Oshinko: What is it? Taste and Easy Sushi Roll Recipe to Try

Oshinko is a Japanese pickle made using daikon radishes and is often eaten wrapped in a sushi roll. It is a well-known staple dish in Japan because it is very easy to eat and effortless to recreate at home. 

Oshinko is slightly sour and mildly salty because of the pickling vinegar. This sweet-salty taste makes pickled vegetables in sushi so good when paired with sushi rice.

Here's our recipe to make oshinko at home and put it into a sushi roll.

Jump to:

• How To Make Oshinko
• Oshinko Roll Ingredients
• Oshinko Roll Recipe | Easy Japanese Pickled Radish Sushi
• Cooking Tips
• Storing
• Uses
• What Does Oshinko Taste Like?
• Oshinko Or Tsukemono
• Takuan Vs Oshinko

How To Make Oshinko

Oshinko are Japanese pickled vegetables that sushi masters make using daikon radishes. They will also add turmeric or food colouring to brighten it up.

To make oshinko, you need 450 grams (one pound) of daikon radishes. First, peel the radishes into thin strips and place them in a jar with two tablespoons of vinegar and one tablespoon of salt.

You can also add a third of a teaspoon of sugar. Then, seal the jar and place it in the refrigerator for two to three days. You can ferment in the jar for a more robust flavour for two to three weeks.

Oshinko Roll Ingredients

Here are the oshinko roll ingredients: yellow daikon radish, sushi rice, and seaweed sheets.

Yellow Daikon

For our recipe, you can follow our homemade pickled daikon recipe or use store-bought daikon.

To prepare your daikon, you must pat dry the vegetable to remove any excess moisture from the fermentation.  If you're not buying ready-made pickled vegetables, follow our recipe above to make your own pickled yellow daikon.

Sushi rice

Be sure to find Japanese short-grain rice to achieve the sticky, chewy texture you want in sushi rice. We recommend using a rice cooker to make your sushi rice for beginners.

Cooking Tips

Here are some cooking tips for making fermented yellow daikon at home and using it in a sushi roll.

How to prepare yellow daikon for oshinko roll

First, pat dry to remove excess moisture. Then, slice it into half and cut off the round part to get an almost rectangular shape. Then, cut these into thick strips. We like to fold a nori sheet in half and use it to guide how big or small each strip should be.

Using egg instead of nori

If you do not want to use nori seaweed, you can also try using omelettes for the exterior of your sushi rolls. However, this would also mean that your rolls will come out less firm.

Different pickled vegetables

The benefit of making your own pickled vegetables is that you can choose the variety you want. Instead of daikon, you can use other vegetables, such as cucumber or cabbage. Both of these are popular alternatives.

Adding spice

If you don't like store-bought oshinko, you can also choose the seasoning you want. In addition to vinegar, those who like spicy food can add chillies and turmeric. It's also fresher, as you can control when you buy the ingredients.

Storing

After washing and cutting up your daikon radish, you can soak it in the jar and cover it with the lid before placing it in the fridge. It's ready to eat once you've stored it for at least two days, but you can keep it in the refrigerator for up to a month.

This is a healthy ingredient that you can use for many different things. We love to buy store-bought packets as they are convenient to keep in the fridge when we want to eat.

Uses

Daikon radish can be used as a single filling in a roll, usually called an oshinko maki. This sushi roll has rice and daikon wrapped in seaweed and sectioned into bite-sized pieces. Similarly, it could also be something to put in a masago gunkan. 

These Japanese pickles wrapped in sushi rice and seaweed are a refreshing vegan snack or main meal. 

However, note that it's not gluten-free, so you should avoid it if you are allergic to gluten.

What Does Oshinko Taste Like?

The daikon radish itself tastes sweet and mild before it is pickled. Compared to other types of radishes, its taste is less overpowering. The texture of the daikon is softer when you bite into it, and when cooked, it tastes almost like potatoes.

A similar vegetarian ingredient in sushi is kanpyo, a bunch of dried strips of gourds. Chefs sometimes season kanpyo with sugar or salt before including it in a sushi roll. Furthermore, it has a satisfying snap when you take a bite, and you can try using it if you are looking for alternatives to mushy eggs or shrimp. 

It is also an excellent option for vegan sushi, something a little different from Kappa roll. 

Apart from making an oshinko roll, you can also find daikon radish as a standalone side dish. While many Japanese eat it as a side dish after having some savoury meat since it helps cleanse the palate, you can also add it to other dishes. They also add fermented rice malt to create a type of Tsukemono (pickled side dish) known as bettarazuke.

An oshinko sushi typically only has daikon radishes, but you may use other pickled vegetables. In addition, you might include other ingredients, such as eggs or shrimp. 

Oshinko Or Tsukemono

Oshinko refers to daikon radishes pickled for a short time in vinegar, while Tsukemono can refer to many different types of Japanese pickles. 

Tsukemono translates to "pickled thing," a broad category of Japanese pickles which might be fermented. Therefore, the main differences are the ingredients, time, and processes used to pick them.

Chefs like to pickle many types of food, from vegetables to seafood such as fish or fish roe. They soak some of these foods long to bring out the ingredient's flavour.

Takuan Vs Oshinko

Oshinko is usually pickled with vinegar for a few days or 2-3 weeks, while Takuan is fermented for months.

While both use daikon radishes, the Japanese usually only make takuan once a year due to its lengthy process. The radish needs to be pickled first in salt, then fermented in more salt and rice bran for two to three months. The resulting colour is a yellowish tinge and a deliciously concentrated sourness.

Oshinko is low in calories but very high in fibre. The vegetable also contains Vitamin C, which helps build a healthy immune system.

Additionally, the pickling process releases several beneficial enzymes that help with digestion. This pickled vegetable has a refreshing flavour and is very versatile. It makes an easy-to-go snack or even a quick meal.

Try our recipe and tag us on social media @honestfoodtalks when you get rolling. We would love to see your final work! Don't forget to give us a follow too.