Daikon Radish

Daikon radish is abundant through Asian cuisine, particularly in East and Southern regions that include a variety of different types of daikon. The name daikon means “big root” in Japanese, and in Japan daikons are used both as a vegetable and as an offering and cleansing agent in Buddhist ceremonies. It is also one of the seven vegetables consumed during the ‘nanakusa’ feast, during the ‘Festival of the Seven Herbs.’ The root of the daikon is eaten raw in salads, pickled, steamed, sliced and cooked in sauces, or cubed and added to soups and stews.  The greens are also added to salads, steamed, and stir-fried. In Korea, daikon is often fermented in kimchi, and in Vietnam pickled daikon is used as a ‘banh mi’ topping.  In China, a wide variety of daikon radish come in different shapes, colors and flavors. Daikons are not only prevalent in Asian cuisine in the U.S. they are also oven-roasted with other root vegetables, spiral cut for a pasta substitute, baked or fried into a potato chip alternative, and the seeds are sprouted for ‘micro-greens’ and added to sandwiches and salads. Daikon has also received significant attention among Southern livestock farmers because the greens of the daikon grow fast in cold weather making it an ideal fodder for cows and goats during the winter season. It is also grown as a ‘fallow’ crop known as ‘green manure’ by leaving the roots in the ground in order to enrich the soil for the spring growing season.