A huge variety of Asian root vegetables are available on the market nowadays. How now to be lost in it? How to choose good vegetables? Are they good in taste and what can be cooked from them? Here you will find the answers.
Daikon radish
Daikon (“big root“) is a long white Japanese radish, which has a crunchy texture and a light peppery and sweet taste. It goes by many names, like Asian radish, Chinese radish, white radish, etc as there are different varieties of daikon being cultivated in the different regions. Known as a cruciferous vegetable related to brocolli, kale and cabbage, the daikon radish is said to have origins in the Mediterranean. After it spread to Asia, it became a highly valued ingredient.
Even though it is winter vegetable (its best season is from November till December), you can find Japanese daikon almost in every Asian supermarket and grocery all year round.
It can be eaten raw, or cooked in several methods. When served raw, it’s mild and tangy in taste, with crispy and juicy texture. When cooked, it has a concentrated sweet flavor similar to cooked turnips. Many people in Japan make tea by mixing small pieces of daikon with shiitake mushrooms and seaweed (kombu).Then drink it to reduce fever and fight infection. Another old remedy in Japan advises 1 tbsp of grated daikon mix with a small amount of soy sauce – this helps to clean the body system of fat excess and animal protein. Broth made from daikon and seaweed remove dairy buildup.
Daikon can be slow cooked, fried and pickled.
Pickled daikon radish
Takuan (沢庵), also known as takuwan or takuan-zuke, is a popular traditional Japanese pickle made from daikon radish.
Taste and cooking
Takuan is made by first hanging a daikon radish in the sun for a few weeks until it becomes flexible. Next, the daikon is placed in a pickling crock and covered with a mix of salt, rice bran, optionally sugar, daikon greens, kombu/dry seaweed, and optionally with chilli pepper and/or dried persimmon peels/even flowers for coloring. Then is is covered by the weight and the daikon has to pickle for several months. The ready takuan is usually yellow in color, however mostly in mass-production for food colorants are responsible for this effect of pickled takuan. It taste sweet and mild, and not sugar-free.
Storage
Takuan can be bought in Japanese supermarkets in vacuum packages. Its shelf life is for about 2 months, but the best taste is within a month. Once the vacuum package is opened the takuan can be place in a glass box covered with lid and store in the fridge for about 2-3 weeks. It also could be cut and frozen inside a ziploc bags.
Served at the end of meals as it is thought to aid digestion.
Ginger
Ginger is a flowering plant, which has a very long history of use in various forms of traditional/ alternative medicine, as well as in cuisine. Originated in Island Southeast Asia it was likely domesticated first by the Austronesian peoples. Ginger belongs to the Zingiberaceae family, and is closely related to turmeric, cardamon and galangal.
The rhizome (underground part of the stem) is the part commonly used as a spice. It is often called ginger root and has a firm, striated texture. Its flesh can be yellow, white or red in color, depending upon the variety. It is covered with a brownish skin that may either be thick or thin, depending upon whether the plant was harvested when it was mature or yang.
Source: Köhler’s Medicinal Plants, 1896
Purchasing
Fresh ginger root is available year round in the produce section of the market. Whenever possible, choose fresh ginger over the dried form of the spice since it is not only superior in flavor but contains higher levels of active compounds.
When purchasing fresh ginger root, make sure it is firm, smooth and free of mold. Ginger is generally available in two forms, either young or mature.
Mature ginger, the more widely available type, has a tough skin that requires peeling while young ginger doesn’t need to be peeled.
Just like with other dried spices, when purchasing dried ginger powder try to select organically grown ginger since this will give you more assurance that it is not been irradiated.
Ginger is also available in several other forms including crystallized, candied and pickled ginger.
Ginger in cooking: taste and flavor
Ginger can be used fresh, dried, powdered, or as an oil or juice. To remove the skin from fresh mature ginger peel with a paring knife. The ginger can be sliced, minced or julienned. If grated, ginger can easily be thrown into various sauces, glazed, and marinated to brighten up the dish. This aromatic, spicy, knobbly little root is extremely popular in both sweet and savory recipes.
The flavor of ginger is peppery and slightly sweet. It has a pungent and spicy aroma, that add a special flavor and zest to Asian style food, as well as to many fruits and vegetable dishes. The taste of ginger imparts to a dish depends upon when it is added during the cooking process. Added at the beginning, it will lend a subtler flavor while added near the end, it will deliver a more pungent taste.
Keep in mind that fresh ginger, much like garlic, mellows with cooking, and turns bitter if you burn it. The ground form has a different flavor, which is most commonly used in sweet desserts.
Storage
Fresh ginger can be stored in the refrigerator for up tp three weeks if it is left unpeeled and up to six months if store it in the freezer.
Dried ginger powder should be kept in a tightly sealed glass container in a cool, dark and dry place.
Alternatively, it can be stored in the fridge where its shelf life is extended till 1 year.
