Pickled Plums With Shiso Food

PICKLED PLUMS WITH SHISO

Steps:

• Put plums in a nonreactive bowl; set aside. Stir together vinegar, sugar, 1 cup water, shiso leaves, the spices, and the chile in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil. Pour over plums; let cool completely. Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least 8 hours, or up to 1 week. Just before serving, cut plums into 1/2-inch pieces. Discard cinnamon stick and chile.

STICKY RICE BALLS AND PICKLED PLUMS WITH SHISO

Steps:

• Cook rice according to package instructions. Transfer to a large bowl; set aside. Stir together vinegar, mirin, sugar, and salt in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil. Cook, stirring constantly, until sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat. Pour vinegar mixture over cooked rice. Stir rice mixture until it has cooled slightly.
• Form rice mixture into 1-inch balls using wet hands. Make an indentation in each ball with your thumb. Fill with a piece each of lobster and avocado. Cover with more rice to seal. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Transfer to a serving platter. Serve with pickled plums. Rice balls can be refrigerated, covered with plastic wrap, up to 5 hours. Before serving, let rice balls stand until they come to room temperature.

PLUM GOOD PICKLED PLUMS

Steps:

• Wash the fruit and prick each plum with a fork.
• Put all the other ingredients into a saucepan and bring to a gentle boil, stirring until the sugar has melted.
• Add plums and cook for 3-4 minutes.
• Put plums into sterilized jars.
• Keep boiling the syrup until it thickens, pour over plums.
• Check the jars are sealed, keep for 2 months before using.

PICKLED NAPA CABBAGE WITH UMEBOSHI PLUMS

Steps:

• Transfer cabbage to a large bowl and separate leaves, then toss with kosher salt. Let stand at room temperature, stirring occasionally, 1 hour.
• Stir together umeboshi plums, mirin, and rice vinegar in a small bowl.
• Rinse cabbage with cold water in a colander and drain.
• Firmly squeeze 1 handful cabbage several times to remove excess water and transfer to cleaned bowl. Repeat with remaining cabbage. Stir in umeboshi mixture, then chill, covered, stirring once or twice, at least 1 hour.