Given a continued fascination with the daikon, I recently made a recipe from Food and Wine magazine, which involved two hours of cooking and two minutes of eating. It was at this moment that I began to question my commitment to gourmet food. Or at least, preparing it for myself after yet another 10pm dinner, and purple, beet stained hands.

The inspiration this time was two-fold. First, I’d never tried anything like it, and “the new” is enticing. Secondly, the recipe itself was inspired by an artist and likened to a paintbrush. The photograph was probably what did it. It looked gorgeous!

People like to joke about food porn. Personally, I’m not a big fan of the phrase, but I can certainly understand it as fetish. Food photography has become a real art form and for some of us, looking at it is fodder for goose bumps. It’s a symbol of passion. Sometimes it feels as though the photograph is more important than the food itself.

New York design consultants at Fork & Design have mastered the art of food photography. In fact, artist and photographer, Emilie Baltz, one of the principals at Fork & Design, has taken it to another level with her Gourmet Junk Food. Considering my personal quest for eating only real food, I have to admit that I cringe when viewing these images thinking of the fruit roll-up and Reese’s peanut butter cup ingredients. Still, it turns out you can make just about anything beautiful given a good eye for design. After all, it’s all about the photography.

Image: Emilie Baltz

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If you’ve been going to farmer’s markets or receive a CSA box, you may have encountered daikon and are wondering what you’re supposed to do with that weird, long, white radishy-looking thing, if you even knew what it was.

There’s no need to fear the daikon. This mildly flavored root vegetable is in fact a type of radish that is particularly popular in Japan. It’s known to be an excellent source of Vitamin C and can be served raw, cooked or pickled.

Pickling daikon is very common, particularly in Asia, and does seem like a good option. Recipes abound, but this one from the Food Network looks relatively straight-forward. Even better, try this recipe for Daikon Kimchi.

If you’re not up for the pickling route, daikon can be served raw, shredded or thinly sliced and combined with other vegetables in simple maki rolls. Here’s a recipe that gives a great explanation on making sushi rice and other ideas for fillings.

Daikon is also very good cooked in stir fries or soups. I highly recommend this Mark Bittman recipe from Food Matters for seafood with curry spices that includes grated daikon. This recipe is absolutely delicious and incredibly easy to make for dinner in literally 30 minutes.

Or, try it in soup. This NY Times recipe for Mushroom and Daikon soup looks amazing.

Images: Fido Cat, peskymac,  kamutflakegirl, calico0121

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Recently, we featured daikon radish as our seasonal ingredient. Here’s an original recipe to get you started experimenting with this healthful, delicious root vegetable.

We learned that daikon is used in both cooked and raw dishes and is common in Asian cuisines, so here’s my riff on the addictive pickled daikon-based relish that is used in Vietnamese báhn mi sandwiches. Think of this dish as a deconstructed sandwich but with rice noodles standing in for the bread. This version is all vegetable (though not vegetarian as it contains fish sauce) but you could use chicken, pork, beef, seafood, or tofu as stand-ins for the mushrooms. If you want a vegetarian dish, substitute soy sauce for the fish sauce (note that it won’t have quite the same unmistakable Southeast Asian character, but will still be tasty).

Try these noodles as a side dish or main course. This recipe will make more pickle than you need with the noodles. It will keep for weeks in the refrigerator in its liquid. The pickle is wonderful on its own or with a variety of dishes.

Rice Noodles with Daikon-Carrot Pickle and Mushrooms

Serves 2

Ingredients:

Pickle:
1 1/2 pounds daikon radish
1 large carrot (about 4 oz)
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup rice vinegar
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup water
A squirt or two of Asian chili sauce

Noodles:
8 ounces thin rice noodles
4 oz. mushrooms, chicken, seafood, pork, beef, or tofu
2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped fine
2 tablespoons vegetable oil suitable for high heat cooking
2-3 tablespoons Chinese rice wine or sherry
2 tablespoons fish sauce
Fresh cilantro and mint leaves for serving

To make:

Peel the daikon and cut it into 2 or 3 inch long sections. Halve the sections lengthwise and, with the cut side down, slice each section into thin slices. Stack the slices and cut them into matchsticks. Peel the carrot and cut it the same way.

Place the carrot and daikon in a colander and add the salt. Toss with your hands, massaging the vegetables until they start to soften and release liquid. Let them sit in the colander for about 30 minutes to drain.

Meanwhile, place the rice noodles in a bowl and soak them in warm water to cover for 30 minutes.

Rinse the daikon and carrot, drain and squeeze excess liquid out with your hands. Drain them on a clean dish towel or paper towel and put them in a clean bowl.

In a small bowl, whisk together the, rice vinegar, fish sauce, sugar, water, and chili sauce. Pour the mixture over the vegetables and let them sit for 15 minutes or up to several days, refrigerated. (This step can be done ahead).

Drain the noodles.

In a wok or large sauté pan, over high heat, warm the oil. Add the mushrooms and a pinch of salt and let them cook without stirring until they begin to sizzle and brown. Stir them once and let them brown a bit more. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 to 2 minutes, without letting the garlic burn (you may need to turn down the heat). Add the rice wine or sherry and the fish sauce, stir once or twice and then quickly add the drained noodles. Toss the noodles, mushrooms, and garlic with the liquid from the fish sauce and rice wine until the noodles are soft, chewy and pliable.

Turn off the heat and add the desired amount of pickled vegetables and a generous amount of cilantro and mint, reserving some for garnish. Transfer to plates and garnish with more herbs.

Pack the leftover pickled daikon and carrot in a jar with the liquid and refrigerate.

Note: organic ingredients recommended.

Image: Charmaine

The post Ecosalon Recipes: Rice Noodles with Daikon-Carrot Pickle and Mushrooms appeared first on EcoSalon.

It’s not quite a parsnip nor a great white carrot, but the daikon is a mild-flavored radish that wintertime locavores are probably quite familiar with. High in fiber, vitamin C, digestive enzymes and magnesium, daikon’s not a bad addition to your wintertime meals. The name daikon comes from a Japanese word simply meaning “great” or “large root,” and some varieties grow up to 3 feet long!

Although daikon is best known as a root crop, the leaves are also delicious and contain more nutrients per serving than the root. You’ll find twice as much potassium and 10 times as much calcium in the leaves, as well as folic acid and vitamin K. So shop for the freshest daikon you can find and use every part of it.

Common in Asian cuisine, daikon root makes a great addition to soups and veggie broth, and can also be grated into salads. The highly nutritious leaves also make a great soup or salad green.

You may have also come across pickled daikon in your Asian food ventures, and you’ll be delighted to know you can make your own daikon pickles with this easy, overnight recipe. If you enjoy making your own sauerkraut, daikon is a great veggie for it.

Although daikon is most heavily consumed in Japan (the majority of Japan’s cultivated land is used to grow this veggie), it actually originated in the Mediterranean and arrived in Japan by way of China a few thousand years ago. And for those of you who like to indulge in sake, take note: a cupful of grated daikon is said to be a great hangover remedy.

If daikon isn’t part of your regular diet, make it so! Low in calories and rich in nutrients, it’s such a versatile veggie and you might as well give it a try. Check back tomorrow for an original daikon recipe from EcoSalon’s very own chef writer, Vanessa Barrington.

Image: exquisitur

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