Now I don’t want to gloat but hear me out. This is one of the best things I have ever eaten and could quite possible be for you too.. quite a statement right?
So what exactly is Hogweed Terriaki sauce? It is a sweet deep umami rich sauce that will send your taste buds into high heaven and awaken them to a symphony of sweet and savory notes.
Through the act of lactic acid fermentation using salt in approximately 2 weeks microorganisms work their magic by converting compounds such as sugars and starches into alcohols and acids. The result here is a slightly acidic juice which works an absolute dream matched with garlic, ginger and caramelised sugars.
What to do? Gather the young leaves of Common Hogweed (check out my instagram for a recent post on its identification) Chop them up nice and fine. Ideally wearing gloves you want to massage in 2% dry weight of the leaves in salt. I tend to use sea salt flakes for this as they can be crumbled nice and fine. After a few minutes you will notice some of the moisture coming out of the leaves and it all gets rather wet.
Next find a wide jar to press the chopped leaves down into. Using the end of a rolling pin or your fist, press down the leaves until the juice is the only thing at the top. This helps prevent any unwanted mold growing in there. The great thing about all this is the salt actually inhibits the growth of any bad stuff we don’t want to grow but allows all the amazing good microorganisms to thrive.
Remember to keep the lid rested on top and not tight or else the gases can build up and create pressure in our jar…Press the leaves back down every few days bringing juice to the top. After about 10 days you might start to notice some tiny bubbles forming. At this time pop it in the fridge to keep it where it’s at.
Ingredients
• 70g light brown soft sugar
• 70g LF hogweed juice
• 100ml water • Good dash of maple syrup
• 70ml soy sauce
• 1 large garlic clove or a table spoon of finely chopped fermented wild garlic• 4cm finely chopped hunk of ginger (I use pulped ginger)
• 1 tbsp cornflour or any other flour seems to work too
• 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
Mix everything together in the saucepan over the heat, bring to the boil and simmer for a while adding the cornflour mixed with a little water after 5 mins or so at the end to thicken. If too thick just keep watering it down.
Thanks for reading and please let me know how you get on!
Forager Dan
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