This is based on a recipe I found on the Just Hungry blog for Instant Tsukemono (Japanese Pickling) Seasoning Mix.

• 3 asian cucumbers (or 1-2 long english cucumbers, seeded, or 2 slicing cucumbers, peeled & seeded)
• fresh ginger root (approx 1 tbsp shredded)
• fresh lemon juice (about 1 tsp to 1 tbsp)
• sea salt (a pinch or two, to taste)
• fresh green shiso leaf, chopped fine (I used 6 medium sized leaves)
• toasted sesame seeds (I used about 1-2 tbsp)

Cut cucumbers into quarters lengthwise. The asian cucumbers I used are approximately 3/4 to 1 inch diameter. If you’re using larger-diameter cucumbers, cut into sixths or eighths. Cut diagonally into 1/8 inch slices.

Add shredded ginger. You can manually cut into matchsticks, or use a cheese grater. I used a benriner mandoline. (Time-saving tip: just shred a couple of chunks of ginger all at once. If using within a few days, save in your container of choice. If saving for longterm use, put in a plastic zip top bag, expel most of the air, flatten the mass of shredded ginger then score into 16 squares with a chopstick. Freeze, then just break off as many squares as you need for your recipe.)

Finely chop the shiso leaves. If you don’t have fresh shiso leaves, you can use yukari gohan mix but reduce the salt in the recipe. If you don’t have access to shiso _anything_, use another aromatic herb. Just note that it won’t taste as “Japanese”. Keffir lime, basil (Italian or Thai), mint all work well.

Add the salt and sesame seeds, mix well. Adjust seasonings to taste.

You can eat it immediately, or you can let it sit for awhile to let the flavours mingle.

Other options:

This isn’t really a pickle as much as it’s a savory salad. It works well with substitutions. The basic idea is a carrier vegetable, something salty, something sour, one or two aromatics, and optionally something sweet. I also usually add kombu (kelp) powder for umami, and sometimes a bit of honey. Adjust proportions of the seasonings depending which flavours you want to dominate. Here are some ideas for alternate versions:

• Other vegetables: substitute in zucchini, grated carrot or beet, red bell pepper instead of the cucumbers
• Other flavours: oregano or basil (or both) & zucchini, black pepper, cracked mustard seeds, crumbled feta instead of salt, vinegars or lime juice instead of lemon. Tom yum paste. Tumeric and/or cardamon. Honey. Remove sesame from most of these.

If you want to avoid the liquid that gets drawn out of veggies by the salt, cut them down to size and then sprinkle with salt. Mix well and let sit in the fridge for 1-3 hours. This will draw out the water. Drain and rinse well, then drain again. Mix in the other ingredients; you may have to adjust the salt in the final recipe.

Chicken Ginger/Cardamon Salad on Sweet Potato Noodles
Tuesday, August 19, 2014 (lunch)

• Ground Chicken (about 350g)
• 1 Zucchini, juleinned (or are those large matchsticks?)
• Optional: 1 Small Carrot, grated
• 1 Fresh Lime, juiced
• Ground Green Cardamon 1-2 tsp
• Fresh Ginger, (about 1/4 cup grated)
• Salt to taste
• Sweet Potato / Yam Noodles (about 250g)
• Olive Oil (I used extra virgin, about 3 tsp)

Prepare/cut all the ingredients.

Mix the chicken with 1 tsp cardamon and half the lime juice, and about 1/4 to 1/2 tsp salt.I did this while the water was coming to a boil, and let it sit for all of about 5 minutes.

I started cooking by bringing a pot of water to a boil for the yam noodles since they take the longest.

Once the noodles were in the boiling water, I heated up my wok on medium heat. (Yes, I know that wok cooking usually requires super high heat. I’m using it more as a semi- nonstick frypan.) Add olive oil (I used about 3 tbsp) and shredded ginger. Fry for about 30 seconds then add the chicken. Mix around so the chicken doesn’t clump up. There should be enough moisture in the chicken that it will cook in its own steam, uncovered. Once the chicken is cooked, add in the zucchini. Stir fry until it begins to soften, then add the carrot. I only added carrot to give the dish a bit more colour variety. Adjust seasoning (salt and cardamon) and mix it well, then remove from heat. I cooked this on a single-burner induction hotplate so I just turned off the heat.

While I was working on the chicken/zucchini stirfry, I kept checking the noodles for doneness. When they were done, I drained them and portioned them into bowls without rinsing. After that I mixed the stirfry again and then laid it out on top of the noodles. Finish by pouring on the rest of the lime juice.

Other Notes:

• I cut the zucchini by hand; carrots and ginger with a Benriner mandoline slicer using the medium comb.
• This was supposed to be lunch for two people, but neither of us was able to finish; it would probably feed three.
• This can be served hot, cold, or lukewarm. I didn’t time the cooking perfectly so the stirfry was done before the noodles. We had lukewarm stirfry on hot noodles.
• From start to finish this took about 30 minutes, not including cleanup time.