Slaw with Cucumber and Jicama

I don't think it is possible to use an entire jicama at one time, so I ended up with half of one that needed to be used.  I also had some other miscellaneous partly used veggies in the fridge.  This is the resulting slaw.


Cabbage, jicama, cucumber, red bell peppers and red onion.  Dressing of rice vinegar, a tiny bit of agave nectar  (used because I am told it does better things to your system than refined white cane sugar), some olive oil, and a bit of salt.


As an aside, the oil is from the olive business that has been developing over the last several years right here in the Texas Hill Country.  And while I think some people from Texas tend to brag about their state just a bit too much (especially about its politics), I have to say the olive oil here could stand up to just about anything from Italy, Spain, or California.


This slaw should go well with the Los Angeles food truck carne asada that I am going to try this afternoon. It is a Korean-Mexican fusion recipe that you can read on the NY Times. (see the link)  Interesting article even if you think the recipe sounds odd, although I am betting the recipe will be a keeper.   

Passenger Cocktail

The only thing you probably need to know about the Passenger Cocktail is that it is so good that it almost made Kathy like gin.  Almost.

I had this in Austin at Perla's Seafood and Oyster Bar on South Congress in Austin.  Outstanding place to eat.  Right next to Hotel San Jose (expensive), and a block or so from the Austin Motel (cheap), both great places to stay when you are in Austin.

You will note that there is no mint in this picture.  I didn't have any today when I took the picture. The Passenger Cocktail is much better with mint, but a splash of Peychaud Bitters is pretty good if you don't have any mint on hand.

The Passenger

Almost good enough to turn Kathy into a gin drinker.

Yield: 1 cocktail

Ingredients 1 1/2 oz Dry Gin 1/2 oz St. Germain 1/2 oz Fresh Lime Juice San Pellegrino Aranciata (a type of orange soda) Mint

How to Make Pour into an ice-filled Collins Glass and top off with San Pellegrino Aranciata. Stir and garnish with a sprig of mint.

Source: Perla's Seafood and Oyster Bar in Austin

Cucumber Kimchi

My friend and coworker Stephanie Dukes offered me a two-foot-long cucumber fresh from her dad's garden.  It was unlike any store bought cucumber I have had - not as wet inside, and just slightly hairy on the outside.  It was one of the best cucumbers I have had, and it deserved a special treatment.  Kathy and I had just tried a great new local Korean restaurant, but their cucumber kimchi was just not spicy enough, and I thought maybe I could make one more to my taste.  Here is my resulting recipe.  I hope Stephanie brings me more of those cucumbers.

One thing I discovered as I researched recipes was that there is no standard recipe for cucumber kimchi.  (And no standard English spelling either.)  My suggestion is use this recipe as an idea instead of a formula.  I like mine spicy and you may not.  Next time I make it, I will probably use less sugar, and make sure I have rice vinegar, but you might like it just the way I made it. (It is pretty tasty as shown below.)

Serve this with your favorite bulgogi, perhaps this one from one of my favorite food journalists, Mark Bittman of the the NY Times.

Cucumber Kimchi

Yield: 6 cups

Ingredients 6 medium cucumbers, halved lengthwise, seeded, and cut into chunks about 2 ½ x ¾ x ¾ inches. Kosher salt 6 cups rice wine vinegar (or regular white vinegar if you don't have rice vinegar) 2 cups sugar (maybe a little less if you prefer) 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced 1/4 cup fresh ginger matchsticks 3 large shallots, very thinly sliced 6 scallions, green tops sliced in 1" pieces, the white parts more thinly sliced 6 small radishes, very thinly sliced 1 cup shredded carrots 1 Tbs chili garlic sauce 1 Tbs cayenne 1 Tbs hot paprika 1/2 cup Thai fish sauce (nam pla)

How to Make 1.      Place the cucumbers in a colander set in the sink. Sprinkle the cucumbers generously with the salt. Allow to rest at room temperature until the cucumbers have exuded liquid, about 2 hours. Rinse the cucumbers, dry them well, and set aside. 2.      In a large, nonreactive saucepan, combine the vinegar and sugar and bring to a boil over medium heat. Add the garlic, ginger, and onions, bring to a simmer, and remove immediately from the heat. 3.      In a large, nonreactive bowl, combine the cucumbers, carrots, and radishes. Pour the vinegar mixture over them, add the chili garlic sauce, cayenne, hot paprika, and fish sauce, and toss well. 4.      Correct the seasoning with salt, if necessary. Let the mixture cool to room temperature and cover with plastic wrap. With a paring knife, punch a few holes in the plastic wrap and place the bowl in a cool, dark place. Let the mixture pickle for 24 hours. Transfer the kimchi to a tall glass jar or jars and seal tightly. Use or refrigerate.

Author: Started with a recipe by Ming Tsai, but modified with ideas from a number of other internet recipes I found. Ming Tsai's recipe can be found at this link: http://ming.com/foodandwine/recipes/season-1/cucumber-kimchee.htm.

Tips Check out recipes - you will see there is no such thing as a standard recipe for cucumber kimchi.  Adjust to your own taste! Daikon seems to be more traditional than the red radishes I used. Ming Tsai's recipe use 3 medium red onions, halved and cut into 1/8-inch slices instead of the shallots and green onions, and 4 tablespoons Korean chile flakes (kucho karu), or 2 tablespoons red pepper flakes, instead of the garlic chili sauce, cayenne, and hot paprika.

Buffalo Chicken with Avocado-Goat Cheese-Jicama Relish

This is a recipe that my daughter Lisa pinned on Pinterest, and Kathy had her eye on it for a while before she remembered to suggest that I make it sometime.  Glad she did.  Among other things, it is the very first time that I really liked jicama -- I will like it always from now on.

Lisa found Buffalo Chicken with Avocado-Goat Cheese-Jicama Relish on the Elly Says Opa! blog, and I have added that blog to my favorites. 


I feel better after reading Elly's description of her results - her breading didn't stick very well either. (Next time I will do the flour-egg-coating routine.) I don't feel so bad about mine now.  Anyway, my chicken may have been a little ugly, but it was delicious!

Buffalo Chicken with Avocado-Goat Cheese-Jicama Relish

Servings: 4

Ingredients 4 medium chicken breasts, about 4-5 oz. 2/3 cup buffalo/wing sauce 1 cup breadcrumbs 2 Tbs canola oil 1 large avocado, diced 1 cup peeled and diced jicama (about 1/2 of a jicama) 3 oz goat cheese, crumbled 2 radishes, thinly sliced and halved 2 Tbs chopped parsley or cilantro Juice of 1-2 limes

How to Make 1 Pound the chicken breasts to about 1/3″ thickness.  Place in a dish or bag and toss with the buffalo sauce. (You can do this in advance and just leave in the fridge or do this in the beginning, before starting the rest of your meal). 2 Season the breadcrumbs with salt and pepper. Remove the chicken from the buffalo sauce and dredge in the breadcrumbs. 3 Add 1 Tbsp. canola oil to a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Once hot, place 2 of the chicken breasts in the oil. Cook until chicken is done, flipping once, approximately 3 minutes per side. Remove the chicken, add the remaining oil, and cook the second batch of chicken. 4 Meanwhile, make the relish. Combine the avocado, jicama, goat cheese, radishes, and cilantro. Season with salt and pepper to taste; add lime juice and lightly mix to combine. 5 Serve the relish on top of the buffalo chicken.

Source: Elly says Opa! blog Web Page: http://ellysaysopa.com/2012/02/14/breaded-buffalo-chicken-with-avocado-goat-cheese-jicama-relish/

Tips When I looked at this recipe, I thought it probably needed a bit of cornmeal in the breading. I processed some corn meal in my spice grinder to get something like a coarse corn flour and used that in the coating with the bread crumbs. Really a great addition! I had the same problem that Elly at Elly Says Opa had -- the breading didn't stick very well. Next time an egg wash after flour and before bread crumbs.

Author Notes *If you don’t want to pound your chicken, pan-fry it as usual for about 2 minutes per side and then move to a 375° oven to finish cooking. If your chicken is too thick, the coating will burn before the inside is cooked thoroughly.

This is a picture of Elly from her Elly Says Opa! blog.  She is a cutie, and she has at least a kajillion good recipes.  She is from Chicago, my favorite city in the world -- and that also says something good about her. You ought to try her blog sometime.