It has been unbelievably hot in DC. So hot, that I shouldn’t walk to work anymore. Even though I’m going to since I just took up Pokemon Go (embarrassing I know). So hot, that a friend of mine remarked it’s hotter outside than inside our bodies. And so hot, that I barely want to cook. However, I can’t stay out of the kitchen. I still want to make food so I need oven-free recipes. Like this one, for pickled radishes. I’ve somewhat got tunnel vision on radishes right now. They are so pretty! The rich jewel toned purples and magentas have been calling to me at the farmer’s market. Besides eating them in salads I don’t really know what to do with them. I’ve seen gorgeous photos of roasted radishes, but it’s summer and I’m not doing that. And then I remembered pickled radishes.
I love pickled radishes. There’s a restaurant in the area (and other locations too) called Bonchon that does Korean fried chicken. It’s so good. It was one of the places I badly missed when I was in London. The chicken is so flavorful and the skin is impossibly crispy – and every portion is served with a small side of pickled radishes. It’s such a tiny thing, but I love the cool, sharp flavor of the radishes. Every time I get take out I make sure I get some radishes too.
Now, I can make them at home. At the restaurant I think they use daikon radishes (larger than regular radishes). If you have access to them go ahead, but I found success with plain old radishes. Simply peel the radishes, cut them in cubes as best as you can, and submerge them in the pickling liquid. In a restaurant the cubes are perfect, for yourself at home, it’s not so serious.
Overall, it’s so easy and in less than a day you have a tasty (albeit bad breath inducing), cooling snack to help beat the heat.
Adapted from It’s My Dish.
Messy level: Not messy, but peeling radishes is a pain. I just took my knife and cut the sides off so each radish sphere became a radish cube. Yeah, you lose some radish with this method but it’s way less tedious. Everything else is really easy.
- 1½ cups radishes (about 1-2 bunches of radishes)
- 2 tablespoons/ 30 ml white vinegar
- 2 tablespoons/ 28 grams sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Peel the radishes and cut into bite-sized cubes
- In a small bowl mix together the vinegar, sugar, and salt.
- Put the radishes in a flat bottomed dish (like a food storage container) or in a plastic bag. Pour the vinegar mixture over the radishes. Make sure all the radishes are touching the liquid. Cover the container, or close the bag.
- Put the radishes in the refrigerator for 8 hours, or overnight. If using a plastic bag, put it flat in the fridge.
- Serve chilled.
- Store in the fridge for up to a week.
