Takana Riceball

http://savoryjapan.com/wordpress/2011/09/takana-japanese-mustard-green-onigiri-recipe/

If you have a pickle press, it’s easy to make takana with mustard greens (they have them at the Chinese store if you don’t have a Japanese store nearby).

Separate and soak the leaves for a few minutes in warm water, rubbing them to remove any dirt.

Remove any rotting bits of leaf.

Sprinkle a teaspoon or so of salt on the bottom of the pickle press crock.

Put two layers of leaves in the crock. Shake some salt onto the leaves.

Repeat until all the leaves are in there.

Add a few dried small dried red chiles into the crock.

Put the lid on, and screw down the press to apply pressure.

Let it sit on the counter a few hours, and then press it down some more.

Leave it to ferment. The liquid will come out of the leaves.

The next day, open it up and taste the brine. If it tastes like seawater, it’s OK. If it’s less salty, add a little salt, around a half teaspoon at a time, until it’s saltier than seawater.

Press it for one or two more days on the counter, until it develops a flavor you like. You can speed this up by swishing the brine around to get it more uniformly salty.

When it seems done, I like to loosen the press, and swish it around. This allows some brine back into the leaf.

Use it, or continue to age it in the refrigerator, to mellow it out. (You can just put it into a plastic container to ferment in the refrigerator.)

If you want a less peppery flavor, a softer leaf, or less risk of funky flavors, you can parboil each leaf for a few seconds in hot water below boiling temperature.