It is no shock that take-away is sparse up here in FNQ. when we first moved here, I thought I'd be mastering all the things given the lack of variety, but turns out, it's just not my season. Instead, dinners have been quick, throw together meals. My favourite podcast right now is The 5 minute Food Fix, have you heard it? it's great. Yumi Stynes and Simon Davis are my dinner inspiration and reassures that kids will be kids when it comes to food. On Yumi's Instagram she makes the easiest sushi and I can confirm it's a game changer. It's not perfect or authentic but... if I've learnt anything from feeding a toddler, the more effort you put in the more they just want buttered noodles.
Avocado sushi is a winner (sometimes) in our house. It's as simple as cooking some medium grain rice with a pinch of salt, folding through a splash of rice white vinegar and mirin once it's cooked but still warm, letting it cool for a little and then spreading it over some nori and adding a couple of slices of avocado or I like to add some canned tuna mixed with kewpie mayo. Yumi makes it with fish fingers which I can again confirm is also delicious. It's not the same as what you can buy from sushi train but it fills the craving, especially when you pair it with a homemade Japanese pickle ginger... I could eat this stuff from the jar. As my father-in-law would put it, 'Gods Food'.
I came across this recipe for Japanese Pickled Ginger because we had an abundance of home-grown ginger. It may not be my season for pottering in the kitchen but hubby has found his green thumb up here and we've had an abundance of ginger, lemongrass, basil and papayas. So much so we can't keep up. He has perfected the home-brewed ginger beer, but it also come with a side of reflux. So with a brew of ginger beer in a keg and one brewed for a friend, we still had probably at least a kilo of ginger left over.
I couldn't find any small jars so made one giant jar which meant only one jar to sterilise but I have a lot of pickled ginger to get through before we depart back to Sydney in 10 weeks. I've been putting it on salads and having it with my lazy-girl efficient-mum 'sushi' and also, just eating it from the jar as it. It would also make a great gift if you did it in smaller jars.
Ah, I have missed this space.
Japanese Pickled Ginger
recipe from The Modern Preserver by Kylee Newton
makes 4 x 100ml jars or 1 x 350ml jar
200g fresh ginger
1 tsp salt
300ml Japanese Pickle Brine (see below)
Peel the ginger and slice finely as possible into long ribbons, either using a vegetable peeler or mandoline.
In a bowl, cover the ginger with the salt and mix together with your hands to make sure the ginger is completely covered. Set aside for 30-40 minutes.
The salt extracts liquid from the ginger so, after the alloted time, carefully squeeze it to remove any excess salted liquid and put into warm dry sterilised jars.
Gently warm the brine, pour over the ginger, filling the jars to about 5mm below the rim then seal.
Leave in the fridge to macerate for 24 hours so the flavours develop before eating.
Keeps unopened in the fridge for up to 6 months. Once opened, eat within 4 weeks.
Japanese Pickle Brine
recipe from The Modern Preserver by Kylee Newton
makes 500ml (*note this recipe has been halved from the original in the book)
225ml rice wine vinegar
225ml water
190g caster sugar
1/8 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp black or white peppercorns
Can be made days ahead and kept in the fridge until ready to use.
Put all ingredients into a medium, stainless steel pan and warm the mixture until thee sugar has dissolved. Bring to a simmer and infuse for 2-3 minutes. Set aside to cool before use or storage.