Aloha Friday: Recipe for Always-a-Winner Daikon Sanbai Zuke (Pickled Turnip like the Crunchy Side at Curry House CoCo Ichibanya Franchise)

Curry House CoCo Ichibanya is a franchise with over 1,400 locations worldwide. It is a restaurant-diner specializing in Japanese-style curry. Luckily, it has made its way to the US via Hawaii and California (http://www.ichibanyausa.com/location/). Martina, of Simon and Martina (Canadians living in Japan) YouTube fame, loves CoCo Curry. (See their video posted above.)

You can find Japanese-style curry pastes at all the markets here. There are many different brands. They regularly go on sale at Longs (now owned by CVS), supermarkets, and other retail outlets. It's easy to make using the boxed pastes.

If you are looking for a franchise, you could inquire here: http://www.ichibanya.co.jp/english/index.html

One of the reasons I like eating at CoCo Curry (besides the curry) is the jar of crunchy sweet savory pickled turnips sitting on each table, a perfect accompaniment to the curry. I think it's a type of "sanbai zuke," a Japanese pickle using shoyu (soy sauce), rice vinegar and sugar (chili pepper and fresh ginger optional).

With all this talk of curry, surprise, today's recipe is for daikon (turnip) sanbai zuke:

Daikon (Turnip) Sanbai Zuke

5 pounds daikon (turnip)
2 cups sugar
1 cup shoyu (soy sauce)
1/3 cup rice vinegar
optional: 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
optional: 2 Hawaiian chili peppers (bird peppers), seeded and minced
optional: 1/2 package kirikonbu (soaked to re-hydrate, squeeze water out, then cut into thin strips)

Wash and peel daikon (turnip). Cut into quarters or smaller then slice thinly to make approximately 1/2 inch squares or pieces (or size of your choice). Place in non-metallic bowl (along with kirikonbu if using it). Mix remaining ingredients together, optional = heat until sugar melts, set aside and let cool completely. After sauce cools completely, pour over the daikon (turnip) and, if using it, the kirikonbu. Or, you can just mix the remaining ingredients to dissolve sugar as much as possible, then pour over the daikon. Mix well then put into jars. Store in the refrigerator.