Japanese Culture in New York - Chopsticks NY

Boiled Daikon Radish with Simmered Beef Sauce by Shuichi Wada

Eating simmering boiled dishes during the ice-cold winter in Japan is nothing but bliss. People eat boiled dishes such as oden, nabe, and sukiyaki to help keep warm, and daikon radish is one of the most frequently used vegetables in these dishes.  This month, Mr. Shuichi Wada, executive chef of Choshi introduces his original dish, Boiled Daikon Radish with Simmered Beef Sauce.  “It’s a combination of the winter dishes Furofuki Daikon and Sukiyaki.  I make sukiyaki-inspired, thick, flavored beef sauce and put it on top of the boiled daikon radish with plain seasoning,” says Chef Wada.  The daikon radish absorbs the delicate dashi broth well and combines with the meaty sauce to create a mild harmony in your mouth.  This dish makes you warm and full on a cold winter night.

Choshi
77 Irving Pl. (at 19th St.), New York, NY 10003
TEL: 212-420-1419

Ingredients (Serves 1 person)
3-4-inch-long daikon radish (about 4 inch width)
2 tablespoons katakuri-ko (starch)
[Boiling broth]
1 oz. dashi broth
1 tablespoon usukuchi soy sauce
1 tablespoon mirin
1 tablespoon cooking sake
[Meat sauce]
40oz thinly sliced beef
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/4 onion     1 tablespoon mirin
1 tablespoon cooking sake
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoon soy sauce
Green onion to garnish

*katakuri-ko is a starch made of arrow root or potato.  You can find it in Japanese grocery stores.  Corn starch can be used as a substitute.

Steps

1.  Skin daikon radish and cut into two pieces.  Cut away an edge of  daikon radish as shown.

2.  Put daikon in pot and add cold water until it covers daikon. Add katakuri-ko and boil for about half an hour.

3.  Take out boiled daikon and wash its slimy surfice in running water.
4.  Put daikon into broth mixture and boil for another half hour.
5.  Put vegetable oil in heated pan and stir-fry sliced onion and beef.  Add green onion at end.
6.  Mix mirin, sake, sugar, and soy sauce to make meat sauce.  Add to stir-fried meat and vegetables and then simmer.

7.  Cut boiled daikon into 4 pieces, place in bowl, and spread meat sauce over daikon.