This lovely pickle came to my attention in my favorite canning book, “Food in Jars” by Marissa McClellan.
Reminiscent of the classic garnish in Vietnamese restaurants, the ginger and star anise flavor also pairs with sandwiches, tacos, cream cheese and crackers, or spooning from jar straight to your mouth.
Use a mandolin (carefully!!) to make perfect, paper-thin coins.
Gather up: 1 lb organic carrots
1 lb young, organic daikon radish
1 1/2 cups distilled white vinegar +equal parts water
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 T salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
3 T coriander seeds
2 teaspoons black mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (more if you want them hotter)
3 whole star anise
This will make 3 pint jars, so double or triple the batch while you are at it. Important: The spices will go into the jars before you load them with the vegetables in order to be sure they are perfectly, evenly distributed.
Slice the vegetables with a mandolin and set aside.
Combine the vinegar, water, sugar salt and ground ginger in a pot and bring to a boil. Combine the remaining spices and distribute evenly in your sterilized jars. Once boiling, add the sliced veggies to the brine, stir to combine and immediately remove from heat.
Add the veggies to the jars. Ladle the hot brine into the jars leaving 1/2″ of head space. Gently tap the jars to loosen any air bubbles and use a chopstick to remove bubbles. Check the headspace again and add more brine if needed. Wipe the rims, apply lids and rings. Process in a boiling water bath for 5 minutes.
Because they are so thinly sliced these pickles require no curing time and can be eaten immediately.
