Imagine this. You are at a restaurant waiting for your meal. When it arrives, the server lays out a couple of regular condiments with it. You reach for them, but the oil and the spices stop you halfway through. Enter, pickled radish recipe. It is the perfect blend of health, taste, and goodness that you can incorporate into literally any dish.
The pickled radish recipe is the one to last for all seasons. Tangy, spicy, and healthy, this recipe is a delightful way to celebrate the vegetable in its glory.
It is a popular dish in Japanese, Korean, and other Asian inspired dishes. As radishes are a great source of folate, Vitamin C, fiber, and calcium, pickles are a great way to include them in one’s regular diet to reap maximum health benefits.
Usually, radishes are used as garnishes in salads and some wraps. While the vegetable always brings in a hit of health, it’s saddening that other ingredients usually overshadow its unique flavor. This pickled radish recipe ensures this doesn’t happen anymore. It celebrates the root of its zest, flavor, body, and nutrients.
As a key ingredient in Asian inspired cuisine, pickled radishes add the much needed peppery sweetness and fiber to the dish. Usually, daikon radishes are considered to be the ideal choice for pickling. This is because pickling brings out the inherent sweetness and mild peppery flavor of the daikon.
The pickled radish recipe is quite simple to follow. It involved washing and scrubbing the root before peeling and chopping it into one-inch cubes. These are then placed in boiling water or got pickling mix until they are soft and flavourful.
While most recipes recommend chopping the radish into one-inch cubes, there are variants on the chopping style. For example, several Japanese recipes recommend grating daikon radishes or chopping them into evenly sized matchsticks. This helps the vegetable soak into the pickling liquid for a longer time.
Enough about the taste though, what is in it for you health-wise? For starters, when fruits and vegetables are fermented, they give birth to good bacteria. The good bacteria break down the natural sugar and lend a sour taste to the pickle.
These good bacteria, also known as probiotics, have a tremendous impact on digestive health. While radishes are hailed and glorified for their health benefits, it is a lesser-known fact that pickling them almost enhances some of these benefits.
Various methods are used to pickle radishes. Most of these depend on the type of consumption and the dish.
Regular Pickled Radish: This is the most common version. Daikon radishes are cut into equal-sized cubes and pickled for everyday consumption. The taste is the usual sour with a hint of sweetness from the daikon.
Spicy Mix: This one is usually crafted for those who love a hit of spice on the side. Regular red radishes are mixed with a lot of crushed dry red chilies and pickling liquid.
Fresh Pick: For those who cannot wait for the pickle to rest for a couple of weeks and the flavor to develop, this one’s for you. Pick any radish of your choice and use a good quality vinegar to speed up the process. Your pickled radish is ready by dinner time!
The Cousin Mix: Carrots and radishes are cousins. Well, not really, but we’d like to believe that. Combine the pepperiness of the radish with the sweetness of the carrots for a mind-blowing pickle.
Sweet Tooth: Radishes are rarely used in desserts, but if that idea doesn’t sit well with you, start by adding some sugar/stevia to your pickling liquid and try a sweet pickled radish.
Healthy Bite: Commercially prepared Korean pickled radishes may contain yellow dye. Adding turmeric gives it the same color and adds oodles of health.
While you may find one or another pickled radish recipe, our favorite one is fast, easy, and oh, so delicious!
This one includes rice vinegar for the punch and honey for the sweetness with a promise of health. While white vinegar is the preferred type, rice vinegar goes well with the honey and adds more depth to the pickle. This version also helps save a lot of time since the pickling liquid is not hot. It’s quick to work in this way, and the radish is still crunchy when you indulge.
While the pickle’s flavor may be mild, one can always add whole peppercorns and other heat spices. Should you choose to spice it up, pair these with mild dishes such as salad wraps and sandwiches.
On the other hand, the cooling, sweeter version of this pickle is best paired with hot wings, fried chicken, and spicy tacos. It works as a refreshing coolant after the spice hit from the meat.
Ingredients
For this recipe, you will need:
- 1 clove garlic (peeled and chopped)
- 1 bunch of radishes (any type)
- 1/2 cup rice vinegar
- 1/2 cup cold water
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon honey
Instructions
- Place garlic halves into a clean one-pint canning jar. Thinly slice radishes and pack on top of garlic in a jar.
- Add rice vinegar, water, salt, and honey to a 2-cup glass measuring pitcher. Whisk until kosher salt and honey dissolves.
- Pour vinegar mixture over radishes in the jar, leaving a little room at the top. Cover and refrigerate.
- Pickled radishes will be ready to eat in about 24 hours. Keep refrigerated and enjoy for up to one month.
Notes
- In just 24 hours, these pickled radishes will be ready to eat. Enjoy them for up to one month.
- Note that the pickling liquid will turn light red, and the radish flavor will get stronger with time.
- For a spicy kick, add 1/2 to 1 teaspoon crushed black peppercorns or a fresh chile pepper split lengthwise (don’t forget to wear gloves when slicing fresh chile peppers!).
Nutrition
- Calories: 8kcal
- Carbohydrates: 1g
- Sodium: 583mg
- Potassium: 9mg
- Sugar: 1g
- Vitamin C: 0.7mg
- Calcium: 1mg
*The recipe is sourced from here.
If you’d like to watch a step-by-step procedure for this pickled radish recipe, there is a youtube video for it.
As you can see, this one is healthy, quick, and extremely easy to whip up. It may be most ideal to consume such pickles within a couple of months. If you prefer relishing the flavor of the radish, it must be eaten immediately. The longer you leave it in the refrigerator, the more you allow the sour flavor to take over the radish.
Radishes can go above and beyond salads and wraps if we are willing to experiment and give unique recipes a shot. If you do not feel too adventurous, try adding pickled radishes in kimchi. This will help your taste buds acquaint with the unique flavor of pickled radish. You can start adding these to other dishes moving forward.
It gets boring to consume vegetables in the same old way all the time. This is one reason why radishes keep sitting at stores because there’s only so much that one can include in meals every day. This version guarantees unique flavors with a promise of health. Are you willing to try it out?
References
- N’jai AU, Kemp MQ, Metzger BT, et al. Spanish black radish (Raphanus sativus L. Var. niger) diet enhances clearance of DMBA and diminishes toxic effects on bone marrow progenitor cells.
- Nutr Cancer. 2012;64(7):1038-48. doi:10.1080/01635581.2012.714831
