Japanese Pickled Napa Cabbage with Shio Kombu 白菜漬け

Sometimes when you get a Japanese meal set, on top of the main dish, there are usually couple more side dishes plus a bowl of miso soup to go with it. And among many common side dishes, you'll often see a lighter colored pickled napa cabbage.

Usually lighter than the version I made here. However, the basic ingredients are the same, I'm guessing it's either the Japanese tsuyu used or the shio kombu, or even longer marinate time that caused the slightly darker version. Put the color aside though, the taste is equally good.

Japanese pickled napa cabbage with shio kombu 白菜漬け - 

Ingredients?

• 1/4 medium napa cabbage
• 1/2 medium carrot 
• 1 teaspoon salt

Marinade:

• 1 tablespoon double-condensed Japanese tsuyu
• 2 tablespoons shio kombu 塩昆布
• 2 grams dried bonito flakes 鰹節
• 1 dried red chili
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar

How?

Destem the napa cabbage and slice each big pieces of leaves in half lengthwise. Then slice to smaller rectangular chunks. Peel and julienne the carrot. Destem and slice the dried red chili to smaller rings.

Add the napa cabbage and carrot to a container. 

Mix in 1 teaspoon of salt. Give it a quick massage then put aside for 10 minutes. You'll start to see some liquid drawing out on the bottom.

After 10 minutes, squeeze out the liquid really hard and transfer the veggies to a big Ziploc bag. In that bag, also add 1 tablespoon of Japanese tsuyu, 2 tablespoons of shio kombu, 2 grams of dried bonito flakes (katsuobushi), dried red chilies, and 1 teaspoon of sugar. Use 2 teaspoons of sugar instead if a sweeter taste is preferred.

Mix till evenly blended. Flatten the area and store in the fridge overnight. Remember toss a few times or flip to the other side half way through.

Enjoy the pickled napa cabbage as it is the next day. 

You can move the rest of the pickles to a seal-tight container. Continue to store in the fridge and it'll still be good over the next few days.

The pickles are best when serving along side some heavy or stronger-tasting main dishes, such as fried pork cutlet or curry. That refreshing acidity will help cutting through the fat and sometimes remedy the spicy numbing sensation. 

Extended reading:

• Spicy Korean cucumber salad
• Japanese pickled daikon 大根漬け

Pesto Orzo with Chicken and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Do you know that orzo is not rice, but a type of pasta shaped like bigger and plump rice grains? As much as I love risotto, but the skills and price involved have swapped me from cooking orzo instead of risotto. 

I know I know you can't really compare these two just because they share similar appearance, but it is actually what's happening in my kitchen. So this time I'm making a pesto-themed orzo meal, supposedly the flavors and seasonings both work with risotto too. But like what's being said, let's stick with orzo this time.

Pesto orzo with chicken and sun-dried tomatoes - 

Ingredients (about 5 to 6 portions)?

• 500 grams orzo
• 375 grams chicken (I used chicken tenders)
• 1 bundle/about 250 grams spinach
• 3/4 cup peas
• 135 grams pesto sauce
• 2 garlic cloves
• 5 cups vegetable stock
• 2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil
• Some salt
• Some black pepper
• 1 teaspoon mixed dried Italian herbs
• Some sun-dried tomatoes and oil

How?

Cut the chicken to medium bite size pieces. Destem and section the spinach to shorter length. Peek and chop the garlic cloves.

Drizzle 2 to 3 tablespoons of olive oil to the pan, I used a Dutch oven. Switch to medium heat and add in chopped garlic. Sear till aromatic but not burnt.

Add in orzo and give it a quick mix, making sure every grain has been coated with the oil. Add 1 teaspoon of mixed dried Italian herbs. Continue to stir and cook for 10 seconds.

Pour in 5 cups of vegetable stock. Cook the orzo till half way done, about 6 minutes.

Add in chicken and mix a little, cook for couple more minutes. Add in spinach and peas, mix and cook for about a minute. Spoon in the pesto sauce. Mix and cook till orzo reaches desired texture. 

Taste and adjust with salt if needed. I added 1/2 teaspoon of salt here. However, the amount of salt used depends, especially we might be using different vegetable stock and pesto sauce here.

Once all checked, plate and dot the orzo with some sun-dried tomatoes. Perhaps drizzle some of the oil from the sun-dried tomatoes for a gentle flavor boost. Crack some black pepper on top then ready to go.

You don't have to use such big pieces of sun-dried tomatoes like I did here. Use smaller ones or give the sun-dried tomatoes a few chops all work great.

Other orzo recipes:

• Dairy-free chorizo and colorful bell pepper orzo
• Big big servings of chicken orzo soup