I’m no vegan and never will be, but many of my friends are!

Now, daikon, or Japanese radish, has become a universal vegetable and recipes to accommodate it are innumerable!
The Japanese, especially in winter, have a very interesting way to cook it and serve it with a miso-based sauce, which even me, a meat eater, just can keep my fingers away from: furofuki daikon!
It si served in many restaurants from modest ones to very expensive establishments who keep their recipes secret, although there is very little to hide!

Here is a basic recipe that will allow you plenty of leeway.
bear in mind that this the basic recipe. I will leave precise proportions to your skills and priorities!

INGREDIENTS:

Daikon
Rice: a few grams
Konbu/seaweed
Irigoma/ground sesame seeds
Daikon leaves

Sauce:
White miso
Red miso
Mirin
sake
Sugar
Konbu Dashi/Seaweed soupstock

RECIPE:

Cut the daikon into round slices about 4~5 cm thick.

Peel the daikon slices.
Do not throw the peeled skin away. You can cut it fine and use it in many recipes such kinpira!

Cut away the sharp edges. This will prevent the daikon to break into pieces during the cooking!

Make a cross shallow cut on both sides. There are many reasons for doin this!

Fill a large pot with enough water to cover the daikon. Add konbu/seweed. drop the daikon in water.
Let simmer over a light fire for about an hour or until the daikon ha become soft. If daikon emerge because of insufficient water, add hot wter (cold would stop the cooking!) so as to cover the daikon.

Adding rice to the daikon (form the start) will sweeten it and also help whiten it.

While the daikon is simmering prepare the sauce with white miso, red miso, mirin, sugar, sake and konbu dashi soup stock.
This is when your taste preferences can be taken into account!

Cook all the ingredients together in pan stirring all the time with wooden spoon.
Cook until you obtain a thick paste.

Serve the daikon topped with sauce and sprinkled with ground sesame (irigoma). sesame seeds can be served whole, too, naturally!
Serve it together with its steamed leaves!

It can served hot in winter or cold in summer!
Enjoy!

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

Shop with Intent by Debbie
BULA KANA in Fiji
Kraemer’s Culinary blog by Frank Kraemer in New York,Tokyo Food File by Robbie Swinnerton, Green Tea Club by Satoshi Nihonyanagi in Shizuoka!, Mind Some by Tina in Taiwan, Le Manger by Camille Oger (French), The Indian Tourist, Masala Herb by Helene Dsouza in Goa, India, Mummy I Can Cook! by Shu Han in London, Pierre.Cuisine, Francescannotwrite, My White Kitchen, Foodhoe, Chucks Eats, Things that Fizz & Stuff, Five Euro Food by Charles,Red Shallot Kitchen by Priscilla,With a Glass, Nami | Just One Cookbook, Peach Farm Studio, Clumsyfingers by Xethia, PepperBento, Hapabento, Kitchen Cow, Lunch In A Box, Susan at Arkonlite, Vegan Lunch Box; Tokyo Tom Baker, Daily Food Porn/Osaka, Only Nature Food Porn, Happy Little Bento, J-Mama’s Kitchen, Cook, Eat, Play, Repeat, Bento Lunch Blog (German), Adventures In Bento, Anna The Red’s Bento Factory, Ohayo Bento,

Must-see tasting websites:

-Sake: Tokyo Through The Drinking Glass, Tokyo Foodcast, Urban Sake, Sake World
-Wine: Palate To Pen, Warren Bobrow, Cellar Tours, Ancient Fire Wines Blog
-Beer: Another Pint, Please!, Beering In Good Mind: All about Craft Beer in Kansai by Nevitt Reagan!
-Whisky: Nonjatta: All about whisky in Japan by Stefan Van Eycken
-Japanese Pottery to enjoy your favourite drinks: Yellin Yakimono Gallery

Non gastronomy must-see sites by Shizuoka Residents

HIGHOCTANE/HAIOKU by Nick Itoh in Shizuoka City