meritra's Profile

From: Tucson, AZ USA

Joined: May 24th, 2012

About me: I've been vegetarian (~95% vegan) for over forty years. I love to make foods from scratch, including tempeh, tofu, seitan, wine, pickles, sourdough, pasta etc. and prefer such experimentation to actually putting a meal together. Having grown up sixty miles north of the US/Mexico border, I have a long and affectionate history with Mexican food. I love Indian and Caribbean flavors, but am somewhat daunted by the complexity of the spicing. Asian cuisines, particularly Chinese, hold sway over me because of their versatility, variety and exquisite flavors — there is always more to discover. I'm focusing primarily on Italian cooking lately, and playing with various ravioli fillings.

Favorite cookbook: Changes almost daily


Latest review:

May 25th, 2012

Dong Chimi - White Radish Water Kimchee from Madhur Jaffrey's World-of-the-East Vegetarian Cooking

The first lacto-fermented vegetables I ever made were from this recipe. On the first try, I halved the quantities in this recipe, since I wasn't sure it would be successful, not knowing how easy fermentation... read more >


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meritra's Reviews


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Madhur Jaffrey's World-of-the-East Vegetarian Cooking

By Madhur Jaffrey
Knopf - 1981

25th May 2012 (edited: 12th June 2012)

Dong Chimi - White Radish Water Kimchee

The first lacto-fermented vegetables I ever made were from this recipe. On the first try, I halved the quantities in this recipe, since I wasn't sure it would be successful, not knowing how easy fermentation is, but needn't have worried; it's now a staple in this household.

This is a cold soup whose crisp tart taste is refreshing and delicious on a hot summer's day. Now that we've hit the 100°F mark here in the desert, it will be in frequent rotation for the duration of the summer season. If you like Asian and pickled flavors, this is the recipe for you. The seasoning provided by the chiles, ginger, garlic and scallion perfectly complements the radish and turnips.

A brief (10-minute) amount of cooking is required at the outset to make the pickling liquid, otherwise this dish comprises nothing but raw ingredients. Be advised that since this is a lacto-fermented comestible, that it will require 2-3 days to make, and a few days longer in the cooler months. Feel free to vary the vegetables and spices according to what's available -- I've used carrots, cucumber and Napa cabbage -- it's hard to go wrong with this recipe. Serve over some chilled noodles for a more substantial dish. It makes about five cups.

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