Namasu Daikon Carrot Salad "Shichifuku" version for New Year

[helenjp]

Namasu Daikon Carrot Salad "Shichifuku" version for New Year

Serves 4 as Appetizer.

Basic namasu is daikon and carrot, salted, squuezed, and marinaded in a sweetened vinegar.

It is often accented with sesame seeds or shreds of yuzu peel, with yuzu juice added to the marinade. This basic namasu is very refreshing, and many people prefer it to the fancier version given below (just make it with daikon, carrot, yuzu, and marinade ingredients from the recipe below).

The basic salad can be enriched with:

Seafood such as smoked salmon, crabstick kamaboko, ikura salmon roe. Instead of yuzu, lemon juice and thinly sliced sections of lemon work well with seafood.

Strips of aburage.

Vegetables such as parboiled mitsuba stems, strips of kelp, strips of soaked dried shiitake.

Harusame noodles (cellophane noodles)instead of shirataki.

Fruit such as apples, nashi, or crisp persimmon.

• 200 g daikon (preferably white type like Miura)
  
• 40 g carrot, preferably red Kyo-ninjin type
  
• 1 tsp coarse salt
  
• 1 cucumber
  
• 1/4 tsp coarse salt
  
• 1 kikurage (cloud ear fungus)
  
• 1/2 pkg white konnyaku noodles, optional
  
• 1/2 aburage, optional
  
• 1/2 yuzu, shredded peel
  
• 50 ml yuzu juice and vinegar, total
  
• 2 T sugar
  
• salt, if necessary
  

* Soak cloud ear, trim unwanted parts, cut into shreds.

* Cut daikon into chunks about 5-6cm long. Peel. Now get a large knife, and holding the daikon chunk in one hand, peel round and round to obtain a long, broad spiralling sheet of daikon. As it breaks off, layer on a chopping board, and cut into thin shreds.

* Repeat this process for the carrot. Especially if using kyo-ninjin, cut shreds just as fine as possible.

* Alternatively, shred using a hand-shredder or food processor, though not as beautiful as long handcut shreds!

*Sprinkle a good pinch of salt on the carrot and rub in, repeat with rest of the teaspoon of salt and daikon. Allow to sit until the vegetables have softened and shed water.

* Slice cucumber (unpeeled if Japanese type)diagonally, cut into fine shreds, salt, rub, leave as above.

* Dip aburage into boiling water, remove, wipe, squeeze. Cut open and flatten out, cut into shreds.

* Dip konnyaku noodles (shirataki) into boiling water, refresh in cold water, cut into short lengths.

* Peel yuzu thinly, cut peel into shreds.

* Make marinade. Squeeze yuzu juice, remove pips, top up with vinegar to 50ml, mix in sugar and salt to dissolve.

* Squeeze out salted vegetables thoroughly but not aggressively (you want to remove bitterness and excess salt, but not all remaining flavor).

* Mix ALL ingredients, mix in marinade, store in fridge.

* To serve, sprinkle with extra yuzu peel, sesame seeds, as desired.

Keywords: Appetizer, Salad, Hors d'oeuvre

( RG2061 )