Chinese Spicy Pickled Daikon Radish
Pickled Daikon Radish is a very popular appetizer in China. It’s very sour and spicy and sweet and crunchy, so it really does wake up the taste buds. This is a super simple dish to prepare and you can actually make it every time you are dealing with daikon radish with minimal extra effort as all the other ingredients you probably already have in your pantry.
Ingredients
Daikon Radish — about one pound
One apple
One pear
One small onion, diced.
One tbsp ginger, minced (optional)
Chinese Black Vinegar –2 Tbs. (you can also use white rice vinegar, but in that case, double the amount of the dark sauce to achieve the right color)
Chinese red chilies – 2-4(depending on your spice tolerance), chopped, seeds retained (you can substitute any available hot peppers, ideally fresh, but even dried crushed red peppers will do in a pinch)
Dark soy sauce – 1 Tbs. (or 2 Tbs. regular soy sauce)
White granulated sugar — 3 Tsp. ( adjust according to your taste).
Sesame oil — 1 tsp (optional; sesame oil changes the flavor quite a bit, so it really depends on your taste buds)
One tbsp salt
Direction
Step 1: First wash the daikon and use a paring knife to cut off any errant small roots or other unattractive spots on the skin. Peel the daikon and cut into roughly 1-inch cubes. Add salt to it and set aside for one hour. There will be some juice. Drain it.
Step 2: Peel and dice the apple. Peel and dice the pear. Dice the onion. Mince the ginger(optional). Mince the garlic.
Step 3: Mix everything together with Chinese black vinegar, dark soy sauce, sesame oil, minced hot chili pepper, and sugar. Pure it over the daikon radish that is already drained of water. Mix well.
Set the bowl, covered, in the refrigerator. The Spicy Pickled Daikon Radish Peel can be ready to eat after 15 minutes, but for best flavor melding and softer bite, you will want to leave it in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, and ideally 6-12 hours. The dish will keep for 2-3 days in the fridge.
