Category Archives: Vegetarian

PICKLED CARROTS AND DAIKON RADISH

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Even before the work safe/stay at home order was issued, my favorite Vietnamese restaurant, Thien An, closed.  I held out hope that it would reopen, and happily, it did the first week in June.  But I sure missed the restaurant’s vermicelli bowls (and banh mi, and egg rolls, and pho) in the interim.  To satisfy my cravings, I tried my hand at making vermicelli bowls, and was happy to learn that it’s not difficult at all.  With temperatures rising, this is a cool, quick, and satisfying main course meal — think of it as a noodle salad — that we’ll be making frequently this summer.

A little advance planning makes this dish easy to pull together. To simplify things, I’m posting the recipe for the pickled vegetables today, the recipe for the “sauce” tomorrow, and directions for assembling the bowls the third day along with a great recipe for Vietnamese Grilled Pork.

Let’s get started!  Pickled Carrots and Daikon Radish add crunch and brightness against the blandness of the noodles.  They’re easy to make, and don’t require cooking. If you don’t have a julienne peeler, I recommend getting one.

Although the pickled carrots and daikon can be used an hour after you make them, they’re even better if you can make them a day in advance.  They’ll keep in the refrigerator about a week.

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PICKLED CARROTS AND DAIKON RADISH
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Ingredients
  • 1 pound carrots, peeled and julienned
  • 1 pound daikon radish, peeled and julienned
  • 2 red chiles arbol (optional)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons plus ½ cup sugar (divided use)
  • 1-1/4 cups distilled white vinegar
  • 1 cup lukewarm water
Instructions
  1. Place carrot and daikon in a medium bowl and sprinkle with salt and 2 teaspoons sugar. Massage the vegetables between your fingers for a few minutes until they have reduced in volume by about ¼th (this will release some of the water in them). Transfer to a colander, rinse under cold water, and press down on vegetables to release extra water. Pack the vegetables into a large glass jar. Tuck chiles into jar, if using,
  2. In a small bowl, combine ½ cup sugar, vinegar, and water, and stir until sugar is completely dissolved. Pour over vegetables. Store in refrigerator (refrigerate at least one hour before using).

 

CHOCOLATE CHEWIES

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I found this allegedly pre-Columbian figure at an estate sale.  I was told it might be old, meaning that it also might just be schlock from a souvenir shop.

The proud warrior sat guarding plants on a windowsill in my bathroom.  But one day he engaged in battle with my housekeeper and did not emerge victorious:

My housekeeper inexpertly glued him back together and apologized profusely.  I wasn’t angry, but I have to admit that I hate hate hate broken, chipped, and cracked things.  And so, he has been relieved of his plant-guarding responsibilities.

There are notable exceptions to my aversion to cracked things, such as cheesecake — a crack across the top of a cheesecake never slowed me down.  Another exception is Chocolate Chewies, a dark, chewy chocolate cookie.  I haven’t made them in years, but inspired by the cracked warrior, I baked a batch, and they are currently the reigning favorite cookie in my house.  The cracks across the surface of the cookie reveal the deliciously chewy interior.  In this case, cracks are a very good thing.

These cookies are also known as Savannah Chocolate Chewies.  They were a specialty of Gottlieb’s Bakery in Savannah, Georgia, which was founded by Russian immigrants in 1884.  The bakery closed in 1994, but was reopened by fourth-generation Gottliebs in 2016.  Chocolate Chewies have certainly withstood the test of time.

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Recipe type: Cookies
 
Ingredients
  • 2 cups coarsely chopped pecans
  • 2-1/4 cups powdered sugar
  • 6 tablespoons dark cocoa powder
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • Pinch of salt
  • 3 egg whites
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 ounce chopped or grated bittersweet chocolate
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place pecans on a baking sheet and toast in oven for 5 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until fragrant and slightly brown, being careful not to let them burn. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.
  2. In a medium bowl, mix together the powdered sugar, cocoa powder, flour, and salt. Place the egg whites in a medium bowl, and using an electric mixer, beat until foamy. Stir in the vanilla and the powdered sugar mixture, and continue beating for an additional 1-2 minutes until smooth and shiny. (If batter seems too runny, add 2-3 more tablespoons of powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time.). Fold in the pecans and chocolate.
  3. Drop the dough onto baking sheets by heaping tablespoonfuls, spacing about 2 inches apart. Bake approximately 15 minutes, or until dry and cracked on the surface but soft in the center when pressed. Allow cookies to cool on sheet briefly, then transfer to a wire rack using a spatula and cool completely.

 

The dough is shiny before baking

After baking, the cookies have a dry cracked surface

Embrace the cracks!