Quick Turnip or Radish “Pickles” (Turnip Sunomono)

Here is a variation on a theme. I love the cucumber salad called sunomono that you get in Japanese restaurants. Long ago, when I had a sushi bar of my own, I used to experiment with this technique, using whatever vegetable struck my fancy.

INGREDIENTS:

METHOD:
Peel the turnips and use a mandolin to slice them as thinly as you can and keep them whole. If you do not have a mandolin, I recommend slicing the top and bottom flat so you have a firm base and the turnip does not roll. If using the carrot, peel and slice the carrot as thinly as the turnips. Use the same shape or shred into thin shreds.

Sprinkle the vegetables with the salt, toss to coat evenly and “massage” the vegetables a little.

While the vegetables wilt, combine the water, vinegar, and sugar in a jar and shake until the sugar goes into suspension (disappears from sight).

When the vegetables have begun to wilt and have lost their rawness, rinse in plenty of cold water. Taste a slice to be sure the salt is gone.

Add the vegetables to the dressing and allow to marinate at least an hour.

Chill the pickles, then use when cold.

Chef’s Notes and Tips:
If you do not have a mandolin, you can try using a sturdy vegetable peeler instead. This basic method will work on things like radishes, Watermelon radishes, daikon, Spanish Black radish, and regular radishes. For smaller, wetter radishes such as Plum or Cherry Belles, don’t slice them paper thin. Leaving them around 1/16th of an inch will work better for texture. The denser and drier the vegetable, the thinner you can slice it, and the longer it may need to stay salted. Taste as you go to learn.

Sometimes, I add a dried chile such as a chile de arbol or Japanese chili to the mix to heat it up.

The dressing recipe is the same used for sunomono-cucumber salad-that you get in Japanese restaurants. You can try salting the cucumber slices if they are thicker, or not, as you wish. Play with the thickness of the slices and salting to determine your favorite. I find my preference changes based on cucumber type and time of year.

Source: Chef Andrew Cohen