A Mandala of Splendor
I’ve been a cook-gardener most of my adult life. I love to grow and serve daikon radish, whether as a condiment in a salad, or as the whole salad, as I present here.
There are many varieties of radish, they are so easy to grow, and ready to pick in just a few weeks. Asia has a deep variety of radishes, my favorite is the daikon, or icicle radish. It is one of Japan’s key sources of nutrients. Daikon has three enzymes that are almost exact copies of our own digestive enzymes. It is traditionally served when eating fried tempura; it balances the fat-rich food with a cool, slightly bitter, raw texture.
If you do one thing for yourself, keep some daikon in your fridge, it stores indefinitely and begin to slice or grate it into salads. I even have a recipe for you to turn it into a vegan scallop dish by poaching!
INGREDIENTS: You can adjust for any amount of diners; and it stores well in the fridge
- daikon radish – several, [you can also include similar shapes of carrot, and cucumber]
- DRESSING
- fine salt –
- rice vinegar – 1 TBS, unseasoned
- sugar – 1 tsp
- toasted sesame oil – 1/2 tsp, or to taste
- sesame seeds – 1 TBS, toasted [or I love gomasio]
INSTRUCTIONS: Source other colors of daikon at Asian markets
- Peel the radish and slice into wafer thin rounds
- Make the dressing
- Arrange the slices in a circle overlapping as you go
- Drizzle on the dressing
Optional Technique: Lightly salt the sliced veggies in a colander for thirty minutes, and then lightly rinse and towel dry. Below are batons of daikon, carrot, and cucumber before salting and placing in a colander.
2022 © B. Hettig
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