Daikon is a radish with a mild flavor. The name means “large root” in Japanese. It does not look like the round, red radish as it is shaped like a large white carrot. Daikons are used for preserving and garnishing in Asian cooking. 2,000 years ago, the Japanese would pickle it to have a vitamin C source through the winter and they still devote land to growing this vegetable today. In fact, it is the most widely grown vegetable in Japan.
Here a few tips and recipes for this week’s CSA share.
Tips:
– Peel and cut the daikon like a carrot. It should be crisp like an apple or jicama.
– The top of the daikon is sweeter and will be tasty in raw salads or shredded as a garnish to a stir fry
– If the stems are attached, use them in a stir fry as they are high in Vitamin A
Daikon and Mushroom Soup
Adapted by Amy
1 cup jasmine rice (cooked with 2 cups water and lemon zest)
1 cup shredded carrots
1 cup shredded daikon
1-1/2 cups diced crimini or fresh shitake mushrooms
4 cups vegetable broth or 2 cups mushroom broth mixed with 2 cups water
soy sauce to taste
Cook the rice, then add the vegetable stock and all vegetables. Soy sauce added as salt to your taste. The soup only needs to cook together for 15 minutes before serving. The daikon will retain the slight radish taste to flavor the soup. Enjoy.
Banh Mi Sandwich
From the Comfort is Always Here Blog
A Banh Mi sandwich is a magical mix of crisp, yet soft french bread, pickled vegetables and grilled meats. It is traditional to also include pate for texture and taste. This blog does a great job of explaining the sandwich, providing a different pickling recipe and showing how to make your own sandwich. I plan to make pickled daikon/carrots as soon as we receive them. They are a quick pickle that only takes about an hour to be ready to eat this sandwich! Enjoy.
Daikon Pickles
Adapted from “Into the Vietnamese Kitchen” by Andrea Nguyen
This is a vietnamese way to have a pickled topping on a banh mi sandwich or a noodle dish. Daikons preserve well and can keep their crispness if you follow this tip from this cookbook to release some of the water from the daikons before adding them to the vinegar solution.
1 carrot (cut into matchsticks)
3 daikon radishes (cut into matchsticks)
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
Place carrot and daikon in a bowl and sprinkle with salt and 2 teaspoons sugar. Work on the vegetables with your hands for about three minutes, expelling water from them will keep them crisp. Stop when vegetables have lost about a quarter of their volume. Drain and rinse under cold running water, then press to expel extra water.
1-1/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup sugar (melted in 1/4 to 1/2 cup hot water)
Mix in a quart jar and add the vegetables. This can last in the refrigerator for about two weeks as you use it as a spicy and sweet topping.
Tibetan Lamb Stew
From the Global Gourmet website
Stewed Beancurd Puffs with Daikon & Carrots
From Christine’s Recipe Blog
This is a great blog for simple asian cooking and includes great pictures of the food. The dish makes the vegetables wonderfully soft for a warm dinner on a cool fall evening. You could substitute firm tofu, cut into small cubes and broiled in the oven for 20 minutes with almond oil, salt and pepper.
Daikon Salad
From Sarah’s Cucina Bella Blog
Fast way to eat the daikon raw in a slightly pickled salad. This blog has photos and tips for creating this salad that will keep in your fridge for a few days.
Beneficial Farms CSA 
GREAT ideas and with winter just around the corner, very timely!! Isn’t it just amazing how Nature provides what we need at the right time?! Thanks! oh, and not least of all, it all sounds tastey too!! 🙂