Asian Crudités

from At Home With Friends by Michele Adams and Gia Russo

Ingredients:

10 ounces chinese long beans or green beans, trimmed and cut into 6-to-8 inch pieces
8 ounces snow peas, trimmed
1 daikon radish, peeled
1 dozen quail eggs
1 bunch carrots, trimmed, peeled, and cut into quarters lengthwise
4 ounces enoki mushrooms, or 4 ounces shiitake or white mushrooms, quartered (stem shiitakes)
Plum sauce or black bean sauce for dipping

This crudités platter Is a welcome change from the standard carrot sticks and dip. Guests can use thelr fingers to pick up some pleces, but you should have some chopsticks on hand for the smallest foods. Add your favorite bottled Asian sauce for dipping.

Cook the beans in a large pot of boiling water for 3 minutes. Drain and plunge into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Repeat the process for the snow peas, but cook for only 1 minute. Using a spiral slicer or a mandoline, cut the daikon into long, thin pieces. Refresh the daikon in a bowl of ice water to crisp it. Put the quail eggs in a small saucepan. Add water to cover. Bring to a boil and cook for 3 minutes. Cover and remove from the heat. Let cool for about an hour or drain and run cold water over the eggs several times, then peel the eggs. Arrange the beans, snow peas carrots, and mushrooms on a large platter using the daikon as a "nest" for the eggs. Place a small bowl of sauce on the platter for dipping.

Timesaver: Purchase fresh or frozen edamame from the grocery store, steam, and serve sprinkled with coarse salt.

This and many other wonderful recipes may be found in
Michele Adams and Gia Russo's At Home With Friends from Chronicle Books