Some of you may have noticed I’m a big fan of turning veggies into noodles. It’s a great low carb way to make a pasta to carry your sauce, or as a unique way to enjoy a familiar vegetable. You can do it with just about any vegetable that’s long and has enough fiber to hold up to a quick boil (asparagus, greenbeans, parsnip and carrots all work pretty well).
Daikon is a long (usually over 12″) white radish that’s commonly used in Japanese cuisine. When raw it makes for a crisp peppery salad while simmering will make it tender and sweet. Dried, it can be used to make pickles such as takuwan (it’s a bright yellow pickle), or it can be rehyrated and cooked to make a side dish. It has a mild aroma (which gets stronger when you dry it) that’s a little hard to describe in a pleasant way, but I’ve always thought it smells vaguely of gasoline.
The other day I was cooking with some truffle oil and was thinking that it too smelled a bit like some kind of petroleum product. The thought occurred to me that perhaps this European oil might go with the Asian radish. I know my description makes it sound kind of unappetizing, but if you like the way truffles smell, I think you’ll see how this works. To pair them, I turned the daikon into long noodles, boiled them in some dashi and tossed them with olive oil, a few dribbles of truffle oil and a lot of Parmigiano Reggiano.
I served this with some seared bay scallops with a pan sauce.
1 peeled and trimmed daikon radish
1 quart dashi
olive oil
1/2 C grated Parmigiano Reggiano
truffle oil
black pepper
Use a French mandoline to slice 2mm thick slices of daikon lengthwise (see right side of photo above). Then stack the slices 4 high and use a sharp knife to cut them into noodles, discarding the uneven end pieces. Soak them in cold water until you are ready to use them.
In a pot, add the dashi and some salt and bring to a boil. Drain the daikon and add to the boiling water. Cook until the daikon is no longer crunchy (but not soft). Drain thoroughly then toss with olive oil and the cheese. Add truffle oil and black pepper to taste. Serve immediately.
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{ 17 comments }
In spite of the petroleum comparisons, I’d be willing to give that a go
(Actually, I’ve cooked daikon (or mooli) before, so I’m already a convert, and cutting it into noodles sounds like a really interesting way to cook and present it – I’m intrigued!)
Interesting! I’ve also heard of spaghetti squash too but never tried it. I have a bottle of truffle oil and I also get the petroleum aroma from it.
This is somewhat embarrassing to admit – as a kid, I was always fond of the smell of gas stations and dry cleaners.
I was never a fan of that smell, but I did love the smell of roofing tar and the wood they use for phone poles and railroad tracks when I was a kid. Go figure…
Marc,
Truffle oil is my new love xxxooo
I love daikon! It does have a distinctive smell. Never thought of gasoline though. I’ll give my daikon a sniff tomorrow, lol.
What a delicate dish this must be – radish noodles, sea scallops, truffle, and so wintry white.
One time I was making daikon tsukemono, inside my house, in the summer, with no AirCon. Daikon definitely has a distinctive smell, but I’d say it more closely resembles sweaty asscrack than gasoline. (~^_^~)
Hahahaha and even less appetizing description but yea dried daikon can have a very pungent odor.
Hola Marc! Thanks for leaving a comment in my blog… it’s been great to know yours!!!! I’m loving it
Never tried truffle oil before… you intrigued me. Giving different sizes and shapes to veggies or any other ingredient is fun! Imagination on power!!!!
i like the simplicity of this dish..and how clean and light it’ll be on the palette. the scallops look amazing. quite uncanny is that i was thinking of ordering some daikon earlier this week. i get odd cravings like that now and again. turning them into noodles is a fab idea!! hope i can try it some time. x
I’ve done a quick cure of zucchini and it’s works wonderfully. I’ll have to try Daikon…only have eaten it at restos.
Next time I’m at Katagiri’s daikon will go straight in my basket. You made your point!
I would love to learn what went into your pan sauce for the scallops. They look enticingly delicious. I like the simple presentation of the dish. It really highlights the daikon noodles well. I have to give this a try. Thank you for a new way to look at daikon radish. – Lick My Spoon
The “pan sauce” is just the fond on the pan from searing the scallops deglazed with a little dashi from boiling the daikon in. I should also mention I dusted the scallops in salt and sugar, so there was a little sweetness in the sauce. But you could really use everything from mirin to white wine to deglaze the pan and have equally yummy results:-)
Interesting combination. I want to know what daikon and truffle oil taste like together now!
absolutely think this sounds really wonderful. i want to try and cook more with daikon this year. and i can see how it would go well w/ truffle oil.
LMAO about sweaty asscrack. You’re both right. It is both sweaty asscrack and gasoline. I guess it has that slightly sulphuric aroma. Sometimes we just ask who farted when Mama cooks radish.
Brilliantly unusual combination.
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