Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Daikon Pickled with Yellow Miso

We Americans are slowly coming to learn that sushi wasn't always about big, expensive cuts of fatty tuna. Sushi started as simple, everyday food and involved lots of pickles.

One of the missions I have set for myself is to learn more about Asian pickles. There's a lifetime worth of discovery awaiting, I expect, filled with all sorts of exotic spices, oils and potions.

This particular Japanese method of pickling daikon radish is extremely simple as long as you have the ingredients handy, including the daikon, yellow miso and standard cheesecloth. Our local Whole Foods carries all three.

Traditionally, the daikon is left out in the sun for a few days until it is limp and somewhat shrunken. I imagine this is to remove some of the moisture from the radish and intensify the flavor. Afterwards, the radish is sliced into 1/2-inch thick pieces, as in the picture above, and pressed between layers of cheesecloth spread with miso.

Miso, a fermented soybean paste, has an intense flavor of its own. Like many fermented foods, miso comes in all kinds of variations with a range of flavors and intensities. Yellow miso is more on the sweet and mild side. In this recipe, it acts almost like a dry brine for the daikon.

1 pound daikon
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup yellow miso

Place whole daikon radish in the sun for three or four days, or until it becomes somewhat soft and limp. Cut it into pieces about 2 inches long and 1/2 inch thick.

Toss daikon pieces with salt and place in a colander to drain for 1 or more hours. Spread half the miso on a ceramic dinner plate, cover with a piece of cheesecloth and lay the radish pieces over the cheesecloth in a single layer. Cover with a second piece of cheese cloth and spread the remaining miso over the top. Wrap the plate in plastic and place in the refrigerator for three or four days.

The pickled radish is ready to eat, but can also be stored in the miso for use later.

6 comments:

I Heart Kale said...

Yum, this looks intriguing! We preserved some garlic in miso last winter and it's still good, so I wonder how long these would keep?

Anonymous said...

Woohoo! Bring on the pickle posts! I've been reading a novel, set in Japan, wherein characters are constantly being offered a breakfast of "rice and pickled vegetables." I'm craving them, but have no idea what veggies to pickle, or how!

Meg Wolff said...

Wow Ed, Daikon pickles, you are the pickle king!!

Anonymous said...

nice recipe! My pickling cookbook has a few miso-pickle recipes that I've been meaning to try (red miso pickled celery in particular).

So, how did these taste?? I'm quite curious!

Mike Field said...

Hi,
First post, Mike from Baltimore here.

I have recently purchased and read "Wild Fermentation" and "The Joy of Pickling" and recommend both, especially the first book for its thoughts and ideas about fermented foods of all types. My kitchen counter now has glass containers of half-sour pickles and daikon/cabbage sauerkraut happily bubbling away. My motto-- more pickles, more often!

I like your site.
best,
Mike

Ed Bruske said...

Emily, in another life, I picture myself wandering the globe, sampling pickles and sausages. Japan has a great pickling tradition. Finding the recipes is not hard.

Meg, I just had my first taste of these daikon pickles and they are very good. They could ferment even a little longer.

Jen, miso pickles are excellent. I am anxious to try other kinds of miso. The possibilities are endless.

Mike, we cut our teeth on "Wild Fermentation." There have been frequent mentions of it on this blog. Search the pickling recipes here for references to other great text. "Joy of Pickling" is a good start. It covers a lot of territory.