Ingredients

2 chili peppers, cleaned and julienned
6-7 cm ginger root, peeled and juiced
the juice of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon agave syrup
whole sea salt, just enough to taste
1 small spring onion, cleaned and sliced
150 g thai rice
1 broccoli head, divided into florets
4-5 champignons, cleaned
2 handfuls peanuts, toasted and salted
1 tablespoon mirin
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon rice malt syrup
1 teaspoon rice miso
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
half a teaspoon dried ginger powder

Makes 2 servings.

Directions

Place the chili peppers in a jar, add the ginger juice, lemon juice, agave syrup and salt, mix and secure with the lid. Refrigerate for at least 6 hours. Remove form the firdge, add the spring onion, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and until almost ready to serve. Cook the rice. In the meantime, blanch the broccoli florets in boling salted water until bright green and slightly softened. Drain and set aside. Separate the chili and onion from the juice, transfer them into a bowl and set aside. Keep the juice in the jar and stir in the mirin, rice vinegar, rice malt syrup, rice miso, toasted sesame oil and ginger powder. Seal with the lid and shake to combine. Slice the champignons and drizzle with a little lemon juice. As soon as the rice is cooked al dente (it should have absorbed all the water, if not, drain it), divide it into the individual serving plates or bowls, add the broccoli, the mushrooms, the peanuts, the chili and onion and pour the lemon-ginger-miso sauce on top. Serve immediately.

Ingredients

1 large cucumber, cleaned and cut into sticks
1 teaspoon pink peppercorns
1 teaspoon juniper berries
1 teaspoon wild fennel seeds
2 garlic cloves, peeled and cut into pieces
half a small chili pepper, cleaned and cut into pieces
2 teaspoons rice malt syrup
120 ml cold, filtered water
half a teaspoon whole sea salt
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
50 ml apple vinegar
the juice of 1 lemon

Makes 1 jar.

Directions

Place the cucumber sticks in a glass jar (mine was 600 ml). Add the pink peppercorns, juniper berries, fennel seeds, garlic and chili. In a bowl, mix the rice malt syrup, water, salt, rice vinegar, apple vinegar and lemon juice. Pour the water-vinegar mixture onto the cucumber sticks, shake gently, secure with the lid and refrigerate for 12-15 hours. During this time, shake the jar now and then. The marinating time can be longer, if you prefer a more vinegary taste.
These cucumber sticks are excellent added to a raw mixed salad, or paired with steamed vegetables but you can also use them as a sandwich filling. The same marinade can be used up to 2-3 times within a couple of days. These cucumber sticks should be eaten within 2 days.

Ingredients

1 small white beetroot, cleaned and cut into matchsticks
half a red beetroot, cleaned and cut into matchsticks
half a small white cabbage, cleaned and finely shaved
the juice of 1 orange
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons rice malt syrup
whole sea salt, just enough to taste
black sesame seeds, to taste
pumpkin seeds (raw or toasted), to taste

Makes 2 servings.

Directions

Combine the beetroots and cabbage in a salad bowl and toss gently. In a separate small bowl or glass mix the orange juice, sesame oil, rice vinegar, rice malt syrup and salt and whisk. Divide the vegetables into individual serving plates, pour some of the vinaigrette over the salad then sprinkle the sesame seeds and pumpkin seeds on top and serve.

Ingredients

4 small zucchini, cleaned and sliced
the juice of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
extra virgin olive oil, to taste
whole sea salt, just enough to taste
fresh thyme leaves (cleaned), to taste
pink peppercorns

Makes 2-4 servings.

Directions

Put the sliced zucchini in a salad bowl, add the lemon juice, vinegar, olive oil, salt, thyme leaves, peppercorns and toss. Refrigerate for about 5-7 hours, stirring now and then during that time. Serve cold (or cool). You may garnish with some extra thyme sprigs and pink peppercorns.

Ingredients

For the marinated tempeh

400 g tempeh, cut into cubes
2 tablespoons shoyu
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon ginger juice (from 2-3 cm fresh ginger root, peeled, grated and squeezed)
1 garlic clove (sprout removed), cut in quarters
filtered water

To cook the tempeh

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon shoyu
2 tablespoons filtered water
2-3 handfuls of raisins, soaked in filtered water for 5 minutes then drained and pat dried with kitchen paper
1 teaspoon dried rosemary, flakes or powder

For the cabbage

half a red cabbage, cleaned and cored, finely sliced into strips
extra virgin olive oil, to taste
apple vinegar, to taste
a pich of whole sea salt

Makes 2-4 servings.

Directions

In a bowl, combine the tempeh cubes, shoyu, rice vinegar and garlic. Add some filtered water, just enough to cover the tempeh. Cover with a lid or kitchen foil or cling film and place in the fridge. Leave to marinate for 8-12 hours.

When the tempeh is ready to be cooked, remove the cubes from the marinade (which can be used once more to marinate some extra tempeh). Heat a frying pan or wok over a high heat and add the olive oil, shoyu and water. Stir in the tempeh cubes and sauté for a couple of minutes or until the oil, shoyu and water have been absorbed. Add the raisins and the rosemary, toss and remove from the heat. Let cool slightly (I’d say 2-3 minutes). In the meantime, place the red cabbage strips in a salad bowl, add the olive oil, the apple vinegar and the salt and toss. Add the rosemary-raisin-tempeh cubes, toss again and serve.

Ingredients

For the salad

1 cup whole barley (hulled)
3 cups filtered water
a pinch of whole sea salt
a piece of kombu (2 cm long), soaked
pumpkin seeds (a good handful), lightly toasted
1 cup daikon sprouts
fresh basil leaves for garnish (optional)

For the dressing

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
the juice of 1 lemon
1 pinch whole sea salt
1 teaspoon barley malt syrup

Makes 4-6 servings. 

Cooking the barley

Wash the barley and soak it in the filtered water for about 8 hours. Place the barley and the water in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Add the kombu and salt, cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook until most of the water has been absorbed, without stirring as you don’t want to alter the cooking process. The barley should get tender in about 50-60 minutes (if you are using a pressure cooker, cooking time will reduce to 30 minutes). Remove the kombu. Drain if necessary (there should be no water left in the saucepan), transfer into a baking pan or tray and let cool.

The dressing

Pour the olive oil, sesame oil, rice vinegar, lemon juice and malt syrup in a cup and whisk all ingredients together. Season with salt.

Assembling the barley salad

Transfer the barley in a salad bowl, add the daikon sprouts and the pumpkin seeds, sprinkle with the dressing and mix thoroughly.

Tips, thoughts, ideas

You can grow your own daikon sprouts at home, which is a very simple process that usually takes about 5 days (sprouting time can vary a lot according to humidity and temperature conditions). Daikon sprouts, just as daikon radishes, have amazing detoxing properties, helping us to digest fats and dissolve deposits that are accumulated in the body (in fact, they act as a diuretic). Barley has also been always considered for its purifying properties. Both daikon and barley help lower high blood pressure. Being very refreshing and cleansing, this dish is most appropriate for spring and summer consumption.