10 Ways To Cook Radish

Radish is one of the most overlooked vegetables in grocery stores. In fact, because of how people hardly buy it in stores, it is hardly in sales. Well, it shouldn’t be so. Everyone should have a taste of the beautiful root vegetable that is radish.

Radishes can be cooked in several ways other than eating them raw. With every unique method of cooking, radish comes to an exciting and flavorful adventure. After reading this article, you may want to give the radishes in your garden different below. Here are ten different ways to cook radish in the comfort of your home.

1- Boiling Radish

The recipe given below will provide you with a soft and tender feel of radish. It also gets rid of the acidic taste of raw radishes and leaves a more delicious taste. This makes boiling one of my favorite ways to cook radish.

Ingredients

• 10 pieces of radish
• 4 cups of water
• 1 slice of ginger
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• ½ teaspoon of white ground pepper

Procedure

• Wash radish with lukewarm water. Cut into square chunks or any shape of your size.
•  Place the cut radish in a pot and add water, ginger, salt, and ground white pepper.
• Stir the content of the pot, cover it, and allow to cook using medium heat. 15-30 minutes is enough time to cook radish by boiling. You can taste or stab with a fork at intervals to know when it’s properly cooked.
• Serve hot and with diced scallion, if it’s available.

2- Steaming Radish

Steaming is a great way to cook radish without stress. It involves a few ingredients that are always available and accessible in the kitchen of your home. Steamed radish is sweet, tender, and soft.

Ingredients

• 10 radishes
• 4 cups of water
• 1 cup of butter

Procedure

• The best way to steam radish is to get rid of the skin. But you can also steam with the skin if that is what you prefer.
• Cut the radishes into chunks and put them in a pot.
• Add water, cover the pot, and cook using medium heat.
• Cook radish for 8-10 minutes until it is soft.

Sieve out water after it is well cooked and toss in butter. Serve and enjoy.

3- Baking Radish

This is one of my favorite ways of preparing radish. Baking radish results in radish cake, and it doesn’t really need an oven. It is a very healthy dessert for the festive season.

Ingredients

• 10g of dried Shrimps
• 20g of Sausage
• 10g of Mushroom
• 2 cups of mushroom water
• 5g of Scallops
• 10 pieces of Radish
• ¼ cup of Rice flour
• 1 tablespoon of Wheat flour or cornstarch
• 2 tablespoon of olive oil
• 1 tablespoon of salt and ground white pepper

Procedure

• Soak your dried scallops, shrimps, and mushroom independently before cooking. This is done to remove dirt from them. (Keep the mushroom water for later use and throw the others away.)
• Sausages should also be soaked in hot water before use for 8-10 minutes.
• Dice it afterward into fine rings.

• Fry the sausages, scallops, shrimps, and mushrooms in a frying pan using olive oil under low heat until they all give off an aromatic scent.
• Peel the radish and wash, then Cut whole radishes into chunks and cook using the mushroom water.
• Cook radish for 10-15 minutes until it’s soft.

• Add the pan-fried scallops, mushroom, and shrimps to the cooked radish and stir. Allow to combine for a few minutes and set aside.
• In a dry bowl, add rice flour and wheat starch and mix.
• Add salt, sugar, ground white pepper, and olive oil to it. Mix them properly to combine.

• Add mushroom water to the combined mix and stir until the mixture is smooth.
• Add the rice flour mixture to the radish mixture and mix.
• Grease the surface of the steaming container and pour the final mixture into it. Cover the steam container with an aluminum foil, and steam the turnip over medium heat.
• Allow to steam for an hour. When it’s ready, cut it into various shapes of your choice and pan fry each before serving.

4- Grilling Radish

Grilled radishes are as good as any other grilled food. It also makes a healthy addition to your family’s thanksgiving dish. It can be paired nicely with grilled chicken breast and a tall glass of sparkling wine.

Ingredients

• 1 bunch of radish
• 1 garlic clove
• 1½ tablespoon of butter
• 1/3 tablespoon of salt
• ½ tablespoon of ground pepper

Procedure

• The grill should be preheated.
• Cut radish into sizeable slices, minced garlic, and cut butter into small pieces.
• Place sliced radish, minced garlic, and diced butter in an aluminum foil and wrap properly. Add salt and pepper to foil contents before sealing the foil.
• Place foil on the grill and allow it to cook for 20-25 minutes. Serve while hot.

5- Pickling Radish

Apart from pickling being a great way to prepare radish, it is also perfect for storage. Pickling gets rid of radish’s pungent taste and leaves you with a sweet, slightly sour, and flavorful taste.  With pickling, radish can be stored for 2-3 weeks in the refrigerator. Pickled radish can also be added to a salad to spice things up.

Ingredients

• One cup of vinegar
• 1 bunch of radish
• 1 cup of water
• 2 teaspoon of salt
• 2 tablespoon of sugar (or less depending on your taste)
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 tablespoon peppercorns

Procedure

• Wash radish thoroughly with warm water. Make sure it is properly cleansed because the skin is pickled alongside.
• Cut radishes into thin round slices and set aside.
• Get a saucepan and pour one cup of vinegar.
• Add a cup of water into the mixture.
• Add two teaspoons of salt, two tablespoons of sugar, one tablespoon of peppercorn, and one cinnamon stick into the mixture above.
• Put on the gas and place the saucepan mixture on the gas and let it boil.
• After switching off the gas and let it cool off.
• Use your knife to slice your radishes evenly.
• Get a jar, pour the radishes, and add the mixture in the saucepan into it. Till all the radishes are submerged, add the cinnamon stick for flavor.
• Cover it up with the lid tightly and place it in your fridge.

6- Sautéing Radish

Sautéed radish might just be the perfect side dish that you need for your meals. It gets rid of the bitter taste of raw radish that will leave you wanting more.

Ingredients

• ½ tablespoon of butter
• 10 pieces of radish
• ½ tablespoon of salt
• ½ tablespoon of ground white pepper

Procedure

• Melt butter in a pan.
• Cut radish into pieces and place in melted butter over medium heat.
• Add salt and white pepper for taste.

• Turn radish pieces periodically until both sides are brown. Do so for 10minutes until the radish is soft.

7- Stir-Frying Radish

Radish greens are known to be bitter vegetables, but it becomes delicious when combined with the roots in this stir fry recipe.

Ingredients

• 10 pieces of radish
• ½ tablespoon of soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons of honey
• ½ cup of chicken stock
• 1 teaspoon of salt and ground white pepper
• 1 garlic clove (minced)
• 1 teaspoon of minced ginger
• 1 bunch of scallions
• ½ cup of cilantro
• 1 cup of water
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• ½ tablespoon of cornstarch

Procedures

• Separate the leaves on the radish and set them aside. Wash leaves and radish thoroughly with clean water.
• Cut radish into sizable chunks. Chop the vegetable into fine slices too.
• To a medium-sized bowl, add soy sauce, honey, chicken stock, and a tablespoon of water.
• Heat your skillet over high heat and grease with oil.
• Add garlic and ginger to the skillet until they are fragrant.
• Add scallion whites and stir fry for 30 seconds.
• Add radish greens, salt, white pepper, and fry for 2 minutes.

• Add radishes and stir fry for 3 minutes. Add soy sauce mixture next and stir for another 2 minutes.
• Lastly, add scallion greens, cilantro, and cornstarch slurry until the vegetables are wilted. Leave for a minute or two and serve hot.

8- Roasting Radish

Roasting radishes might be all you need to have a change of mind concerning radish. It is crunchy, tasty, and sweet. It can be eaten as brunch alongside chicken or used as a daily healthy snack.

Ingredients

• 2 bunch of radishes
• 3 tablespoon of olive oil
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1 tablespoon of Salt
• ½ tablespoon of Pepper

Procedure

• Cut the radishes into halves and drizzle with oil.
• Mash the garlic and add it to oil-coated radish.
• Sprinkle with salt and pepper
• Place the radishes faced down in a roasting pan.
• Roast for 12 minutes and remove after it is done
• Mix all the ingredient well to coat it

9- Braising Radish

Braising of radish is also very tasty. The butter included in the recipe gives radish braised radish a buttery taste that everyone should try.

Ingredients

• 1 bunch of radishes
• 2 tablespoon of butter
• Chicken or beef stock or just thyme
• 1 diced shallot
• ½ teaspoon of salt
• 1 teaspoon of ground white pepper
• Chicken or beef stock (optional)

Procedure

• Remove all leaves atop the radish root and preserve them. Wash radishes in warm water and then cut into desirable sizes.
• Add the tablespoon of butter to a pot using medium heat. After it has melted a bit, add the diced shallots and chicken sauce. Stir until it is well mixed and cook for 2-3 minutes until shallots are soft.
• Add radishes, salt, and pepper to the mixture and stir again—Cook for 10 minutes.
• Use a sieve spoon to remove radish from the mix, and set aside. Add butter and salt to the remaining mixture in a pot and allow to cook. When it’s ready, pour over the radish and serve.

10- Radish in soup

Radish soups are very medicinal. They cleanse the digestive system and aid digestion. The recipe below is enough to keep you coming back for more.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• 10 pieces of radishes
• 1 chopped medium-sized onion
• 1 cup of low-fat milk
• ½ teaspoon of ground white pepper
• ¼ cup of low-fat cream
• ½ tablespoon of chopped radish greens

Procedure

• Heat oil in a skillet over high heat until it’s completely dried.
• Add 8 radishes and sliced onion and stir continuously until onions are brown. Do this for 4 minutes.
• Add low-fat milk, salt, and pepper to the content of the skillet. Stir and allow to boil for five minutes.
• Remove skillet from heat and pour content into a bowl. Allow to cool down before transferring contents into a food processor for blending.
• The remaining 2 pieces of radish should be sliced into thin slices and placed on soup. Serve each plate with 1 tablespoon of cream and a sprinkle of radish greens.

Do You Peel Radishes Before Cooking?

Cooking has always been about individual preference. Some people prefer spicy food, while others prefer less spicy food. The same goes for radish and its skin.

Peeling the skin of your radish depends on your preference as an individual. The unpeeled radish is aesthetically pleasing because of radish luscious color, and that is why some people would prefer it. Peeled radish, on the other hand, is either white or yellow and looks boring.

One thing everyone should note is that the skin has little or no nutritive value. All the nutrients are in the white part. So, you don’t really miss out on anything if you decide to peel the skin. However, if you love spicy food, and you aim to gain that from radish? Then, you might want to consider cooking radish with the skin.

The spiciness of radish is greater in its skin than in any other part of the root vegetable. Hence, peeling the skin will leave you with a radish of mild flavor. Your preference should be based on the flavor you intend on getting from the radish.

People have to know before using unpeeled radish that it must be washed properly with lukewarm water. Washing removes all the dirt on it, whether bought in the grocery store or gotten straight from the garden.

Are Radishes Better Cooked Or Raw?

Again, the form in which radish is eaten depends on individual preference and also your first experience. If the first time you ate radish was in its raw form, then you are more likely to stick with it. My first encounter with radish was roasted, and that is what has stuck with me to date. But, even before, I had seen people eating raw radishes a lot, and it astounded me.

The popular notion about radish is that it can only be eaten raw. For a very long time, people ate it raw, and it just stuck. The truth is radishes can be cooked and enjoyed as much as the raw form.

So, what happens when radish gets cooked? It becomes more flavorful and juicy. The slightly bitter taste of raw radish is lost by cooking it. Therefore making it more tolerable for people that aren’t a fan of the bitter taste.

Radishes can be sliced into thin pieces and added into vegetable salads to provide an extra spicy flavor. If you are looking for a quick snack for brunch, raw radish is the healthy way to go.

What Does Cooked Radish Taste Like?

The misconception that radishes taste like potatoes needs to be eradicated. Radishes look like potatoes but do not taste like potatoes at all. Potatoes are sweeter than radish in its entirety.

Raw radish has an aggressive taste. But cooking radish makes the taste more tolerable. The taste of raw radishes gives people a terrible impression about it, especially when they have heard that it tastes like potatoes.

Well, cooking radishes take away most of the bitter taste and leaves you with a spicy, juicy, and less bitter taste.

Can radish greens be cooked?

Radish greens are not poisonous. They are as edible as any other vegetable in the grocery store. Most times, people tend to throw away the leaves attached to their radish roots because they have no use for them. Well, if you have been doing it, you should have a rethink of your action.

Yes! Radish greens can be cooked the same way you cook the roots. Most chefs have even tagged radish greens as the best part of the whole plant. The flavor of radish greens depends largely on the variety of radish. While most of them are slightly bitter, they still taste flavorful in salads. How you can cook radish greens may include;

• Radish greens can be used in the preparation of a spicy radish pesto.
• Side dishes can also be made from radish leaves. By sautéing them in a little oil and garlic spice, you get an awesome healthy side dish for your meal.
• Radish leaf soup is another great way to go with radish greens.
• Pickling radish greens is another way to cook radish. It is also another way to store the leaves for later use.

One thing you should note about radish green is that it does not stay fresh for long. I think this is another reason it is being tossed away. If people don’t chew it raw, they just throw it away when it gets wilted.

To prevent radish greens from being wilted after harvest, detach them from the roots immediately after harvest. After which, you wash them with cold water and store them in a cool, dry place with other vegetables.

Conclusion

Radish is a wholesome vegetable that has everything nutritious going for it. To not eat radish or radish greens is to miss out on its wholesomeness. Apart from the flavor and spice that radish adds to your dishes, radishes have also been implicated in having several health benefits.

Some of these health benefits include protecting liver function, preventing diabetes, contains antioxidants, a powerhouse of potassium and other nutrients, protects the heart, detoxifying, aids digestion, weight loss, maintains blood pressure, and so on.

The health benefits listed above should give you a rethink even if you haven’t fancied radish before. Trust me; you get to enjoy radish better when you cook it. So, Go ahead and try one of the methods of cooking listed in the first section. By trying one of them, you have a lot to gain and nothing to lose.

I would advise that you try roasted radishes first. It gives a fun and crunchy feel to the mouth and can even be snacked on. Also, remember that the greens atop the radish root can also serve purposes in your dishes. Starting today, cook radish and stay healthy.