Episode 124 - Pickled Buddha Hand

I recently bought a Buddha hand for a dish I was experimenting with. It is a citron, so from the citrus family, but it doesn’t have any pulp - it is just rind and pith, and there is no such thing as a small one so I had to find some other ways to use it up. I figured that I could pickle it and it would last a long time, so I decided to give it a shot.
Cut off some of the fingers, and finger-sized pieces of the base, and slice them thin (about 2mm) on a mandolin. About a cup or two is what this recipe is based on.
For the pickle brine, mix
• 1/2 cup rice vinegar
• 1/2 cup mirin (sweetened sake)
• Juice of 1/4 of a lemon
• 1 tblsp of cardamom pods, tied in a cheesecloth pouch
• Pinch of salt
Bring this to a boil, pour it over the sliced Buddha hand, and wait for it to cool. Once it is cool, I enhance the pickling using a chamber vacuum sealer. I run it through the pickling cycle three times and then put it in the fridge overnight. If you don’t have a chamber vacuum sealer, then leave it in the brine for a few days up to a week. Either way, drain off the excess pickle brine and store in refrigerator in a jar.
You can use it for anything that you would use citron for. Or substitute for lemon peel. Add it to cannoli cream or a dark chocolate mousse. Garnish a salad or a crudo with it. Add it to ceviche. Perhaps best of all, stick a few on a toothpick and drop it in a cocktail - great in a martini, a Manhattan or a negroni, and probably a bunch of others. Go wild!