Before I start, I want to thank you for subscribing/re-subscribing to my new email newsletter. I’m really happy to see a lot of you are already resubscribing! Thank you so much and it means a lot to me. I take your privacy very seriously so don’t worry about SPAM, and I hope you continue to enjoy the newsletters. For today’s recipe, I prepared a very refreshing Daikon Salad because it’s been a while since I’ve shared a Japanese-style salad. Daikon Salad is a popular Japanese salad menu at traditional Japanese restaurants and Izakaya, and I hope you enjoy making this easy salad at home.
Daikon is mild-flavored, very large, white Japanese radish, and it’s often used as garnishing for sashimi or grated and served with Agedashi Tofu or Tempura. For this salad, I shredded daikon into long thin strips so that it gives a nice crunchy texture while you eat. Daikon is widely available at Asian markets and sometimes even in Western supermarkets in the US. To pick a good daikon, just make sure the inside looks juicy and not dry. If you are also able to get organic daikon, I highly recommend it since the flavor is much better than regular ones. As for the salad dressing, I combined my favorite sesame ponzu vinaigrette and umeboshi. Ponzu is a citrus-based soy sauce and it’s used as a dip for Shabu Shabu and sashimi, or used as a dressing. Umeboshi is a salted pickled Japanese ume (plums). They are a common ingredient for Onigiri (rice ball) and you might have also seen a single umeboshi placed in the center of the rice inside a bento (Japanese lunchbox). The salty-sour flavor from umeboshi adds a nice kick to the dressing. If you cannot find umeboshi, don’t worry, this sesame ponzu vinaigrette for the recipe is still very delicious. With this recipe, I’m guest posting at my blogger friend Charle’s Five Euro Food. You might remember Charles, who’s English and currently living in France, shared his delectable Flambéed Pear Purses with Caramel Sauce and Ganâche on Just One Cookbook last December when I was in Taiwan. I hope you will stop by his wonderful site. Have a wonderful week ahead!
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