Pickled Things

PICKLING: Do Chua

Do Chua is pickled daikon and carrots. And it’s just about the best thing in the world. It’s usually served on a Banh Mi sandwich. A Banh Mi is a vietnamese sandwich. If you’ve never had a Banh Mi before, go to 5014 N. Broadway. There’s a restaurant called Ba Le, and they make the best Banh Mi. However, if you are having a Banh Mi emergency outside of their regular operating hours, you can make one at home. But not without do chua, a key ingredient. Here’s how to make it:

First, go to your local Asian supermarket and buy the biggest daikon you can find.

You’ll need some carrots, vinegar, rice wine vinegar, sugar, salt, and water, too. You’ll also need to know how to perform a julienne cut.

After a quick julienning tutorial, my kitchen helper and I started to julienne the daikon and carrot.

Next, add some salt and sugar to your julienned masterpiece. You’ll need to massage the mixture until it’s feeling pretty relaxed. Allegedly, the salt and sugar will draw out the water. Get that water out, so the brine will go in.

If you have a kitchen helper, have them stir up the brine, while you finish the massage.

Rinse the vegetables under cold water, pack them in jars, then pour the brine over them.

Let them marinate for about an hour. Store them refrigerated and they’ll keep for about a month.

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Here’s the recipe I used:

Do Chua

Ingredients:

2 large carrots - peeled and julienned

1 giant daikon - peeled and julienned

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup distilled white vinegar

1/2 cup rice wine vinegar

1 cup warm water

Preparation:

Place the carrot and daikons in a bowl and sprinkle with the salt and 2 teaspoons of the sugar. Knead the vegetables for a few minutes. They will soften and release their liquid. Drain in a colander and rinse under cold water, then press gently to expel any extra water. Divide the vegetables among jars.

To make the brine, combine the 1/2 cup sugar, the vinegars, and the water together in a bowl and stir to dissolve the sugar.

Pour some brine into each jar over the vegetables until completely covered. Let the vegetables marinate in the brine for at least 1 hour before eating. They will keep in the refrigerator for up to 4 weeks.

PICKLING: Dill Spears

Pickling Cucumbers, also known as Kirby Cucumbers, aren’t as easy to find as one might think. After my visit to the Crappy Jewel on N. Clark Street and Edgewater Produce across the street came up empty, I tried the Other Jewel on N. Broadway. They did have Pickling Cucumbers in their produce section, but they were shriveled and covered in a weird salty, slimy film. I opted out of buying those and decided to wait until the next day.

It dawned on me to visit the Asian Supermarket, mere blocks from my apartment. Towards the back of the store they had a small basket of maybe 30 Pickling Cucumbers. I bought them all. Then I got to work.

First, I heated up the mason jars in a water bath.

Then I concocted a special potion of pickling spices and vinegar.

Next, I cut ALL the cucumbers into spears.

I removed one mason jar at a time from the hot water bath and packed them with as many spears as I could fit.

Then it was time to pour the special potion of pickling spices and vinegar over the spears and secure the mason jar lids.

I noticed on my stove there is an option for “Power Boil”. I chose that, which jacked up the flame.

I put the mason jars (now filled with the spears and special potion) into the water which was on its way to being a power boil.

Once the water achieved a “rolling boil”, I set the kitchen timer for 15 minutes. Then I drank an old-fashioned.

When the timer went off, I pulled the jars from the pot, and I let them rest there for 24 hours.

After the 24 hours of rest, I performed the test to see if the jars had been sealed properly. That test includes unscrewing the bands and pressing down on the lids. If the lid is concave and doesn’t budge your seal is good. If that little button on the lid is popped up and you can press it and it moves, it’s no good.

Much to my surprise, all 5 of my jars had sealed properly. (!) I finished the project by affixing some labels on each jar: “Wolfers Pickled Originals”. While this was a successful canning project, the real test will be in about a month when I crack open a jar and sample the dills. Hopefully, they will be delicious and not awful and disgusting.

The beginning

I was sitting in a bar with my boyfriend on my 28th birthday drinking and talking about how great it would be to quit our day jobs and open a bar. We talk about this a lot.

Anyhow, we were sitting in this bar and the conversation drifted towards differences among pubs around the world. I asked him how a typical Chicago neighborhood tavern differs from a typical English pub. He took a moment, and replied, “Well, there aren’t any TVs, the ale is served from a firkin, and the patrons get upset if there’s not a jar of pickled eggs behind the bar.”

I nodded, “I like that and I like things that are pickled.”