Seasonal Ontario Food

On one of our numerous trips to Mississauga to deal with Mom's ongoing eye problems, we decided to branch out from our usual shopping haunts and check out an Asian (mostly Chinese) grocery store. I was very happy to see that they are labeling the origin of their fresh vegetables clearly, and promoting local produce. Not a lot at this time of year, but I was able to get a lovely big green radish! 

 

You can use any kind of winter radish (aka lo-bak, mooli, daikon, etc) for this. This is often translated as Braised Turnips, and in fact they are similar enough that you could use turnips if that's what you can get. Likely they will need a few minutes longer simmering but otherwise the recipe would be the same. 

This is often served as a soup, and you could do that easily enough simply by putting in about 2 or 3 cups more of whatever kind of stock you use. Some of the meat that made the stock, too.

 

4 servings

30 minutes - 10 minutes prep time

 

1 teaspoon arrowroot OR corn starch

1 tablespoon soy sauce

2 tablespoons chicken, pork, OR vegetable stock

1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

2 green onions

 

Mix the starch, soy sauce, stock, and sesame oil in a small bowl. Wash, trim, and chop the onions finely, and mix them in. Set aside. 

225 grams (1/2 pound; 1 small or 1/2 large) daikon, lo-bak, OR green radish

225 grams (1 large or 2 small) carrots

2 cloves of garlic

4 slices of fresh ginger

1 tablespoon mild vegetable oil 

1 cup chicken, pork, OR vegetable stock

1/2 teaspoon sugar

Trim and peel the radish(es). Cut them in halves or quarters lengthwise, then into slices to make bite-sized pieces. Peel and slice the carrot. Peel and mince the garlic and ginger. 

Heat the oil in a mid-sized (2 quart) heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Cook the ginger and garlic in it for minute, then add the stock and sugar. Add the prepared radish and carrot. Simmer for about 20 minutes, until the vegetables are tender. 

Stir up the bowl of sauce, and mix it in until the sauce has thickened (less than a minute) then serve.

 

Last year at this time I made Sausage & Cheese Stuffed Peppers in Tomato Sauce.