Sweet & tangy pickled daikon radish recipe with a crisp crunch! Quick & easy to make and requires no heat, just a refrigerator!
I recently went to Korean BBQ with the family and was reminded of how fond I was of these sweet and crunch pickled daikon radishes. I like them so much, I like to hoard the ‘all you can eat’ banchan (little Korean side dishes) they serve, the pickled daikon radishes ones in particular. I mean who goes to Korean BBQ to eat pickles? Me apparently.
There’s something so satisfying about snacking on crispy sweet and sour veggies. My fridge is so full with jars of pickles and condiments, I honestly wonder how I ever have room for anything else in there.
Pickles are not limited to just snacking though, I find them very versatile.
Here are a few ways I like to use them:
- add them to sandwiches
- chop them up and add them to green salads or noodles as a topping
- chop them up add them to creamy salads (potato salads, tuna salads etc) to break up the heaviness.
- eat them as is!
Recipe that makes use of these sweet pickles:
I must warn you though, whenever you open a container of daikon radish raw or cooked it will smell strong, almost fart-like 😛 Once you crack open the container the smell dissipates, but just be warned if you are going to open a jar around guests! 🙂
INGREDIENTS
For this pickled daikon recipe, you can buy most of the ingredients in your local grocery store. If you cannot find daikon radishes in your local grocery store, you can find them at an Asian grocery store. Make sure you pick out very firm daikon radishes when you are shopping for them. The firmer and less bendy it is, the more fresh it is.
Optional: Garlic and Red Chillis. If you like garlicky pickles smash a clove and put it in! If you like spicy pickles add a few chillis in! I left them whole but you can slice them up as well for a more even distribution.
Tip #1: Add a slice of beet for pink coloured pickles! A little beet goes a long way, a small slice of it will be more than enough.
Tip #2: Add carrots in and you have yourself the traditional pickled daikon carrot pickles they use in Banh Mi! 🙂
PUTTING IT TOGETHER
Pickle Shapes & Sizes
The general rule of thumb is, the thinner you cut your ingredients the faster it will pickle. However, if you plan to keep it overnight anyways then it doesn’t really matter how fast it pickles!
I like to cut my daikon into long rectangular shapes partially because of versatility. You can always go from large to small but you can’t go backwards. With the rectangular shape, I can choose to cut them into thin slivers for sandwiches or cute them up into maybe icubes for salads and if I choose to just eat them straight out of the jar a thicker rectangular cut has a bit more crunch to it.
Salting The Daikon To Remove The Bitterness
I have noticed that depending on how fresh the daikon is, you might produce bitter daikon pickles. The more soft and bendy (not fresh) daikon you use, the more bitter your pickles will turn out.
To work around this, since not everyone can control how fresh their daikons are, I have added a salting step to draw out the bitter water out of the daikon before we start pickling it. This extra step is definitely worth it and will give us perfect pickles every time.
How Long Can You Store These Pickled Daikon Radishes?
They can be stored for about 2 months, but they taste best within a month.
Time to get our crunch on!
Quick and Easy Pickled Daikon Radish
Ingredients
- 1 small daikon radish
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 clove garlic (Optional)
- 1-2 birdseye chili (Optional)
Vinegar Brine
- 1/2 cup white vinegar (or rice vinegar)
- 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons hot water
- 1/2 cup sugar
Instructions
Preparing the Daikon Radish
- Wash and peel the daikon radish
- Cut the daikon radish to the shape you prefer. (thin match sticks, thick sticks or cubes). and put it in a large bowl.
- Add 1 tablespoon of salt and massage it into the freshly cut radish. Let the radish sit for 15 minutes while it draws out the bitter water.
- Once 15 minutes is up, rinse the daikon well with cold water and set aside
Making the Brine
- In a separate bowl, mix together all the ingredients under the 'Vinegar Brine' and set aside. Taste the vinegar solution to see if it is sweet or tart enough for your preference.
- (Optional) Peel and smash 1 clove of garlic to flatten it and release the juices and put it in the brine
Putting it Together
- Add the daikon radish into glass jars and cover with vinegar brine until the daikon is fully submerged in it. If you want it garlicky or spicy, add in the optional smashed garlic and whole chili peppers into the jars as well.
- Seal well and let it sit in the fridge for a minimum of 2 hours but preferably 24 hours.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- Add a slice of beet for pink coloured pickles! A little beet goes a long way, a small slice of it will be more than enough.
- You can also add carrots in addition to the daikon radish to this recipe as well.
- If you need more pickle juice, double the pickle juice portion of the recipe
- You can store these for up to 2 months, but they taste best within a month
Nutrition
All calories and info are based on a third party calculator and are only an estimate. Actual nutritional info will vary with brands used, your measuring methods, portion sizes and more.
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Yushan says
Omg this is so so good!! I made it and put it including my fridge for 48 hours, then took it out and ate it, it’s tastes so good! I feel like they taste is fully fermented in the radish because I cut the slices small. Omg this is definitely a recipe I would want to teach my kids as well!! Thank you!!
Just a quick question, after all the radishes are eaten, can i re-use the juice, and just slice more fresh radishes and put it in the same juice and continue using the juice from before? Around how many times can I re-use the juice?
Joyce Lee says
Hi Yushan!
I’m so happy you enjoyed it! I hope your kids have fun with it! I definitely have a lot of fun with it! 😊
Hmm…That is a good question! I probably wouldn’t re-use the juice for another batch of radishes just to be on the safe side. Only because once you put in a vegetable, the salt and vinegar draws out the vegetable moisture out of it and it waters down the brine slightly.
Aurial says
mine came out pretty good but still bitter. Any suggestions?
Joyce says
Hi Aurial!
I am so happy you tried this and enjoyed it!
As for the bitterness, I would probably let in sit in the salt for longer next time. I find that the salt draws out a lot of the liquid out of the turnips which has all the bitter flavor. So the longer you let it sit with the salt on it, the more it will draw out. Make sure to also massage the salt into the turnip in the beginning so that the salt is on every surface area. Oh! and make sure to rinse the salt out well once you have soaked it so that the pickles aren’t super salty – you want the pickles to be on the sweeter side.
Hope that helps! 🙂
Joyce
Veronica says
Thanks for sharing! I love the daikon radish and I want to try your recipe, I dont want to add sugar in the brine (I have a diabetic person in my family). Does the recipe work without sugar?
Joyce says
Hi Veronica!
This recipe might be a bit strong without the sugar to balance out the strong acidic flavor from the vinegar and it might not be very tasty. If you do decide to try it without the sugar, add a teaspoon of salt to the vinegar and dilute the brine a little water but keep it mind the pickle will be very sour. 🙁 Wish I could help more!
JUdy says
Keep in mind how many servings this is and you will find that per serving, there may actually be very little sugar. Most diabetics can take a little as long as it is balanced out with a full meal
Tyffanie says
Thanks for sharing! I just made some with my first ever daikon radish. How long do these last in the refrigerator??
Joyce says
Hi Tyffanie!
I’m always happy to share!
You should be able to store these in the fridge for up 2 months, but they taste best within a month. 🙂 Just a heads up, they are very smelly and pungent when you open the jar up! 😀 haha
Hope you like them!
Joyce
Shannon @loveatfirstbento says
I just love all the little details you delve into for each post/recipe – it’s so helpful and illuminating, and really makes me feel like I can make the recipe with ease! I also love pickles – will have to try them on top of noodle dishes, like you suggested, as I’ve never thought of that before. I also like the idea of adding in some garlic, I bet that’s uber delicious!
Can’t wait to try this one out! It’ll make for a great addition to my bento boxes 🙂
PS: I tried subscribing via your subscribe box in the sidebar, and it kept saying I had an invalid email 🙁 I’m going to try subscribing through the comment now, but just thought I’d let you know.
Joyce says
Ahh I’m so happy you enjoy the recipes! 🙂 I enjoy sharing it, especially the tidbits where I screw up so people don’t go down that path haha 🙂
Your bentos are so cute! Hope they you like them! 🙂
Thanks for letting me know about the subscribe box. I took a look at it, hopefully it’s back to normal now.
Shannon @loveatfirstbento says
No problem Joyce! Keep up the fantastic work 😀
And thank you so much! I’ll let you know if I ever post a picture of a bento with your yummy pickles in it 😉
heather (delicious not gorgeous) says
ahh i love quick pickles!!! they’re so tasty, and i love them with everything or nothing (sometimes i munch on them plain). normally i make mine w plain white vinegar, because it’s a bit more acidic (aka i get to eat pickles faster!), but rice vinegar pickles sound delicious too :3
Joyce says
Same here! I already finished my batch! Just munching on it while watching tv haha!