Malay Mail - Tangy, tart and spicy, this carrot relish will brighten up your mealtime!

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Tangy, tart and spicy, this carrot relish will brighten up your mealtime!

Link [2022-03-26 13:57:12]

Tangy, tart and spicy, this carrot relish will brighten up your mealtime! — Pictures by CK Lim

KUALA LUMPUR, March 26 — A couple of weeks ago, it was the rain that got us feeling down. And so a Thai inspired chicken dish that was pungent and fiery in equal measure worked wonders.

Last week was an entirely different story. The days were sunny and hot, the late afternoons unbearably humid before the meagre evening downpour. I don’t know about you but I didn’t even feel like cooking, quite honestly.

This week appears to be an uncanny chimera of both prior weeks, a rapid fire Jekyll-and-Hyde switch between rain and sun and back to rain again, often within the same hour. How does one plan one’s meals for such constant change?

We need a dish that will cheer us up but without making us any hotter than absolutely necessarily. Let us not cook, if we can. A cold meal sounds heavenly, if a tad bland.

A sandwich, perhaps, with crunchy leafy greens and cold cuts. A bowl of chilled noodles, such as Korean naengmyeon or Japanese zaru soba, both made from buckwheat. A cold salad of Italian pasta and ripe heirloom tomatoes.

But still. Wouldn’t these be a tad tasteless? More texturally interesting than flavourful?

This is where a handy kitchen condiment can come in, something we can add to each of the above meals and then some. I’m talking about a tangy carrot relish, tart and spicy enough to brighten our mealtimes but not overpoweringly so.

Fresh carrots, sold in bunches at the morning market.

For this will be a quick pickle of sorts. Unlike the traditional pickle that utilises salt and vinegar, this carrot relish will be for consumption now and over the next couple of days (if any remain!) rather than a standing guard in your fridge for months on end.

This will be sweet, but not too sweet. Sharp from the limes used, but not too sharp (no raw onions were harmed in the making of this pungency-free preserve).

There are so many ways to enjoy this carrot relish. It would go particularly well in a bánh mì, partnering with the other ingredients inside the Vietnamese sandwich — the fresh cilantro leaves and cucumber slices, the creamy liver pâté and chả lụa (pork sausage) — to create a deliciously divine whole.

Or dunk it in a small bowl of chilled overnight oats — don’t laugh; it’s deliciously refreshing yet sustaining.

We don’t have to let the weather get us down. Rain or shine (or both, invariably it seems, these days), we can still relish the best every day has to offer (pun intended, most merrily).

CARROT RELISH

Citrus is crucial for this relish as it adds a more natural and fragrant acidity than you’d get with conventional vinegar. The choice of citrus, however, is entirely up to you.

You could use lemons, limes or even oranges, or perhaps a mix of these. Experiment and see what you like best.

Zesty limes for a more natural acidity.

For a sweet relish, you’d need some form of sweetener be it sugar or honey. Partly to differentiate from an old fashioned pickle (think: salt and vinegar) but also to balance the acidity of the citrus.

If your carrots are sweet enough, you may cut down on the additional sugar — a relish is akin to a quick pickle and not meant to last for months.

As such, the amount of sugar as a preserving agent can be adjusted accordingly. Use the amount listed below as a starting point or a suggestion, rather than a hard and fast rule.

Grated fresh ginger for some aromatics.

What is crucial is some fresh aromatics in the form of grated ginger and minced garlic as well as a deeper heat from dried spices such as star anise and cinnamon. (Again, choose your favourite dried spices — cardamom and cloves are great too — or try a different one each time you make this relish.)

The secret ingredient here is a pinch of turmeric powder. Beyond the lovely orange hue it contributes (given the carrots are a similar colour, this is a bit of gilding the lily!), the turmeric gives the final relish a subtle warmth, which is a lovely surprise considering it’s a cold condiment.

The secret ingredient: a pinch of turmeric powder!

Ingredients

10 carrots, peeled and grated

3-4 limes, juice and zest

2 pieces fresh ginger, grated

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2-3 star anise, lightly toasted on a dry pan

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

A pinch of turmeric powder

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Dried spices such as cardamom, cloves, star anise and cinnamon add depth to the relish.

Method

Add the grated carrots, lime juice and zest, ginger, garlic, sugar, salt, star anise, cinnamon and turmeric powder to a large mixing bowl. Stir briskly till well combined and the carrots are evenly coated with all the other ingredients.

There isn’t additional water here because the salt will draw out liquid from the carrots as it rests. Transfer the mixture to a sealable container and allow to chill overnight in the fridge so their flavours can meld.

The next day, remove the pieces of star anise from the relish and discard. Taste and season with freshly ground black pepper as well as more sugar and salt, if necessary. Use within two to three days.

For more Weekend Kitchen and other slice-of-life stories, visit lifeforbeginners.com.