Ani's Raw Food Essentials (35 page)

 

 

This is the easiest of the kimchis to make. Simply cut daikon radish into cubes and sprinkle with sea salt. Add Kimchi Sauce, and set aside to marinate. It'll be ready to eat in just a day.

It's very important to always protect your skin from the spicy Kimchi Sauce when mixing with your hands, by wearing rubber or disposable latex or plastic gloves.

Cubes are a traditional shape for this kimchi, but I like to cut my daikon into strips rather than cubes because I think they look prettier and have a texture that I like even more.

2 pounds daikon radishes (about 2 large), sliced into 1-inch cubes (wash
and chop the leaves also if you desire)
2 tablespoons coarse sea salt
½ cup Kimchi Sauce (page 129)
4 green onions, sliced into 1-inch lengths
1 small apple, peeled, cored, and grated

Place the daikon cubes and optional leaves in a large bowl. Sprinkle with the sea salt and set aside at room temperature for 2 hours to wilt.

 

Drain any liquid from the daikon and place the cubes and leaves in a dry bowl. Add the Kimchi Sauce. Put on a pair of gloves, then rub to coat the daikon with the Kimchi Sauce. Add the green onion and apple, and mix well.

Place the mixture in a glass 1-quart jar and close the lid tightly. Leave for one day at room temperature to pickle. Refrigerate after opening.

 

Will keep for 2 weeks in the fridge.

This is my Korean version of Basic Green Cabbage Sauerkraut. Rather than being shredded, the cabbage is sliced into 2-inch squares. It is soaked in salt water, then drained and rubbed with Kimchi Sauce before setting aside to pickle, and is ready to eat after one day.

1 recipe Basic Green Cabbage Sauerkraut (page 121),
sliced into 2-inch squares
5 tablespoons Kimchi Sauce (page 129)

In large bowl, combine the salt and water; mix to dissolve the salt. Add the cabbage and soak for 2 hours.

 

Drain and discard the water from the cabbage. Put on gloves to protect your hands, add the Kimchi Sauce, and rub into the cabbage.

 

Place the mixture in a ½-gallon glass jar and close the lid tightly. Leave for one day at room temperature. Store in the fridge after opening.

 

Will keep for 2 weeks in the fridge.

 

Mini cucumbers are stuffed with daikon, onion, and green onions to make a pretty Korean-style spicy pickle. Only one day of pickling time is needed before you can enjoy them.

Slice each cucumber lengthwise, leaving 1 inch at the bottom uncut. Rotate and cut lengthwise again, again leaving 1 inch at the bottom uncut. (The 1-inch base holds together the four sliced quarters of each cucumber.)

 

Place the cucumbers in the bottom of a small tray or bowl, and sprinkle salt inside the flesh and on the outside of the cucumbers. Set aside for 2 hours at room temperature.

 

Drain and discard the liquid from the cucumbers.

 

In a separate bowl, combine the stuffing ingredients and mix well. Use one-eighth of the stuffing mixture per cucumber, fill open spaces of each cucumber, fitting the cucumber quarters tightly against the stuffing.

 

Pack the stuffed cucumbers into glass jars to fit them tightly (don't choose jars that will leave extra air around the cukes). Close the lids tightly and enjoy the following day.

 

Will keep for 3 days in the fridge.

6

SOUPS

RAW SOUPS ARE made using pretty much the same in gredients as in cooked soup, with the ingredients simply blended together rather than cooked on the stove. Raw soups are faster to make, and cleanup is much easier, as all you have to do is rinse out the blender container.

Nuts are blended in to create a creamy soup consistency; then, toppings will add another layer of texture, flavor, and color.

I'm frequently asked about hot soups and raw food in cold winter months. I've personally found raw food best enjoyed in hotter climates. If you want a warm soup, you can just keep the blender going longer to create a low heat. Keep checking the heat level with your finger if you want to keep it raw. Once it gets warm to your touch, stop blending.

If you're craving a hot soup and aren't as concerned with keeping it 100 percent raw, you can heat these soups in a saucepan to your desired temperature. They are still superhealthy and free of chemical preservatives, flavorings, and colorings and have been made from scratch, using whole, fresh, organic ingredients. But do keep in mind that beneficial enzymes are damaged at higher temperatures. For me, raw is below 104°F, and any hotter damages nutrients and enzymes.