Having corralled some of San Francisco’s wild yeast and soured my own crock of sauerkraut, it was time to move on to my next live food project: nukazuke. I was still a new convert to the Church of Fermentation, but a recent trip to Japantown helped immerse me completely.
Browsing the shelves of Kinokuniya Bookstore two weeks ago, after succumbing to a still-warm crepe wrapped folded around strawberries and whipped cream, I found a book that now sits on my kitchen counter with scores of sticky notes shingled out from its pages: Easy Japanese Pickling by Seiko Ogawa (Graph-Sha, 2003). This book is an excellent introduction to the Japanese everyday art of “pickled things.”
I first tasted rau tien vua at Jai Yun, one of my favorite Chinese restaurants in San Francisco. The small plate of faded green cubes, not quite nopales, not quite artichokes, confounded two full circles of seasoned food professionals. Thanks to the magic of my cell phone and the memories of my mother, I learned that the toothsome bites were simply the dried leaves of dragon fruit trees. If you want some tips on how to eat a nectarine, you can also check this site.