Asian-spiced Quick Pickles

Been rethinking this blog a little bit. Seems like it got away from what I intended it to be.

Soo ... after some time thinking ...

I have deleted a few posts that I intended for another purpose, left some posts that still don't really fit but have no other purpose, and moving forward ...

Here's a little recipe I wrote last week, a bit of fusion courtesy of my lovely Grandma Bibb's quick pickle recipe. This was kind of a brainstorm whilst making a little bowl of tuna chirazashi. Most of the recipes I've seen just have plain cucumber, and, after trying that a few times, I realized I just really don't like plain cucumbers in my sushi bowl. I thought about how my grandma used to make quick pickles, and wondered how it would taste with rice vinegar and sesame oil instead.

It was QUITE delicious, even if I do say so myself, in a bowl of chirazashi. It's also a delicious snack on its own. I hope you enjoy this dish. Try it, I know you'll like it! :)

For more great fusion recipes, check out the #letslunch bunch on twitter or follow the links below the recipe.

Hot Chicken Salad — Roman chicken on China Romaine

Our romaine lettuce, as it happens, is a vegetable of ancient Rome. It was eaten cooked as well as raw, and believed to have medicinal properties. There's no doubt in my mind that Romaine does have medicinal properties! It's packed with vitamin A, for one thing, which is needed for good eyesight, and it has many antioxidants.

As it would happen, Romaine is also very close to a Chinese vegetable, Ei-A vegetable. More about that is explained at this delightful blog http://asiabyfrida.com/2011/10/26/easiest-chinese-stir-fry-recipe-–-romaine-lettuce/ which served as the inspiration for this little cooking experiment. That and the package of Romaine lettuce past its prime in my recently cleaned out fridge.

So having that neglected package of Romaine lettuce and a craving for some chicken diavolo ... a fusion of tastes came together in my mind ...