Obaachan's Takuan (Lucy's Grandmother's Pickled White Radish)

Post date: Nov 21, 2011 1:52:11 AM

(Reproduced from Generation to Generation: A Family Cookbook, Orange County Buddhist Church, 1984, page 155)

10 lbs. daikon

3/4 C. salt

1 C. white vinegar

1 C. sake

4 C. sugar

1 T. salt

Wash daikon. Dry for about two days until daikon is limp. Cut into bite-size pieces. Place in a large enamel pan; cover with 3/4 cup salt. Let daikon stand for two days with a heavy weight set on top of daikon. Do not add water. Drain for several hours until dry to the touch. Pack loosely into quart jars.

Combine remaining ingredients in a saucepan; cook until sugar is dissolved. Pour hot liquid over daikon, seal jars tightly and store in a cool place. Light yellow color should appear in about a week. The takuan is then ready to eat. Refrigerate after opening jar.

Notes:

I remember during the summers of my childhood that my mother would dry tons of white daikon radish on dishwasher racks lined up on our driveway under the clothesline. My mother would tell us she learned how to make "daikon tsukemono" from my grandmother--my father's mother. I am grateful to be able to salvage Obaachan's recipe from the 1984 edition of the OCBC cookbook as it does not appear in the 2008 edition. According to the 1984 OCBC cookbook, "Mrs. Mine Ito or 'Ito no Obachan' used this recipe to make takuan for our church to sell. She grew the daikon and made the takuan herself. She made 2,400 quart jars every year for over 10 years."