11 Easy Japanese Daikon Radish Recipes

Daikon radishes are earthy but versatile vegetables that can be eaten raw or cooked. If you want to learn how to cook it, here are 11 Japanese daikon radish recipes to help you get started!

Daikon is a Japanese root vegetable, and the crunchy texture and tenderness make it a perfect side dish or complement to many dishes!

Do you know that Daikon is a whole food? It's not just the roots we should be eating, but also all that skin and leaves. There isn't anything in there to throw away!

This recipe is for you if:
• You love Japanese daikon radish.
• You don't know how to cook daikon.
• You want to get to know more about daikon
• You are looking for easy Japanese daikon recipes

If you are new to Daikon, don't worry, I have all the information you need to prepare, store and cut, along with easy and delicious daikon recipes!

Let's get started!

Jump to:

• 11 Japanese Daikon Radish Recipes
• Watch How To Cook Daikon
• What is Japanese Daikon Radish?
• What does it taste like?
• Where to Buy
• How to pick a fresh and delicious Daikon
• How to store
• Health benefits
• How to cook
• How to cut
• Watch How To Cut Daikon 6 Ways
• Thanks for stopping by
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Comments

11 Japanese Daikon Radish Recipes

I have listed my favorite 11 recipes below! They are all simple and easy-to-make recipes. And we will go deeper into how to cut, cook, and store daikon radish after the list. Let's dive in!

Raw Daikon Recipes

1. Daikon Salad with Sesame Dressing
2. Pickled Daikon
3. Honey Daikon
4. Daikon Oroshi
5. Daikon Leaves Green Smoothie

Simmer/Stir fry/Pan fry Recipes

6. Daikon Nimono (Simmered Daikon)
7. Daikon Miso Soup
8. Daikon Skin Stir-Fry
9. Fried Daikon
10. Daikon Leaves Furikake

Kiriboshi Daikon (Dried Daikon)

11. Kiriboshi Daikon Salad

1. Daiko salad with sesame dressing

2. Pickled Daikon

3. Honey Daikon

4. Daikon oroshi

Daikon oroshi is a Japanese condiment made by grating raw daikon radish. The refreshing taste of daikon oroshi is often served with grilled fish and tempura in Japan, as it helps break down fatty foods.

The left is used as a topping of Natto (fermented soybeans), and the right is used for Tempura sauce.

5. Daikon Leaves Green Smoothie

I love daikon radishes with leaves! Fresh daikon leaves are the perfect ingredient for a green smoothie. They are richer in vitamin C and calcium than white roots!

How to prepare: Use a handful of leaves. Wash the leaves, cut them into four, add to a blender with one or two bananas and a kiwi, pour 1 cup of water (or more) and blend until smooth.

6. Daikon Nimono (Simmered Daikon)

7. Daikon Miso Soup

8. Daikon Skin Stir-Fry

9. Fried Daikon

10. Daikon Leaves Furikake

Furikake (Japanese rice seasoning) is the most popular way to eat daikon leaves. It's an easy-to-make and delicious condiment to eat with starchy Japanese rice.

How to prepare: Stir fry chopped daikon leaves with sesame oil, add 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of mirin, and Katsuobushi (option, bonito flakes), and cook until the water evaporates. Turn off the heat and add toasted sesame seeds.

11. Kiriboshi daikon salad

Watch How To Cook Daikon

Watch and learn how to cook Daikon in 5 different ways in this video.

What is Japanese Daikon Radish?

Daikon, also known as white radish, winter radish, and Japanese radish, is a common root vegetable in Japan.

Daikon means "big root" in Japanese, long, thick, and heavy. They can weigh anywhere from 1 to 2 kg (2 to 4 lbs).

We can find wide varieties of Daikon in Japan, but this Aokubi daikon, the green color on the top, is the most common.

It has an earthy flavor and many versatile uses that can be eaten raw (including the skin), stir-fried, or added to a soup. You can also eat the leaves (actually, leaves contain more nutrients than white roots!).

The most popular dish is a simmered daikon.

It's available all year round at a grocery store, but the season is summer and winter. The Summer daikon tends to be more peppery in taste, whereas winter daikon tends to have a sweeter flavor and juicier texture.

What does it taste like?

Do you know that Daikon has different tastes and textures depending on which part you use?

It has a unique flavor profile, with a sweet spot near its leaves and turning peppery towards the bottom.

• Top (near the leaves): Sweet, juicy, and crunchy
• Middle: Sweet, slightly peppery, and soft
• Bottom: Peppery and less juicy

You can find the difference by eating raw on each part if you are curious.

The texture and taste are different, so using the part according to your cooking dish makes them tastier. The sweet and juicy top part works perfectly for eating raw, while the peppery bottom is excellent for spices or sauces.

We will go through what recipes are suitable for each part in the section "How to cook daikon radish."

Where to Buy

You can find Daikon at Japanese grocery stores, Asian grocery stores (Daikon is a popular ingredient in Asia), and local farmer's markets during the season. You can find it at online stores as well.

Where to buy daikon radishes

• Japanese grocery stores: Mitsuwa marketplace, Marukai
• Asian grocery stores
• Local farmer's markets
• Online stores: Instacart, Walmart

How to pick a fresh and delicious Daikon

When you pick up your Daikon at a grocery store, make sure to check these points. If you find any leaves attached to the Daikon, check them first. Bright green leaves are an easy sign to pick fresh daikon radishes.

Roots

• Pick the one which is straight, thick, and glossy.
• Pick the one with smooth and firm skin (not wrinkled)
• Hold it and make sure it's heavy and solid
• Beautiful white root with fewer bumps

Leaves

• Fresh daikon leaves have a bright green color (not yellow)
• They are firm and stretched to the tips.

How to store

Daikon radishes are thick and long, so you may wonder how to store them. In this section, I will share my simple way of storing those big roots!

Refrigerate

Refrigerating is best when you plan to up daikon radish within a week.

If you see leaves on it, cut them off immediately because they will absorb all the nutrients around its roots. Then cut the root into thirds and wrap it in plastic to prevent it from drying. If possible, store the Daikon upright in a fridge then you can keep it fresh longer.

• Cut off the leaves
• Cut into thirds and wrap in plastic wrap
• Roots: One week in the fridge
• Leaves: 3 to 4 days in the fridge
• Store them upright to keep them fresh longer

Watch How to store daikon radish.

Freeze

You can store daikon radish in the freezer for long-term storage. Cut it into whatever size you like and put it into a freezer bag.

Frozen Daikon is not ideal for eating raw, like salad, oroshi (grated Daikon) but is perfect for simmering. When using it, cook it frozen, and no need to thaw it.

• Cut and put in a freezer bag
• One month in a freezer
• No need to thaw before cooking

Room Temperature (Dark and cool place）

You can also keep your daikon radish at room temperature (except in hot and humid seasons). Cut off the leaves, wrap the root in the newspaper, and store it upright in a dark and cool place. It will last for one month.

• Wrap in newspaper
• One month in a dank and cool place
• Store it upright to keep it fresh longer

Health benefits

Root

Daikon radish contains 95% water but has plenty of vitamins C, potassium, digestive enzymes, and isothiocyanate.

Digestive enzymes

Daikon radish is an excellent source of digestive enzymes! One of the well-known benefits is that it helps break down carbohydrates and fat.

You have to eat it "raw," though (cooked daikon doesn't include the benefit.) In Japan, it's common to serve grated daikon radish with tempura (deep-fried dish) or fatty grilled fish. Also, grated daikon is often served as a condiment for udon and soba noodles.

Isothiocyanate

When you grate daikon, it releases an ingredient called "isothiocyanate." This compound provides plenty of health benefits.

It helps promote healthy blood flow, prevent clots, kill bacteria and fight off colds and viruses, and contains antioxidants to help you fight back against the signs of aging.

See more health benefits here.

Daikon leaves

Daikon leaves are rich in nutrients than its root! The dark green color of the vegetable comes from a high level of vitamin C, potassium, and calcium (five times more than spinach!). In addition, it contains dietary fiber, which can help your digestion.

How to cook

How do you cook Daikon? You can prepare this winter vegetable in various ways, but many people don't know how to cook it!

As I mentioned, daikon flavors differ on the top, middle, and bottom, and it would be better to know what recipes work well with each part.

I've put together this section with some recipes that use different parts of daikons, so you don't need to wonder what to do with Daikon in your kitchen!

Top root

The top root is the sweetest part of the white root, so I highly recommend eating it raw. It's perfect for making salads and pickles to enjoy the crunchy texture.

Recipes: Daikon Salad, Pickled Daikon, Vegetable sticks, Daikon oroshi (grated Daikon)

Middle root

The middle root has a sweet and gentle flavor that works well for any cooking method. I especially like cooking a simmered daikon with the middle. Cut it into thick rounds and simmer them until tender, turning this humble root vegetable into something special!

Recipes: Daikon nimono (Japanese simmered dish), Daikon stir fry, Vegetable curry, Oden (Japanese winter simmered dish), Furofuki daikon

Bottom Root

The bottom is the most peppery portion. If you like the spicy taste, it would be great to make daikon oroshi and use it as a condiment or topping for noodles. It's also suitable for making pickles.

Recipes: Pickled Daikon, Daikon oroshi (Grated Daikon), Miso soup

Leaves

Daikon leaves are nutrient-rich green vegetables with five times more calcium than spinach! So don't throw the leaves away and make soup and green smoothies (if you are a smoothie person, give it a try!) or use the same way as other green leafy vegetables.

Recipes: Miso soup, Furikake (Japanese rice seasoning), Green smoothie

The Skin

When you peel the Daikon, don't throw the skin away - make a stir-fry instead!

Recipes: Stir fry, Pickles

How to cut

Before you start cooking daikon radish for lunch or dinner tonight, we should make sure how to cut this root vegetable.

There are many ways of slicing it up—it can get confusing! But don't worry; I will show you six basic cuts that work well for different cooking methods.

Peel the skin

Before cutting Daikon, peel off the skin with a knife or peeler.

Daikon skin is tough and contains a firm fiber that runs through it. It tightly protects the inside of the daikon radish, so if you make simmering and braising dishes, peel the skin thicker so the flavor can go in more easily.

Six ways to cut daikon radish

1. Thick rounds: Cut into circles (about 1cm/half inches)—cooking method: simmer and braise.
2. Half moons: Cut in half first lengthwise and into circles (about 1cm/0.4 inches)—cooking method: simmer and braise.
3. Thin quarter rounds: Cut in quarters lengthwise first and thinly slice—cooking method: Stir fry, pickles, and soup.
4. Sticks: Cut lengthwise (about 1cm/half inches) and crosswise—cooking method: salad, vegetable sticks, deep fry.
5. Thin rectangles: Cut lengthwise (about 2mm/1/16 inch) and crosswise—cooking method: salad, soup, and stir fry.
6. Shred: Thinly slice lengthwise and crosswise—cooking method: salad and soup.

See more details in How to cut daikon radish in 6 ways.

Watch How To Cut Daikon 6 Ways

Thanks for stopping by

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Also, feel free to leave comments if you have any questions. I love hearing from you!

Chef JA Cooks is a Japanese food blog that shares simple and healthy Japanese home cooking recipes, including vegan and vegetarian. From traditional Japanese recipes to modern recipes with step-by-step instructions.

Daikon Radish Recipes You Might Like

• Daikon Salad
• Daikon Nimono With Atsuage (Simmered dish)
• Daikon Miso Soup
• Daikon Skin Stir Fry with Shio kombu
• Pickled Daikon
• Daikon Oroshi

📖 Recipe