An unusual kind of radish is daikon radish. Enjoying great success in the countries of Asia, he gained popularity in Europe. This root crop has a pleasant sharp aftertaste, grows up to half a meter in length and has a mass of about half a kilogram. Both the vegetable itself and its young leaves are consumed. Unlike radish, its Chinese counterpart has a less pungent taste, and daikon salad is just an overeating.
The pulp and root juice are rich in ascorbic acid and B vitamins. The vegetable also contains soluble compounds of potassium, calcium, iron, copper, sulfur, phosphorus and cellulose fiber. In the leaves of daikon, calcium and vitamin C are even greater than in its lower part. Due to its unique chemical composition, the plant has found application in medicine: it is used as a means of calming and stabilizing the psyche.
Traditional healers believe that if you use daikon salad a couple of times a week, then it is possible to significantly reduce the likelihood of cancer, since the vegetable contains isorodanic acid ester, a complex compound used to prevent the development of malignant tumors.
Fresh pulp of the root crop has an antiseptic effect, and it is used for the manufacture of disinfecting masks with severe acne.
Daikon is often present in various national recipes. It is added to salads, marinated in vinegar, served with fried fish, sashimi, natto as a side dish. Chinese radish is a great addition to the delicacies of squid or octopus, meat and shiitake mushrooms. Fresh daikon salads are best served with fatty meat dishes. The juice of the plant causes the secretion of bile, which facilitates the digestion of heavy meat food. In its pure form, drinking it is not very pleasant, so it is better to make a cocktail with orange or apple juice.
Daikon is in demand due to low calorie content - only 20 kcal per 100 g of root crop. Therefore, the plant is recommended to be used as dietary food.
Thus, for those who like Japanese and Chinese cuisine, radish daikon will be an excellent solution.
Salad Recipes
For cooking, you will need 400 g of root vegetables, 4 tablespoons of vinegar from rice, 100 g of fresh cucumbers, a spoon of sugar, two tablespoons of sake and one - salt. It is necessary to wash, peel and cut into cucumber and daikon translucent rings and salt. The resulting ingredients must be left in a cool place for 10 minutes, then rinse and wait for the liquid to drain. Then sugar, vinegar, sake are mixed and the previously prepared mixture is added. After half an hour, the chilled oriental daikon salad can be served.
A vegetable dish more familiar to a Russian person is prepared as follows.
Take 400 g of daikon, 50 grams of fat-free sour cream, 350 g of tomatoes, dill and salt to taste. Daikon is cleaned and chopped with thin slices of arbitrary shape. Then salt and a little sour cream are added, everything is mixed and laid out in an even layer in a salad bowl. Washed tomatoes are cut into thin rings and stacked over the daikon. Everything is salted again, the remaining sour cream is added and leveled. Daikon salad is decorated with dill branches on top. Served chilled.
And another vitamin recipe.
You need 300 g of Chinese root vegetables, 100 g of ripe apples, 150 g of sweet carrots, 70 grams of low-fat sour cream, a small bunch of fresh dill, 3-5 feathers of green onions. Daikon needs to be cleaned, washed, crushed with a blender or grated on a coarse grater. Released fluid must be drained. Carrots are cooked in the same way. Apples should be peeled, cored and chopped into cubes. All components are combined, seasoned with sour cream and mixed. Decorated greens ready salad put on the table.