It Is Zuiki

Posted on Aug 16, 2012 in Hiroko's Blog

Is this rhubarb? Our neighbors Ray and Claudia asked me. This long, rhubarb looking vegetable is red zuiki, which is the stem of taro, and a specialty of Ishikawa Prefecture. It is sold fresh or dried. Dried zuiki has been a popular preserved food product since olden days. Fresh zuiki has pleasant crisp texture. In order to enjoy it we cook the zuiki in vinegar added water for about 2 minutes. After shocking it in cold ice water we cut it into pieces and use in salad dishes – dressed with sesame-vinegar dressing, vinegar-miso dressing, or simmer it with fried tofu or other ingredient. To preserve the cooked zuiki for a week or so we store it in vinegar added water and refrigerate. Pickled zuiki acquires pretty bright red color. It is the reaction of antocyanin in zuiki with vinegar.