Chef Jiho Kim, of Joomak in New York City, makes highly technical, Korean-inspired fine dining at work. But at home in the summer, he loves to relax with a casual chilled “salad” of daikon radish shaved into “noodles” with a spiralizer, topped with raw marinated fish, kimchi, and a broth made from steeping buckwheat in dashi, a quick broth that’s key in Japanese cuisine.
Make as many or as few of the components below; as long as you have the broth and the radish noodles and a savory topping, you’ll have a light, refreshing, deeply flavored dish.
The natural bite of the radishes is balanced by fresh basil, orange segments, and a simple citrus dressing.
I could live on this. It's so easy and yet utterly beautiful looking, I always feel better after eating it.
Being a Top Chef contestant can be grueling and exhausting and crazy fun. When we're all wiped out from nonstop competition, we do what we do best: eat good food. Some of my most memorable meals with those talented chefs involved banh mi, traditional Vietnamese sandwiches that layer cured meats, sausages, and pickled vegetables in small, soft versions of French baguettes. I love anything with pickles and fresh cilantro! I've put those flavors in a burger patty here and sandwiched them in my favorite French roll: buttery brioche. The rich bread makes all the difference, as does high-quality pork.
Cook's Notes: When buying dried soba at Asian or health food stores, you may or may not be able to figure out the percentage of buckwheat to wheat flour from the package label. Sometimes the labels are only in Japanese, sometimes they just don't say. Unless you know a good Japanese grocery store, the best bet for high-quality 80 percent buckwheat soba (hachiwari soba) is to mail order it (see Resources below).