Preserved Turnip / Daikon Radish

In the language of Asian packaging, "Turnip" actually means Daikon Radish. Sometimes there is even further confusion with Mustard Greens. Preserved Radish is sold in two forms, Greens and Roots. Both forms are used in stir-fries.

Preserved Turnip Greens / Chung Choy


Preserved Radish Leaves These preserved greens are not pickled, just dried with a whole lot of salt. They need to be rinsed well before use. Some of my older cookbooks mention them packaged in two forms, flat leaves or leaves rolled into a ball, both in plastic bags. I haven't seen the ball form around here, it may have gone out of style, a relic of the days before plastic bags. In any case, if the recipe calls for "a ball of chung choy", those balls weighed about 1-1/2 ounces each.

Salted "Turnip" is popular in stir-fries, giving them a unique and almost smoky flavor. It is generally chopped fine and added near the end of cooking.

This form is extremely salty and needs to be rinsed well before use. Kept tightly sealed in a cool dry place this form will keep indefinitely at room temperature. Ingredients: "Turnip", salt, water. Actually the package the photo sample came in said "Mustard", but the main title says "Turnip" (mustard greens are generally pickled).

Dried Salted Turnip / Daikon


Preserved Daikon

In East Asian packaging the word "Turnip" actually means "Daikon Radish". This form has a different shape from the well known carrot shaped Daikon, and is the whole plant with the greens topped and lesser roots trimmed off. It's been simply preserved in salt, lots of salt, and it needs a good soaking before use.

Because they are so heavily salted, these Daikons may be kept for months at room temperature so long as they are in a tightly sealed container so they neither dry out nor absorb moisture. The photo specimen, purchased from a larg Asian market in Los Angeles (San Gabriel), was 14 inches long and weighed 2-1/4 pounds. Ingredients: "Turnip", Salt, Metabisulphate preservative.

Daikon Roots


Preserved Radish In this form it's much more obvious that "Turnip" means "Daikon Radish". The photo specimens were packaged as whole roots but more commonly they are packaged as cut strips. A somewhat shorter, stubbier variety than the long carrot shaped Japanese daikon is used. This is a salt fermented pickle which is soft and flexible but retains quite a bit of crunchiness. Once the vac-pac plastic bag is opened, it should be kept tightly sealed and refrigerated, where it will keep for many months. Ingredients: "Turnip", salt, water.

Pickled Daikon


White and Yellow Pickled Daikon [Takuan (Japan); Danmuji (Korea)]

This product is very popular in Japan and Korea as a side dish. In Japan and California it is also used in sushi rolls. The Japanese also have a white daikon pickled in sake with koji culture still in it.

Takuan is, of course, far better tasting and more nutritious when naturally salt fermented, but just about all you can buy around here is factory made, faked up with vinegar and salt. The real Japanese product is a yellowish color, so factory versions are dyed with food coloring - most often an absolutely hideous fluorescent yellow only an Asian could love.

The photo specimens were made in Korea, 12-1/2 inches long and weighing 1-1/2 pounds each. The ingredients were Radish, Water, Salt, Vinegar, MSG, Citric Acid, Saccharin, Sodium Bisulphite, and for the yellow version FD&C Red #40. Why they sweetened with saccharin instead of sugar is totally beyond me, but these radishes did have that distinctive saccharine aftertaste.

More on Preserved and Pickled Cabbages.

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