Daikon
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 A pile of daikon radishes.
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| Raphanus sativus L. |
Daikon (Japanese: 大根, literally "large root"; Traditional Chinese: 白蘿蔔, literally "white radish"; Korean: 무 mu, literally "radish"), is a mild-flavored East Asian giant white radish. Though most widely known as daikon, the radish is also known under other names, including daikon radish, Japanese or Chinese radish, winter radish, mooli or moo, lobak or loh bak, labanos, rabu, phakkat-hua, and cu cai trang.[1] Although there are many varieties of daikon, the most common in Japan, the Aokubi Daikon, has the shape of a giant carrot, approximately 20 to 35 cm (8 to 14 inches) long and 5 to 10 cm (2 to 4 inches) in diameter. One of the most unlikely shaped daikon is Sakurajima daikon from Kagoshima Prefecture that is shaped like an oversized turnip with white outside and bright pink inside.
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[edit] Cuisines
Daikon is an essential part of Japanese cuisine. It may be simmered and served alone, or in nabe or oden. Daikon is also commonly grated, and served either as a garnish or as an accent in soups such as miso soup. It is also used as an ingredient mixed in tempura sauce. With soy sauce it is served with Japanese-style hamburgers.
Shredded and dried daikon is called kiriboshi daikon (切干大根), literally cut-and-dried daikon. Pickled whole daikon, called takuan (沢庵) in Japanese and danmuji (단무지) in Korean, often takes a bright yellow color. Takuan is used in sushi and as a garnish for white rice. It is claimed, but not historically supported, that a Buddhist monk called Takuan Sōhō first made this pickled daikon to preserve vegetables for the long winter.
Fresh leaves of daikon can also be eaten as a leaf vegetable but they are often removed when sold in a store because they do not adjust well to the refrigerator, yellowing quite easily. Daikon sprouts, known as kaiware, are a popular garnish for salads and sushi.
Daikon is likewise a very important ingredient in Chinese, Korean, and Indian cuisines. In China, it is used in a variety of dishes such as poon choi and dim sum. One dim sum, called mooli cakes or lo bak go (蘿蔔糕), which can be cooked either by frying or steaming, is traditionally served at the Chinese New Year. Daikon is often cooked with meat and shiitake mushrooms in China, as a simple family dish. Daikon is often added to fishball curry, along with pig skin. In Korea, it is often pickled, and used in kimchi. Pickled daikon (monla gyin) is also popular in Burma on its own or made into a salad. Daikon (monla u) may be simply boiled and dipped in a curried salty fish sauce or made into a sour soup with fish head (nga gaung chinyei).
Mooli is used in Punjabi food preparations, especially in Mooli Paranthas (Punjabi pancakes with shredded mooli stuffed inside). Mooli is also one of the most popular ingredients of Punjabi salads.
The variety 'Long White Icicle' is available as seed in Britain, and will grow very successfully in Southern England, producing roots resembling a parsnip by midsummer in good garden soil in an average year. Some roots can be two feet long. The flavour is rather milder than most small radishes. The roots can be stored for some weeks without the leaves if lifted and kept in a cool dry place. If left in the ground the texture tends to become woody, but the storage life of untreated whole roots is not long.
[edit] Nutritional information
Daikon is very low in food energy. A 3 ounce (85 g) serving contains only 18 calories (75 kJ) and provides 34 percent of the RDA for vitamin C. Daikon also contains active enzymes that aid digestion, particularly of starchy foods.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Charmaine Solomon, Encyclopedia of Asian Food, Periplus 1998.
