Editor’s note: The theme of Gohan Lab is to help people make simple, tasty “gohan” (meals).

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Simmered daikon radish that has fully absorbed the flavor takes a certain amount of time to prepare, and cooking only a small portion may not work well. This time, only 3 centimeters of the daikon will be used to make a braised dish in a frying pan.

When cooking the daikon, some recipes tell you to parboil it in water that has been used to rinse rice to remove the distinctive bitterness. But due to the cultivar improvement of daikon, most are only slightly bitter or pungent nowadays.

And as the daikon becomes sweeter especially in the cold season, parboiling in water used to rinse rice is unnecessary. This time, the daikon will be “pre-steamed.”

Steaming is a specialty of Katsuhiko Yoshida, a chef of Chinese cuisine.

“It does not reduce the nutrition or flavor of the daikon,” he says.

Even if you do not have a steamer, you may improvise with a frying pan with a lid, a plate and aluminum foil.

Choose thicker pork slices meant for “shogayaki” (dish of pork slices in sweet ginger sauce) as they will add umami to the braising sauce and retain the flavor in the meat as well.

It takes about 15 minutes to cook the dish. The flavor will seep in further if left for a while.

It is a perfect dish to make when you have a bit leftover from the daikon that was used in another dish.

Use different parts for suitable purposes

The flavor of the daikon differs depending on the parts.

According to Ryoko Ouchi of the agricultural cooperative in Miura, Kanagawa Prefecture, it tastes more pungent toward the tip. Since it grows deep in the soil, the daikon protects itself by giving off the pungency to keep harmful insects at bay.

The tip is suited for use in miso soup or grated as piquant relish.
The part near the leaves that is not underground is firmer in texture. It is sweet and suits mild-tasting grated radish or sauteed dishes. The part in the middle that has the best of both sides suits any dish.

Ouchi recommends seasoning the daikon with soy sauce and garlic, then dusting with katakuriko starch and deep-frying.

“It turns out nice and crumbly,” she says.

The leaves that contain vitamins and minerals can be chopped and mixed with cooked rice. They should be cut off promptly as they will cause the daikon itself to lose water if left attached.

BASIC COOKING METHOD

(Supervised by Katsuhiko Yoshida in the cooking aspect and Midori Kasai in the cookery science aspect)

* Ingredients and cooking utensils (Serves two)

3 cm of daikon radish, 3 pork slices (170 grams) for “shogayaki” (shoulder or other parts), 2 stalks thin “wakegi” or “aonegi” green onion, 1/2 tsp black pepper, sake, soy sauce, 1 tsp katakuriko starch, 2 tsp sugar, 1 Tbsp oil

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1. Cut daikon into round 1.5-cm-thick slices. Peel and cut into four equal parts. Cover round plate with aluminum foil and poke holes with bamboo skewer. Pour water to about 2 cm deep in frying pan and place plate inside. Turn on to high heat.

Lay daikon pieces (PHOTO A). Place lid. When water comes to a boil, lower to medium heat and steam for 7 minutes (PHOTO B). Cut wakegi into 3-cm-long pieces.

2. Cut pork into 3-cm-wide pieces. Place in bowl, add 1 tsp each of sake and soy sauce, some black pepper and mix by hand. Add 1 tsp katakuriko starch and mix.

3. Pour oil in frying pan, place on medium heat and stir-fry pork. When color of pork is half changed, add 100 ml water and turn up to high heat. When liquid comes to a boil, add daikon, lower to medium heat, and add wakegi, 2 Tbsp sake, 2 tsp sugar and 1 Tbsp soy sauce (PHOTO C). Boil down for about 2 minutes while mixing gently with spatula.

Katsuhiko Yoshida is the owner-chef of Jeeten, a restaurant in Tokyo’s Yoyogi-Uehara district offering Chinese home cooking.

Midori Kasai is a professor at Ochanomizu University and chairwoman of the Japan Society of Cookery Science.

ARRANGED VERSION

Use oyster sauce to make a Chinese-inspired dish. Steam 3 cm of daikon as in the case of the pork version.

Cut 160 grams chicken into bite-size pieces and mix with 1 tsp each of sake and soy sauce, 1/2 tsp each of black pepper and katakuriko starch.

Cut a head of “komatsuna” leaves into 4-cm-long pieces and immerse in water. Pour 1 Tbsp oil in frying pan and sautee chicken. Add 150 ml water and when it comes to a boil, add daikon.

Then add drained komatsuna, 2 Tbsp sake, 1/2 Tbsp soy sauce, 1 tsp sugar, 1 Tbsp oyster sauce and simmer until the chicken is cooked.

COOKERY SCIENCE

When the vegetable is boiled, the cells break and the flavor, smell and nutritional components dissolve out. In particular, vitamin C found amply in daikon and other vegetables is soluble in water, and multiple experiments have confirmed that about 50 percent will be lost if boiled.

For vegetables with less harshness in their taste, the flavor and nutrition may be retained better if they are steamed instead of boiled.

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From The Asahi Shimbun’s Gohan Lab column