Ronnie,

I've gotten addicted to Smashed Cucumber Salad, a Woks of Life version of a Sichuan
Summer cucumber salad. I make it basically every other day, and always have a bowl
sitting around. Every time I pass through the kitchen, I take a chunk or two. Highest and
best use for cukes from my garden I've ever found. For bigger, non-English cukes, I peel
them before use.

Geo

https://thewoksoflife.com/smashed-asian-cucumber-salad/

Geo wrote:I've gotten addicted to Smashed Cucumber Salad, a Woks of Life version of a Sichuan
Summer cucumber salad. I make it basically every other day, and always have a bowl
sitting around. Every time I pass through the kitchen, I take a chunk or two. Highest and
best use for cukes from my garden I've ever found. For bigger, non-English cukes, I peel
them before use.

Geo

https://thewoksoflife.com/smashed-asian-cucumber-salad/

I've seen a few recipes like this one and they really appeal to me. I do plan on trying one out before the cucumber pipeline dwindles for the season. However, today I made what I expect will be my last batch of bread & butter pickles of the season . . .


Sliced Cucumbers, Onions & Peppers
Not exactly my favorite cutting device but with about 7 pounds of cucumbers to process, it made the most sense.


Jarred Up
2 half-gallons, 1 quart and 1 pint.

I often feel like a vegetable traffic controller this time of year.

=R=

Bien fait Ronnie, that's a lot of cukes!

I had a "v" mandolin just like that once, bought it from a guy hawking them in front of a Kaufhof department store in Düsseldorf. It worked pretty well until I broke the hand guard. Now I've got a Japanese version.

Made smashed Sichuan cukes again today. I'm really addicted to them. Usually I have an open bowl of them on the counter in the kitchen now at all times. Folks just wander buy and randomly grab a bite.

Geo

made habanero cucumber pickles, tasty

It looks like circumstances have lined up for a few days of eating leftovers, though I suppose that could change. So, not much cooking this week which, I hope, will be kind of nice. In the meantime, even though they're not technically "done," I checked in on the batch of bread and butters that I started on 8/29. Ms. Ziedrich says to let them go at least 21 days. Even though today is only Day 19, since they were just sitting in the fridge, I decided to try them out and I'm very pleased with the results (so far) . . .


Bread & Butters, Day 19

Great flavor, not overly sweet, and great snap and crunchiness. These are the Bread And Butters My Way from The Joy of Pickling, a recipe (and book) that I highly recommend. The hot red peppers I added worked out very well. They imparted a touch of spiciness into the entire batch and gave up enough of their heat that they are extremely pleasant to eat on their own.

=R=

Saw an interesting video on youtube that inspired me to take a shot at a sambal-like fermented red chili sauce . . .


Mise En Place
Chilis (most likely cayennes but sold only as red hot finger peppers, so I'm not entirely sure), garlic, ginger, sugar, salt & gin (subbed for baijiu, which I did not have on hand).


Vitamix
The chilis, chopped into ~1" pieces, along with the garlic and ginger, get processed into a coarsely-chopped mixture.


Fermentation Crock & Yu Kurosaki VG10 Fujin, 210mm
From here the salt, sugar and gin are mixed in, after which the moat is filled and the crock is covered. These are not to be fussed with again for at least 15 days but I like this vessel because I can see into it without opening it. That should reduce the urge to open the crock at all. I think Rene G was wondering about clear crocks upthread. You don't see a lot of them, though they're readily available. That said, it's small (1.3 gallons) and made of pretty thin glass, so it's never going to be my #1 vessel, and I don't imagine the durability is that great, either.

=R=

Having never made them before, I was surprised to learn that just about every recipe/method out there for Jalapeños en Escabeche involves some sauteing. Having eaten them too many times to count, they never seemed sauteed to me. I wrongly assumed that like many (most?) pickles out there, the most heat these saw would be in the form of hot brine poured over them after they were already in the jar. But as I poked around, I found not a single recipe that didn't include some sort of saute.

Started out with a batch of (mostly) red jalapeños from Three Sisters Garden . . .


Mise En Place & The Old Kurosaki VG10 Fujin, 210mm
Sliced jalapeños, Mexican oregano & whole black peppercorns, white onion, carrot, bay leaves & garlic and kosher salt.


Saute
Some methods called for sauteing only some of the ingredients. Some called for sauteing each ingredient individually and some called for sauteing everything together. Since that seemed like the shortest, easiest path, that's the one I took. I used a splash of light olive oil.


Prepping The Jar
The salt and a bonus pinch of extra oregano await the rest of the ingredients at the bottom of the jar. I got lucky in that what I prepped all fit into one quart jar. That almost never happens.


Jarred Up
Once everything was in, I filled it to the top with white vinegar and gave it a few shakes to distribute the salt and oregano.

After they cooled off, they went into the fridge. From what I understand, these will be ready to eat as early as tomorrow. We shall see but whenever they'll be ready, I'll be looking forward to trying them.

=R=

Ronnie -

Looks amazing. Mr. X is a huge escabeche fan, especially when there is cauliflower involved. He made a batch this summer, which I don't think involved cooking. Not sure where he got his guidance. Anxious to see how yours turns out.

The GP wrote:Ronnie -

Looks amazing. Mr. X is a huge escabeche fan, especially when there is cauliflower involved. He made a batch this summer, which I don't think involved cooking. Not sure where he got his guidance. Anxious to see how yours turns out.

I love cauliflower. It's my second favorite vegetable and if I'd had some, I certainly would have included it. How did Mr. X's turn out? Fact is, I went digging for guidance on pickled jalapeños because there's another dish I want to make that involves them. For all I know, maybe when escabeche is made with cauliflower, the cw is to not cook it. Anyway, since I had a bunch of nice, fresh jalapeños on hand, I decided to give this a try rather than just open a can. I'm eager to see how they turn out but even if they're good tomorrow, I can't believe they won't be better a week from now.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:I love cauliflower. It's my second favorite vegetable and if I'd had some, I certainly would have included it. How did Mr. X's turn out? Fact is, I went digging for guidance on pickled jalapeños because there's another dish I want to make that involves them. For all I know, maybe when escabeche is made with cauliflower, the cw is to not cook it. Anyway, since I had a bunch of nice, fresh jalapeños on hand, I decided to give this a try rather than just open a can. I'm eager to see how they turn out but even if they're good tomorrow, I can't believe they won't be better a week from now.

He loved it. I had a few bites. Not sure why -- wasn't in the mood for it?

Harkening back to this post from September 19, I finally got around to finishing up my homemade sambal. It was supposed to ferment for at least 15 days. But being able to see into the clear glass fermentation vessel without having to open it, led to a more relaxed approach. Even this morning, 70 days after I began the ferment, I could see that everything inside the vessel was still bright red and looking good. I'd never once opened the vessel during those 70 days. The only maintenance I did at all was to fill the moat with water when it got low. But today, for whatever reason, I felt it was time to finish up and move on.

When I opened the vessel, it smelled fantastic, redolent of ginger and garlic. The sambal itself is bright, salty and spicy. The only thing I did to it before jarring it was to buzz it briefly with a stick blender to bring it to the desired consistency . . .


Homemade Sambal

This will be a really tasty condiment. When I make it next time, I'll probably cut the ginger back just a bit. I'm glad it's in there but maybe it's a bit too up front.

=R=

'Tis the season . . .


Pickling Mise En Place & Kanjo Kori R2 Petty, 120mm
Pickling cucumbers, red jalapenos, black pepper, coriander seeds, fennel seed, yellow mustard seed, black mustard seed, garlic, dill and oak leaves.

After a few dozen passes, the technique is basically down. Now, I'm just trying to dial in recipes that I like, and taking some detailed notes along the way. A combination similar to this one worked pretty well last time. This time, I'm cutting back the mustard seeds and swapping in the 8 jalapenos for 2 serranos. Also, using oak leaves from my front yard to help maintain crunch, instead of the bay leaves or horseradish leaves that I normally use.

I removed the stems from the jalapenos, then sliced 2 of them into rings and left the rest whole. I briefly simmered the seeds, smashed the garlic cloves, then put everything into the pickling crock, placed the weights atop it all and covered it all with a 4% salt water brine.

These will probably take about two weeks. I'll check them after one.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:...Also, using oak leaves from my front yard to help maintain crunch, instead of the bay leaves or horseradish leaves that I normally use.

Would mustard greens work? I googled and couldn't find anything -- although grape leaves are listed, and I've got plenty of those.

JoelF wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:...Also, using oak leaves from my front yard to help maintain crunch, instead of the bay leaves or horseradish leaves that I normally use.

Would mustard greens work? I googled and couldn't find anything -- although grape leaves are listed, and I've got plenty of those.

Maybe but I can't remember having read anything to that effect. Grape leaves, from what I've read, definitely, though they impart a fairly strong flavor. I never thought horseradish leaves were particularly effective but they did add a nice flavor note.

=R=

Unwound the pickles I started 10 days ago. It's tough to gauge exactly when they're done because they're weighed down at the dark bottom of an opaque crock. Move those weights to check the pickles and it can be difficult to get them all submerged again. But the regular bloop bloop of carbon dioxide bubbles had slowed and since it's warmer in the house than usual, I had a hunch . . .


Finished Pickles
Pretty dialed in on the texture -- crisp with no mushiness. I think the oak leaves were more effective in that regard than horseradish or bay had been and they imparted less of their own flavor, too. Ingredient combination is solid, too. Very happy now with this recipe/method.


Jarred Up
We'll keep the large, half-gallon jar and give the tub to some friends. I also held back a pint of the pickle juice, which goes great in bloody/virgin marys.

=R=

Started a new pickling project/experiment . . .


Peppers & Yu Kurosaki VG10 Fujin Gyuto, 210mm
Just under three pounds of jalapenos and hot Hungarian wax peppers from Three Sisters Garden.


Sliced Peppers, Onions & 2% Salt
Decided to chuck an onion in there but I'm not sure where this is going just yet. I salted it and plan to drain the liquid for a while, certainly overnight and probably longer. After that, I might let it ferment (like a sambal) or I might soak it in some sort of vinegar/oil brine (like a giardiniera). I guess I'll have a better sense of my next steps once the desired amount of liquid has drained off and I can taste everything.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote: I salted it and plan to drain the liquid for a while, certainly overnight and probably longer. After that, I might let it ferment (like a sambal) or I might soak it in some sort of vinegar/oil brine (like a giardiniera). I guess I'll have a better sense of my next steps once the desired amount of liquid has drained off and I can taste everything.

Decided on a sambal-type preparation. I let it sit for approximately 48 hours, and drained it occasionally, after which it had lost about 20% of its weight. Next, I hit it with the stick blender, then added 1% more salt, just under 1% granulated sugar, 8 medium cloves of crushed garlic, a smidge of grated ginger and a splash of Botanist gin. Mixed it all together, then transferred it to the fermentation vessel . . .


Fermentation Begins

I love that this vessel is made of glass, so I can see what's going on inside without having to even touch it. That said, I'll be keeping my eye on it and checking it for flavor in about 14 days.

=R=

After 21 days, the green "sambal" is done. Definitely lost a bit of brightness on the color front but it still looks pretty good and it tastes great . . .


Green "Sambal"

=R=

Ronnie,

Where'd you get that fermentation 'vessel'? It looks so purpose built...

MaLa Market advertised one this week, but it was way pricey, like $60, for a small-ish device similar to yours.

Geo

Geo wrote:Ronnie,

Where'd you get that fermentation 'vessel'? It looks so purpose built...

MaLa Market advertised one this week, but it was way pricey, like $60, for a small-ish device similar to yours.

Geo

I got it at Amazon. They appear to be going for around $50 right now. I bought mine a couple of years ago, and at the time, it was about half that price.

=R=

Had a mess of very hot cherry bomb peppers and decided to make a red 'sambal,' similar to the green one I finished up last week.


Cherry Bomb Peppers


Prepped Cherry Bombs & Masakage Yuki White #2 Gyuto, 210mm

Stemmed and quartered them, and added 2% salt by weight. I'll let them sit for a day or two to give up some of their moisture, then I'll drain them, add a few ingredients and get them into the fermentation vessel for a couple of weeks.

=R=

I put the final prep on my batch of red 'sambal.' Drained the excess liquid, then added 1% granulated sugar, a touch more salt, some minced garlic and ginger and a splash of rice wine vinegar. From there, a quick buzz with the stick blender and into the fermentation vessel . . .


Fermentation Begins
I tasted this and while these cherry bombs definitely have some natural sweetness, they are really effing hot. Other than making sure the collar of the vessel has water in it, there's no reason to even touch this for another 14 days.

=R=

After a 16-day fermentation, the cherry bomb 'sambal' is now jarred up and ready to go to good homes . . .


Cherry Bomb Sambal

I'm very happy with the final product. It's extremely hot, with a subtle sweetness and a bright, pickly bite.

=R=

and a gorgeous color

JoelF wrote:and a gorgeous color

Thanks, Joel. Mother Nature, she's got a way.

=R=

Some friends who garden -- and with whom I shared some of the cherry bomb sambal I made -- closed their garden this week and brought me a trove of lemon drop peppers. They asked me to 'do the same' with the lemon drops.


Lemon Drop Peppers

I cleaned, stemmed and coarsely chopped them. They're now sitting in a bowl with 2% salt, losing some of their moisture. Tomorrow, when they've drained off suitably, I'll add some other ingredients and get them into the fermentation vessel . . .


Salted Lemon Drop Peppers - Pre-Fermentation

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'Tis the very start of pickling season. Was thrilled to get my hands on ~4 pounds of freshly picked ramps . . .


Washed/Sorted Ramps & Takeda NAS Petty
I neglected to weigh these on the way in or the way out. It was about 4 pounds gross, I think.


Pickling Mise En Place & Takeda NAS Petty
50/50 mixture water & white vinegar, ramp stalks, spice plate (cumin seeds, black peppercorns, coriander seeds, gochugaru, yellow mustard seeds, celery seeds and salt), granulated sugar.

Dissolved the sugar and salt in the water/vinegar mixture on the stove top, then added all the spices and let it steep until it cooled off a bit. Then, I poured the solution over the ramps, which I had positioned in a wide mouth canning jar . . .


Jarred Up
These will go into the fridge for a few days, after which they'll be ready. Looking forward to enjoying them this year. I'm still stinging from a catastrophic mishap with last year's batch, which tumbled out of the fridge and broke into a mess of of broken glass just after the season had ended. Hoping for better luck this year.

=R=

A bonus pickle, since I had some extra brine I didn't want to waste . . .


Sweet & Sour Refrigerator Cukes

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Happily, it's that time of year again . . .


Garlic-Dill Pickle Mise En Place & Kanjo Kori R2 Petty, 120mm
Spice Plate (gochugaru, black mustard seed, yellow mustard seed, black peppercorns and fennel seed), pickling salt, homegrown garlic, flowering dill, slitted jalapeno and washed/trimmed pickling cucumbers.

Received the pickling cucumbers and flowering dill in our CSA box. And even though the heads/cloves are small, the homegrown garlic -- planted last fall -- looks and smells terrific, so I worked some of it in here (no better place for hard-to-peel garlic than in an application like this).

Dissolved the pickling salt into a gallon of distilled water to create a 3% brine, which I used as the main pickling medium. The spices were simmered briefly in some of that distilled water and once cooled, added -- along with the brine, smashed garlic cloves, dill and slitted jalapeno -- to the crock, where the cukes were weighed down. Filled the crock with brine and spice solution so that all the cukes were covered, positioned the lid and filled the collar of the crock with water. I'll do my first check of these in about a week. Most of the cucumbers are small, so I don't think they'll take more than 10-14 days to fully pickle.

=R=

I can't see this thread title pop up without thinking of Engelbert Humperdinck.

Seriously though, I've got plenty of gift cucumbers on hand and am reviewing this thread for ideas, starting at the beginning with smashed cucumber salad.