Ingredients
Daikon
- 4daikon with their leaves attached, if possible
Bran cure
- 500 grice bran
- 120 gcoarse non-iodised salt
- 80 gsugar
- 1 piecekombu, cut in strips
- 2dried chillies
- 2 tbspdried persimmon peel, or 1 tsp turmeric, for colour
Equipment
- a crock or deep tub
- a weight twice the daikon’s weight
Directions
- Hang the daikon by their leaves somewhere cool and airy for one to two weeks, until they are limp enough to bend into a U without snapping. This drying is the whole foundation: a fresh daikon put straight into bran turns to mush.
- Mix the bran with the salt, sugar, kombu, chilli and persimmon peel or turmeric — the colour of a traditional takuan comes from dried persimmon skins, not from dye.
- Spread a layer of the bran mixture in the bottom of the crock, lay in the dried daikon curled around the sides, and pack more bran mixture into every gap and over the top.
- Fold the leaves over the top, add a final layer of bran, then set a plate and a weight of about twice the daikon’s weight on it.
- Within a week liquid should rise above the level of the vegetables. If it does not, the daikon was not dry enough or the weight is too light — add more weight rather than more water.
- Keep it somewhere cool and leave it two months at minimum, longer for a stronger pickle. Check occasionally that everything is still submerged.
- Lift out a daikon, brush off the bran, rinse and slice thin.
- It keeps in the crock for months and grows steadily sharper and more yellow.
Technique
- Dry the daikon until it bends. Every failed takuan skipped this.
- The weight must be roughly double the vegetable weight. Under-weighted, liquid never covers and the top goes mouldy.
- The yellow is persimmon peel or turmeric, not saffron and not artificial colour — the shocking yellow of supermarket takuan is dye.
Substitutions
- Turmeric for persimmon peel, which colours similarly.
- A dehydrator or a warm airy room in place of hanging, if the weather is damp.
Variations
- Iburigakko from Akita smokes the daikon over a hearth before curing it.
- A quick version pickles fresh daikon in sweetened vinegar and is ready in a day — pleasant, but not takuan.
History
Named for the Zen priest Takuan Soho, said to have served it to the shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu.
Frequently asked questions
What is Takuan?
Takuan is a fermented & pickled from Japan: whole daikon dried then cured in rice bran and salt; bright yellow. Named for the Zen priest Takuan Soho, said to have served it to the shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu.
How long does Takuan take to make?
Takuan takes 40 min plus 2 weeks drying and 2 months curing of preparation and no cooking at all. The recipe makes makes 4 pickled daikon. It is rated medium to make.
What can I substitute in Takuan?
Yes, within limits. Turmeric for persimmon peel, which colours similarly. A dehydrator or a warm airy room in place of hanging, if the weather is damp.
What is the most important thing to get right in Takuan?
Hang the daikon by their leaves somewhere cool and airy for one to two weeks, until they are limp enough to bend into a U without snapping. This drying is the whole foundation: a fresh daikon put straight into bran turns to mush.
