Washoku Warriors – Challenge 4 – Vinegar

This month’s todo list for the Washoku Warriors, hosted by La Fuji Mama, reads like this:

For this challenge make:
- Tangy Seared Chicken Wings (p.256)–Vinegar acts as a tenderizing agent in this dish

And then choose one (or more!) of these recipes to make:
- Tart Miso-Mustard Sauce (p.99)–Great on seafood and/or (cold poached) chicken or as a salad dressing for greens (for those of you with light sweet miso left over from the previous challenge, you could start with this)
- Classic Sweet-and-Sour Sauce (p.98)
- Kelp & Mushroom Relish (p.110)–Vinegar also acts as a tenderizing agent here
- Red & White Radishes (p.221)

I opted for the radishes.

This was quite an easy challenge – no complicated cooking or hard-to-obtain ingredients – I keep kombu in my pantry, the rest was everyday stuff.

What I liked most about the chicken wings was the utter simplicity of the dish, although for me there was kind of a mantrap involved – I couldn’t, for the love of it, remove the leeks after I had added them to the skillet. Still, they turned out fabulous. I have never made chicken wings on the stovetop before, always in the oven (no deep-frying either), so this was a pleasant experience.

The radishes were also a snap to make – I have read about the art of tsukemono, and it looks like Japanese take their pickles seriously. I’d love to learn more about this.

I wonder, though, what was used in the pre-industrial times instead of the expensive sugar? The sweet balance is so essential to many Japanese dishes, but I think – as in many other countrys – before the days of the sugar beet and international sea cargo, sugar must have been a prized ingredient indeed.

Another great and yet simple dish from Washoku. Love the book, love the approach.

Tags: chicken, Japanese, Miso, Washoku