Andy’s Wok

and had their pickled vegetables?

If you live anywhere in the Kansas City area, you have to try Andy’s Wok.  It is, hand’s down, the best Chinese restaurant in town (sorry Panda Express.)  They have amazing appetizers like onion cakes and vegetable spring rolls, which are very flavorful without the meat because of all their wonderful spices, including a hint of mustard.

My wife usally orders the sauted asparagus, while I gravitate between the Sichuan eggplant and moo shu shrimp (extra spicy.)  BWD, Jr., of course orders noodles and rice (what else) and we all come away with an outstanding meal.

But one of the things that I’ve always enjoyed about the restaurant is that before dinner, they give out little bowls of pickled vegetables.  The good news for me is that no one else at the table likes pickled vegetable (BWD, Jr. doesn’t like them because they are vegetables, and Mrs. WellDone doesn’t seem to like the pickled part.)  So I happily munch away on the somehow-still-crunchy, sweet, yet sour pickled cabbage and carrots all by myself.

And fear the day my family wises up.

Anyway, never one to let a good recipe go unrecorded, I finally broke down and asked the owner how she made the pickled vegetables.  This is what she told me.

Pickling Vegetables

 This recipe is easy and no fuss.  However, like all pickling processes, it will take about a day before the vegetables are ready.

You will need:

• 1 head cabbage, chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled and sliced
• 2-4 cups white vinegar (divided)
• 5 tablespoons tablespoons salt (divided)
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil

Put the cabbage and carrots in a bowl with a tight lid.  Then add just enough vinegar to cover the vegetables.  This usually takes 1-2 cups of vinegar, depending on the size of your container.  Also, add all but 1 tablespoon of salt.  Squeeze the vegetables with your hands to work in the vinegar and salt.  Leave overnight.

The next day, come back and wash the salt away.  Then add in enough vinegar to cover the vegetables a second time, the rest of the salt, the sugar, and the sesame oil.  Mix well.

The vegetables will be pickled enough to start eating right then, but the longer you wait, the better they taste.

Enjoy!