lørdag den 17. marts 2012

daikon flowers


when i was younger i didn't like daikon much, but as with many other childhood dislikes i think of this humble root vegetable differently now. it's wonderful in kimchi, soup, braised... but i haven't been able to enjoy the leaves here. they're not available in any store, as far as i know. luckily i got the idea to save the tops from a japanese kitchen video (which i unfortunately can't find now) where the lady of the house saves the tops from her carrots and radishes. all she does is put them a plate with some water.



i tried it with a daikon top leftover from a kimchi-making party i held last week. i left it in a sunny windowsill and made sure there was always water in the plate and it grew like... well, a weed! all it needs is to have a little bit of leaves on top already. whenever i make kimchi with my friends, i can use anywhere from 2-10 daikon radishes. i'm glad that now i won't waste the tops and i get daikon leaves and flowers out of it. possible uses? salad, sandwich, pickled (in kimchi!), stir-fried, soup, or in vegan sushi.

6 kommentarer:

Iwalk sagde ...

What a great idea! + It's such a beautiful decoration for one's kitchen!
I did not like daikon while in Europe. However, here in Japan it is so common that I had to start liking it. ^^ Now it is one of my favorite vegetables for a banchan. I don't know whether you marinate daikon, it tastes really good then+becomes more tender.
Cut daikon into 4-5mm triangles, add some salt, sugar, black pepper and any other spices (if you add some turmeric, daikon will become yellow), put into a big bowl, mix well and keep overnight. :p

Simone sagde ...

Great idea! And yes, it does sort of look like a weed. I wonder about the taste of the leaves. Are they a little spicy? I'd love to give it a try, because I love greens. Btw, really nice blog, Mina :)

BavarianSojourn sagde ...

OMG I love this.... Definitely something I am going to try with the kids! Emma :)

Mary sagde ...

Holy cow, what a great idea! (Runs off to cut the tops off of stuff). Pretty. :)

Geoffrey sagde ...

Great idea! I have a moo top growing on my desk as we speak! :)

Iwalk sagde ...

Now I keep growing carrots this way. It's quite an original idea and my kitchen is more green. :)