What’s Daikon? | Wholesome Nibbles by Lisa Lin

Written by Lisa Lin & Diann Leo-Omine

WHAT IS DAIKON?

Daikon is a sort of radish within the Brassicaceae household, or the cabbage household. Daikon (大根, actually translating to “huge root”) is the Japanese phrase for this kind of radish. It’s the mostly used time period in grocery shops and farmers markets in my space. In Chinese language, it’s known as  蘿蔔 (conventional characters) or 萝卜(simplified characters), and it’s pronounced lo bak (Cantonese) and luo bo (Mandarin). Different names embody mooli (Hindi) and mullangi (Tamil).

Daikon is a relative to desk radishes, a class which incorporates the cheerful purple Cherry Belle radish and rectangular French Breakfast radish. In keeping with Diane Morgan’s Roots (2012) (affiliate hyperlink), radishes probably originated in Europe and Asia and have been first grown within the japanese Mediterranean earlier than 2000 BCE. For essentially the most half, all elements of the plant, from root to shoot to seed, are edible.

Daikon’s dietary advantages embody nutritional vitamins B and C, in addition to calcium, folate, and different minerals. In keeping with Historical Knowledge Fashionable Kitchen by Yuan Wang, et. al. (2010) (affiliate hyperlink), daikon is a cooling meals in conventional Chinese language drugs. It’s supposed to assist with digestion and lung points.

VARIETIES OF DAIKON

In its uncooked type, daikon are typically crisp and have excessive water content material. Additionally they have a slight spicy and bitter chunk, although the diploma of spiciness and bitterness varies between totally different types of daikon. As soon as cooked, daikon softens considerably and takes on an virtually creamy texture. The cooking course of additionally neutralizes among the spicy and bitter chunk of uncooked daikon. 

The colour of daikon will rely on the range. The kind of daikon I typically prepare dinner with is white, thick and rounded (about 3 to three.5 inches in diameter), and about 9 to 11 inches lengthy. This selection is what my mother calls “Chinese language daikon.” She prefers to prepare dinner with this number of daikon as a result of she thinks the flavour is extra candy in comparison with different varieties. 

It’s also possible to discover white types of daikon which can be lengthy and slender, about 12 to twenty inches lengthy and a pair of to 2.5 inches in diameter (see picture above, proper). For that cause, you would possibly see it labeled as some variation of the title “lengthy white radish.” My mother calls this selection “Japanese daikon,” which she claims is extra bitter in comparison with the Chinese language selection.

Generally known as a daikon, Korean mu are stubbier and extra bulbous than radishes above. Mu is distinguished by having a principally white physique and light-weight inexperienced pores and skin across the stem, however the flesh is white inside. So far as taste, mu has a spicier chunk than the types of daikon mentioned above. Some individuals take into account it a totally totally different radish.

As implied in its title, purple daikon has a purple pores and skin with a white-purple flesh. This purple daikon is famous for its crunchy texture and having much less water content material than the white selection. Beni shigure daikon has a deep pink pores and skin and a striated pink flesh. Be aware that in the event you prepare dinner with these colourful daikon, the colour of the cooked daikon gained’t be as vibrant.

IS DAIKON A RADISH OR A TURNIP?

Daikon is commonly interchangeably known as a radish or a turnip. Whereas daikon is botanically a radish, I’ve discovered references in outdated Chinese language cookbooks from the Seventies calling it “turnip.” Dim sum favourite lo bak go is even generally translated as “turnip cake.” 

The confusion could also be because of each the radish and the turnip being members of the Brassicaceae household and might be ready in most of the similar methods. As a result of they’re associated to mustard greens and Brussels sprouts, each might be peppery with totally different ranges of chunk to them. Daikon are a sort of Raphanus sativus, which is the botanical title for radishes. Alternatively, turnips are a sort of Brassica rapa, of which bok choy and napa cabbage are varieties. This implies turnips are extra carefully associated to these greens than they’re to radishes.

DOES IT MATTER WHICH DAIKON I USE?

Every number of daikon has delicate variations in style. These variations are most noticeable if you prepare dinner giant chunks of daikon in a brothy dish. Nevertheless, in a dish like lo bak go, the place the daikon is blended with numerous different substances, you gained’t discover the variations between varieties as a lot. Use no matter number of daikon radish you could find. 

HOW TO PICK & STORE DAIKON

Daikon might be discovered at your native farmers market within the fall, winter, and sometimes into the spring. Nevertheless, daikon are at its peak within the winter. It’s also possible to discover daikon on the Asian grocery store yr spherical. Some main grocery shops could carry it as effectively, usually stocked within the refrigerated produce part.

Select agency daikon that really feel heavy for his or her dimension, a sign that the daikon is sweet and succulent. If the inexperienced stems are connected, they need to be recent and inexperienced. Skip over any daikon with darkish, mushy spots or yellowing leaves. 

When selecting Chinese language daikon, you’ll additionally wish to examine the inexperienced tops (in the event that they’re nonetheless intact). If the tops have a big, thick stem popping out of the middle, it means the daikon may be very mature and not as tender or juicy as youthful varieties. My mother typically avoids these. Should you want a visible, Mama Lin will discuss you thru selecting daikon.

Generally, you might discover some types of daikon are cleanly washed whereas others nonetheless have grime on them. Don’t be delay by the grime on these types of daikon. They often have thinner skins and can have a shorter shelf life if they’re pre-washed earlier than they’re shipped and offered. 

Retailer daikon within the fridge in a plastic bag for up to a couple weeks. The plastic bag helps maintain the outside of the daikon from drying out and wilting.

HOW TO PREPARE DAIKON

Rinse the daikon effectively, scrubbing any grime off from the pores and skin. Slice off any inexperienced tops the stem of from the daikon and peel off the pores and skin. For dishes like lo bak go, you’ll have to grate the daikon. In case you are making a soup or any broth dish, you might wish to reduce the daikon into cubes or strips. My mother likes to braise daikon with beef for an extended interval. Due to the longer cooking time, she’ll chop the daikon into giant chunks in order that the daikon don’t disintegrate in the course of the cooking course of.

HOW TO EAT DAIKON

Daikon might be steamed into dim sum favourite lo bak go and boiled in vegan and savory tang yuan soup. It will also be braised in a stew for the final word consolation meals. Particularly lovely in the event you discover the purple or pink coloured daikon, you possibly can slice them into skinny rounds, by hand or mandoline. Chill these skinny slices in an ice bathtub for ten minutes for a crisp veggie chip with hummus. 

Stir fry the radish right into a South Indian curry or stuff the radish as filling into paratha. Pickle daikon into kkakdugi, đồ chua, or takuan/danmuji. Candy pickled daikon is nice alongside fried, heavy meals as a solution to cleanse the palate.

MY RECIPES USING DAIKON