Oil-Tossed Watermelon Radish
Radishes in alternating red and white, finely cut into comb-like shapes; crisp with a sweet-and-sour tang that refreshes the palate and cuts through richness.
Ingredients
Watermelon radish (pink and tender)
500g
White sugar
50g
White vinegar
40g
Vegetable oil
25g
Scallions
10g
Fresh ginger
5g
Refined salt
2g
Dried red chili
1 piece
Boiling water (mentioned in steps)
1 bowl
Instructions
1
Prepare the Radish
Trim off the fine root hairs from the watermelon radish, sanitize, and rinse well. Cut each radish in half lengthwise and place each half flat on a cutting board. Using a straight knife, score the back of the radish at intervals of 0.1 cm to create a comb-like pattern. Cut every 10 scores into one segment. Once all are cut, place them in a small bowl, add 2 g of refined salt, and marinate briefly. Soak the dried red chili in warm water until soft, remove the seeds, and cut the chili, scallions, and ginger into thin shreds; set aside.
2
Prepare the Sauce
Pour the vegetable oil into a pan and heat it, then add the chili shreds. When they turn purplish-red, immediately add one bowl of boiling water along with the white sugar. Cook over medium heat until the sugar melts; when the syrup becomes sticky, stir in the white vinegar. Once the flavor is balanced between sweet and sour, remove the pan from the heat—the oil sauce is ready. Drain off the liquid from the marinated radish segments, sprinkle the scallion and ginger shreds evenly over them, pour the oil sauce over the top, and let soak for half an hour before plating.
3
Shape and Plate
Shape each oil-sauced radish segment by hand into a fan-like form for plating. Begin arranging from the outer edge of the plate, overlapping each curved piece so the cut edges align neatly to complete the first layer; the inner filling should sit level with the outer ring. For the second layer, tuck inward by half a ring, and with three layers in total the dish will rise into a rounded dome shape. Once arranged, drizzle some oil sauce over the radish, then press the scallion, ginger, and red chili shreds from the sauce closely around the edge of the plate against the radish to finish.
