Quick-pickled Daikon/Turnip/Cucumber/? with "XO Sauce"

Power Vegetables, from Lucky Peach (RIP) came out last year. The book is all about preparing vegetables with maximum impact. One of my favorite lines, which speaks to cooks like me, is when author Peter Meehan is writing about key pantry items for cooking power vegetables. He launches into a generic primer on garlic as a member of the Allium genus, then stops short, indicating that anyone cooking from a book with plasma balls on the cover probably already knows what garlic is.

This recipe, from the ramen chef Ivan Orkin (the American guy who had a ramen restaurant in Japan and whose episode of Chef's Table was a breath of fresh air), fires on all cylinders. It's savory, sweet, salty, smoky and tangy, with great textural contrast from slightly crisp, but soft veggies, crunchy nuts, soft and chewy rice, and chewier dried shrimp. TRUST ME. It's rich, too. but you can use it sparingly (though not as sparingly as the ginger-scallion sauce).

Orkin says this is not a true XO sauce, but a taberu rayu. Semantics aside, it is delicious and unexpected.

The original calls for making it with daikon, but I made it with what was in the crisper drawer - a 50/50 mix of salad turnips and cucumbers (mine had thin skins so I didn't peel them). To julienne them I first cut them into thin slices, then stacked the slices and cut them into strips. It's a tad labor intensive, but also meditative (and effective!).

I have provided the original recipe below with notes about my modifications.

Daikon with XO Sauce
From Power Vegetables
Ingredients
Note: I halved the brine and it worked totally fine
Orkin also notes that this sauce would be great tossed into a pile of cold noodles.

• 2 cups rice vinegar
• 1 tbsp. kosher salt
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 lb daikon radish, peeled and rinsed (Note: I used ~50/50 unpeeled thin-skinned cucumber and peeled salad turnips)
• XO Sauce 
• 1 cup canola oil  
• 1/2 tsp. sesame oil
• 3/4 cup yellow onion, finely diced
• 1 tbsp. all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 tsp. chipotle powder (or any smoky chili powder)
• 1 tbsp. dried baby shrimp, roughly chopped
• 1 tbsp. dried tiny scallops, roughly chopped (Note: I subbed an extra 1 tbsp. of the shrimp)
• 2 tsp. sesame seeds
• 3 tbsp. whole almonds, toasted and finely chopped
• 1 tbsp fried garlic (a purchased product, akin to fried shallots or onions; optional) (note: I didn't use this)
• 1 tsp. soy sauce
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
• 2 tbsp. chopped garlic

Directions 

1. Combine the vinegar, salt, sugar, and water in a medium pot. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Make sure the sugar and salt are dissolved, then remove from the heat and let the brine cool completely. 

2. Using a mandoline, slice the daikon into a fine julienne. (Note: I sliced the veggies with a knife, then stacked the slices and sliced again into a julienne.) Put the daikon in a bowl of cool water and soak for 10 minutes. Drain and refill the bowl with cool water. Soak the daikon for another 10 minutes, then drain and rinse. Drain well. 

3. Place the daikon and cooled brine in a big bowl or large zip-top bag. Marinate in the fridge for at least 30 minutes and as long as overnight. Drain well before serving.

4. Arrange the daikon in piles on 4 plates. Stir the XO sauce well, then top each mound of daikon with a few tablespoons of the XO. The oil from the XO will seep through the daikon and pool around the base of the plate. (Note: I served the veggies over my new obsession, short grain rice. I also drained as much oil from the XO as possible before using it by holding it in the spoon against the side of the jar).

XO Sauce

1. Combine the canola oil, sesame oil, onion, and flour in a high-sided pot. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring, until the onion turns golden and "puffs," 15 to 20 minutes.

2. Add the chipotle powder, shrimp, scallops, sesame seeds, almonds, fried garlic (if using), soy sauce, sugar, and salt. Increase the heat to medium and bring to a simmer. Cook gently until the shrimp and scallops turn the deep golden color of the onions, 8 to 10 minutes.

3. Stir in the garlic and cook for an additional 3 minutes: The sauce will be an oily alliance of little bits, many of which will have taken on the color of the chili powder. Remove from the heat and pour into a nonreactive container. (Note: I used a mason jar). Let cool completely before using. Keeps for weeks.