I’ve been doing lots of fermenting lately and I’ll be sharing recipes on my site over the coming weeks…But in the meantime, you can read up on why it’s so good for you here. Fermented daikon is one of my favourite ferments. Daikon is a big white radish often found grated raw on Japanese meals; you can find them at Asian grocers, but I’ve also seen them at big supermarkets, too.
This ferment is an easy one to kick off with if you’re wanting to give fermenting a try. It has a bunch of bonuses: it uses an unsexy (and cheap) vegetable; it’s super simple to make (it doesn’t require too much pounding; other veggies can require a lot!); is pretty foolproof; and is super tangy.
homemade fermented daikon
- 1.5kg of daikon
- 2 tablespoons of sea salt
- 4 tablespoons of whey (here’s my directions for making whey; if you don’t have any, use an extra tablespoon of salt)
Grate the daikon (I use a blender with a grater attachment for speed and ease). Make sure you don’t use any “woody” bits…they make the pickle, well, wooden. Combine with the whey and salt in a bowl and pound gently with a wooden device (a meat hammer or a pestle) to release the juice. Place in a small mason jar and press down with the hammer so the juices rise to the surface. DON’T fill to brim because it will expand. I learned this the hard way. Leave at room temperature for a few days (2-3, less if warm weather), then refrigerate. The ferment gets better with age!
* rolled up with some nori sheets, with avocado and salmon and spinach leaves with a little homemade mayonaisse.
* tossed through any kind of salad. It provides a lovely tang.
* as condiment with pretty much any meat dish.
* tossed through any kind of Asian stir-fry.
You’ll find a stack of fermenting recipes in my new print book, I Quit Sugar For Life – available for pre-order here (order now and get the I Quit Sugar Chocolate Cookbook FREE!).
Here’s 22 tips and tricks on fermenting.
If you’re keen to ferment other veggies, go here.
Here’s my recipe for ginger-ade soda.
If you’d like to make cream cheese, here’s my homemade recipe. It’s also the recipe for making the whey.
And here’s five other things to do with whey.
The I Quit Sugar team and I will be at a fermenting workshop on February 15 and we’ll be reporting back on fermented drinks, so stay tuned! Come join us if you’re free this weekend in Sydney!
