meemalee

Spicy Shan Cauliflower and Carrot Pickle Pickling is in my blood. As you know, I'm Burmese, but Burma aka Myanmar is made up of over 100 ethnic groups. A large part of me is Shan , one of the more prominent of these ethnic groups, who primarily live in a rural, hilly region in Burma known as the Shan State . Traditionally tall and fair, and cousins to the Dai people in Thailand, the Shan are rather fond of pickles (and noodles, and pork - often the three in combination). All manner of Shan pickles for sale in Mandalay The classic Shan pickle is mohnyin-tjin , but as wonderful as this is, it takes a little effort and patience to make (by patience, I mean at least a week, kimchi -style).  This recipe is for one of my favourite overnight pickles, using cauliflower and carrot, both of which are hard to come by in lower Burma, but plentiful in the Shan State. Though of course carrots and cauliflowers aren't rare in the UK, you may not find the pickli...

Killer Kimchi Kimchi. Practically the national dish of Korea, this potent pickle is pungent, sour, spicy and unnecessarily delicious. It works well as a condiment or side dish, in stews and curries, with rice and noodles, and even in a sandwich or bun - in fact, a kimchi hotdog seems to be de rigueur these days. Till recently, I've been lazy and got packets or tubs of the stuff from Oriental supermarkets, but I discovered that it's both cheap and easy to make yourself. This is a good thing as I recently had to make a shed-load for my Momofuku tribute dinner Lunchy Peach . The recipe looks long but I wanted to show you all the steps - it's really straightforward. Korean Pepper Flakes and Burmese Shrimp Paste And you can tweak the flavours (saltier, sweeter, sourer) so it tastes even better than shop-bought. (Burmese) shrimp paste, similar to belacan, is my secret ingredient for extra umami - other recipes add chopped-up oysters, dried shrimp or squid, ...

Mat tries Barry Norman's Pickled Onions - the finest known to man - and fails to appreciate them in any way. Mat Follas does not like pickles. I do not like liquorice. I think I'm in the majority; he thinks that he is. Vote now - the poll will close midnight on Friday. The loser has to treat the winner to a free dinner. I don't want to lose. The question is - Which do you HATE? 20.11.2010: THIS POLL IS NOW CLOSED - And I won :) Thanks for voting!