid of water pretty easily, and don't have too much of that "radish-y" flavor. Recently, I also picked up a "watermelon radish" which is green on the outside and a bright magenta on the inside. These make for a very pretty and tasty presentation, much more interesting than the white Daikon. Carrots also work pretty well. Make a huge portion, these pickles get better if they sit for a little while.
30 minute Lazy Chinese Pickles
1 Daikon Radish (or whatever veggie you decide to use. You can mix it up)
Salt
White Vinegar
Sugar
1. Slice your veggies as thinly as you possibly can.
2. In a flat bowl or deep plate place the slices in a single layer. Salt this layer liberally (every piece should be pretty covered. Don't worry, most of the salt flavor disappears). After salting place another layer of vegetable on top and salt. Repeat until finished.
3. Let sit for around 15-30 minutes
4. After 15-20 minutes, depending on how thin your slices are, the slice should have already begun sweating, and there will probably already be water at the bottom of the bowl. Dump any water out.
5. With clean hands take a handful of the vegetable and squeeze over a sink. Squeeze as much water out as you possibly can (without breaking the slices). You can also squeeze using two plates if using your hands is too much work. How I do it depends on how aggressive I'm feeling
6. After squeezing, place in a clean bowl.
7. In a separate bowl mix together sugar and white vinegar. Ratio depends on taste and the sourness of the vinegar. I probably use about a 1/3 ratio of vinegar.
8. Pour over radish, let sit for 5 minutes (or a full day - the longer the better) and enjoy.