If I'd known it was going to be this easy, I would've made friends with this food named Su a long time ago.

Su—that's my nickname for sunomono, Japanese-style vegetable dishes in a vinegary dressing (su). Kind of like a salad, but generally served condiment-style, the way kim chee is presented in a Korean meal. Namasu (made with cucumber) is probably the most familiar, although sunomono can be made with anything from lettuce to lotus root.

Sunomono is related to tsukemono, a general name for pickles—vegetables preserved in brine. Most common of the tsukemonos is probably takuwan (made with daikon, that elongated Asian radish). My friend Su is generally described as a simpler dish with a dressing mixed generously with raw or cooked veggies.

My old friend Dean Sensui asked for a recipe for takuwan to help deal with an overabundance of daikon at his house. This set off a hunt through cookbooks for takuwan and related tsukemonos and sunomonos

Getting back to my point about this being easy: Dressings are usually just three to four ingredients—vinegar and sugar, with the added boost of salt, soy sauce, mirin (sweet Japanese wine) or sake. Heat it in the microwave, stir to dissolve the sugar, and it's done. To think I used to buy this stuff.

Should you be headed to a holiday potluck with a Japanese theme, or if your New Year's plans include the traditional Japanese soup of ozoni, consider bringing Su, who can conveniently be dressed and ready to go days ahead of time.

Takuwan

“;The Food of Paradise”; by Rachel Laudan (University of Hawaii Press, 1996)

1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup water
3 tablespoons salt
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 pound daikon, peeled and cut in fingertip-size pieces
Chopped red chili pepper, optional
Yellow food coloring, optional

Heat sugar, water, salt and vinegar; stir to dissolve sugar. Cool.

Place daikon in glass jar. Add cooled solution, chili pepper and food coloring, if using. Solution probably won't cover all the daikon, but the daikon will release liquid and in a few hours will be submerged. Refrigerate 2 days before eating. Makes about 1 quart.

Pickled Radish

Adapted from “;Japanese Cooking Hawai'i Style”; by Muriel Miura (Mutual Publishing, 2007)

1 bunch radish (about 2 cups trimmed and quartered)
2 teaspoons salt
Red food coloring, optional
» Sweet Vinegar Sauce:
1/3 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup sake
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoons salt

Sprinkle radish with salt; let stand 30 minutes to extract liquid from radish.

Combine sauce ingredients and heat to dissolve sugar and salt. Cool.

Drain radish, rinse and squeeze out liquid, using cheesecloth if necessary. Add to sauce with a few drops food coloring, if using. Let stand 1 hour. Makes about 1 pint.

Hasu Sanbaizuke

“;Favorite Island Cookery Book II”; Honpa Hongwanji Hawaii Betsuin (1975)

1/4 cup vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup sugar
1 pound lotus root, peeled and thinly sliced
1/8 cup sliced ginger

Heat vinegar, soy sauce and sugar and simmer 5 minutes.

Add lotus root slices, turn to coat and simmer five more minutes, turning occasionally. Work in 2 batches if necessary. Liquid will reduce.

Place in glass jar and refrigerate, mixing occasionally to keep pieces coated. May be eaten immediately, or will keep several days.