Vietnamese Carrot and Daikon Radish Pickle (Do Chun)

I was through with canning.  I put away my canner, I put away my lids and rings and warded off any future canning projects because I was done for the season.  Done I tell you!  Then I went crazy buying carrots at the market last week and I have this daikon radish in my fridge and well, I have no room in my fridge at present because I have been roasting squash and freezing it lately.  I actually have a pretty small fridge.  Its filled with end of the summer pickles.  Had to get those in before all the cukes were gone.   

I was left with no choice.  Can it!  I had to.  Noooooo. 

I will be grateful.  After Thanksgiving is over and I want some new fresh taste, I will pull out one of these sweet little jars and have me a Banh Mi sandwich.  Maybe even a turkey Banh Mi!


Vietnamese Carrot and Daikon Pickle  (Do Chun)
Adapted from this recipe via Ball Canning.  One of the best sources of info on canning.

You can do any size.  If you just want to do one jar, cut it way back and why bother even canning it. Put it in your fridge and in a week, you will have a tasty pickle to pair with your Vietnamese food or to go on your Bahn Mi sandwich.  Just make sure your vinegar ratio is 2:1 and your water sugar is 2:1.  1 tablespoon or more of salt per cup.

2 pounds carrots
2 pounds daikon radish
3 cups white vinegar
3 cups water
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 tablespoons Kosher salt
1 clove garlic per jar
1/4 teaspoon chili flakes per jar

Heat vinegar, water, sugar and salt.  While you are waiting for that to come to a boil. 
Cut carrots and daikon into matchstick sizes. 

Clean/sterilize jars and lids that you will be canning in.  Fill jars with your matchstick carrots and daikon.  Add 1/4 teaspoon or more chili flakes and a clove of garlic to each jar.  If you like a lot of heat add more chili flakes.

Once your liquid has boiled for a couple minutes, pour it into your jars, distributing evenly. If I am rally close but do not have quite enough liquid I will fill the jars with a little more vinegar.  If you are like a 1/4 inch from where you are suppose to be lets say.  

Fill jars to a 1/4 inch head space.  Place lids on and rings.

Process 10 minutes. 

Beef Pho

We had the good fortune of meeting a farmer that raises steer for slaughter.  She is a very knowledgeable person who is very conscientious about her cows. A friend and I decided to go half and half on a cow.  Not sure what the correct word should be here- cow or steer.  Anyway. With all those nice soup bones. I grabbed a few, including a knuckle bone which is especially good for good wholesome bone broth.  I simmered them away.  I simmered them away in the crock pot for 16 hours.  I read that it can be simmered away for 48 hours.  Don't know if that is completely necessary.  I think I need to do a bit more research on that one.

There it is in the crock pot with all of its Pho seasonings.  I have star anice, cinnamon, fish sauce, ginger, cardamom, cloves.... The smell was intoxicating.  It really smelled like that Pho restaurant my husband and I went to  a few weeks ago.

I thought it was delicious.  I used it with some other veggies and such for a lunch during my fasting day as well.  Very nourishing.


BEEF PHO

For the stock:

2 onions, halved4" nub of ginger, halved lengthwise5-6 pounds of good beef bones, preferably leg and knuckle

water to cover the bones and onions by about an inch1 cinnamon stick

1 tablespoon coriander seeds

1 tablespoon fennel seeds

5 whole star anise

1 cardamom pod

6 whole cloves

1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt 2 tablespoons fish sauce (can add more later to taste)

1 inch chunk of yellow rock sugar (about 1 oz) - or 1oz of regular sugar

Pho Accompaniments

rice noodles (dried or fresh)Cooked beef thinly sliced ( cuts such as flank, London broil, sirloin or eye of round)big handful of each: mint, cilantro, basil2 limes, cut into wedges2-3 chili peppers, slicedfresh bean sproutsHoisin sauceSriracha hot sauce

Cook bones and all the ingredients listed under the stock above.  Bring to a boil, cover and let simmer for an entire day. Or you can put it all in a crock pot and let it simmer away for 16 hours or more.

Once stock is done you can serve it heated in bowls.  Guests or family can addin noodles and other accompaniments as desired.

Toronto Day Trippin'

I haven't posted in a while. We had company for the past couple weeks. My Aunt and cousin stayed for a week or so after my Dad's Birthday celebration. It was so nice having them here. I use to live with my cousin in Arizona. I miss her immensely. She is a friend as well as a cousin. We had a great visit. One of the days they were here we headed up to Toronto for the day. The last time I was in Toronto was five years ago! A long time for someone who use to go up there quite frequently. Funny enough I went with them five years ago.
I love to eat in Chinatown when I am in Toronto because the food there is amazingly delicious and pretty authentic. We had Vietnamese at a place called, Pho Hung it is located at 350 Spadina Avenue. I had the dish above. After I received my meal, I must have had a perplexed look on my face. The owner, or at least the one who seemed to be in charge, came over and asked if I knew how to eat the food and could he help me. I gratefully accepted as I certainly didn't want to look like an American doofus. The table next to us had a Vietnamese family who were watching me as I got my lesson. They nodded approvingly.

(Inside the pancake was mung bean sprouts, shrimp and chunks of beef. The egg itself was crispy and delicious.)

I also had Wonton soup. I would like to rename it the "WOW-alicious Wonton Soup". The broth was so oniony and rich. I asked our waitress if it was onion broth, she said no, chicken. But it tasted like onion, velvety onion. So tastey. I could literally have a bowl of the broth everyday for lunch.
My cousin had this dish. The green roll type things are seasoned beef wrapped in .... ? well we really dont know what it was. It's not spinach. It did not have a lot of taste, the leaf anyway.

My Aunt had spring rolls. I didnt take a pic but they were good but then they are always good. I never get them because I make them at home and they always seem to be very pricey.

I loved this restaurant and hope to return to Toronto soon to get some more of that "wow-alicious oniony wonton soup".