Takuan
Takuan is one of Japan's most popular pickles: daikon radish dried a little, then pickled in rice vinegar with sugar and turmeric, which gives its characteristic yellow colour. The traditional version ferments for months in rice bran, but this quick vinegar version takes three days and is just as crunchy. It is served with rice, in bento boxes and at the end of a meal, since pickles are held to “close” a meal in Japan. This is an unpasteurised vinegar pickle — it lives in the fridge.
Your own work in that: 0 min.
- Preparation 25 min
- Drying 2880 min
- Brine 480 min
- Maturing 960 min
Step by step
0 / 8 donePeel the radish
Peel the daikon and halve it lengthwise, cutting longer roots crossways too so the pieces fit your jar. Look for daikon in Asian shops and larger supermarkets; a white winter radish will stand in, though it is sharper and less juicy.
Ingredients: 1000 g daikon radish · 2 tbsp salt
Dry the radish
Lay the pieces on a rack or hang them somewhere cool and airy for 2 days, until floppy enough to bend without snapping. This drying is what makes the finished pickle crunchy.
Ingredients: 1000 g daikon radish · 2 tbsp salt
Wilted daikon makes a crunchy pickle.Salt it
Rub the pieces with salt, put them in a bowl, weigh down with a plate and leave 8 hours. Pour off the water drawn out.
Ingredients: 1000 g daikon radish · 2 tbsp salt
Boil the brine
Boil the vinegar with the water, sugar and turmeric, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Boil 3 minutes and cool completely.
Ingredients: 250 ml rice vinegar · 150 ml water · 120 g sugar · ½ tsp turmeric · 5 g piece of kombu (optional) · 1 pcs dried chilli
Turmeric gives colour, not flavour.Prepare the jar
Scald a 1.5 litre jar (or two 750 ml ones) with boiling water and dry it — a kilo of daikon plus brine will not fit in a 1 litre jar. Put the kombu, if using, and the chilli in the bottom.
Ingredients: 250 ml rice vinegar · 150 ml water · 120 g sugar · ½ tsp turmeric · 5 g piece of kombu (optional) · 1 pcs dried chilli
Pack the radish
Rinse the excess salt off the daikon, pat dry and pack the pieces tightly into the jar.
Ingredients: 1000 g daikon radish · 2 tbsp salt
Cover and close
Pour over the cold brine so it covers the radish and close the jar. If pieces float, weigh them down with a small saucer or a water-filled bag.
Ingredients: 250 ml rice vinegar · 150 ml water · 120 g sugar · ½ tsp turmeric · 5 g piece of kombu (optional) · 1 pcs dried chilli
Everything must stay under the brine.Refrigerate
Refrigerate at least 16 hours, ideally 3 days — the flavour deepens daily. Slice thinly to serve.
Ingredients: 1000 g daikon radish · 2 tbsp salt
Before you start
Without drying
If time is short, skip the drying and salt for 12 hours instead. The pickle will be wetter and less crunchy, but still good.
The smell
Daikon smells strongly, almost sulphurous, as it pickles — that is normal. Keep the jar tightly closed, ideally inside a bag, so the smell does not spread through the fridge. Kombu (the dried kelp used for dashi) comes from Asian shops; without it the pickle still works, just less savoury.
Storage
This is an unpasteurised pickle: the brine of 250 ml vinegar to 150 ml water is sharp, but not enough for the jar to sit in a cupboard. The fridge only — it keeps a month there. Always use clean tongs, never fingers, and keep the pieces under the brine.