5 Easy Mooli Recipes to Use Daikon White Radish

Mooli, or daikon, is a radish that can be eaten raw or cooked and used in many dishes. This vegetable is widely consumed in Asia, from stews, salads, and soups to curry and dim sum. 

Mooli is a mild-flavoured vegetable that has a sweet and crisp taste. The suggested portion size is 50-100 grams per person. Below are some of our favourite mooli recipes for cooking daikon radish at home.

You’ll often find this sturdy vegetable in surplus during the colder months. It is often called white radish in English. The term stems from South East Asia. The term is synonymous with white radish due to Britain's historical ties with the region.

In Japan, this type of radish is called daikon (大根), meaning 'big root'. In China, white radish is known as bailuobo (白萝卜). It is the main ingredient in the dim sum dish turnip cake. Other names include oriental radish, winter radish, lobak, and waemu.

Jump to:

• Fried White Radish Balls
• Fried Daikon Balls Recipe (White Radish)
• Pickled Daikon Radish Salad
• Braised Potatoes And Mooli Recipe
• Pan-Seared Daikon And Japanese Curry
• White Radish And Tofu Soup
• Where Is Daikon Radish From?
• Health Benefits Of Mooli

Fried White Radish Balls

These white radish meatballs are great for a starter with hot chilli or sriracha sauce. We love eating them with sweet chilli sauce. 

You can also serve these with soy sauce as a main with steamed rice or add them to a vegetable soup.

You can add minced pork or beef to the mixture and use chicken stock powder instead of vegetable stock. If you have more time to prepare, use fresh ginger, garlic, and onion instead of dehydrated powder. This provides a brighter and more vivid taste to the overall dish. In addition, add chilli flakes for a flavour punch.

Pickled Daikon Radish Salad

There are many versions of white radish salads. The most popular mooli salad recipes come from Japan and Korea. Pickled radish salads are great during the hot summer season. You can serve them as a starter or a refreshing snack. Similarly, make a larger portion to go alongside grilled meats and serve it as a main.

To make a simple Vietnamese pickled carrot and daikon radish salad, peel and chop the two carrots and one medium-sized daikon.

1. Place the carrots and daikon radishes in a large bowl. Sprinkle with 2 teaspoons of sugar and 1 teaspoon of salt. Using your hands, toss the carrots and daikon with the salt and sugar until well coated.
2. Transfer the chopped vegetables into a large colander, rinse with cool water and drain well.
3. Mix 2 teaspoons of sugar, 1 cup of white vinegar, and 1 cup of warm water in another bowl. Mix until the sugar dissolves.
4. Finally, pour the vinegar mixture over the carrots and daikon in a jar and ensure the mixture covers the vegetables. Make sure to pack the chopped daikon and carrots tightly into the jars. Seal and refrigerate the jar. Let the pickles sit overnight for a better flavour. The cold Vietnamese dish of pickled salad should last 4 to 6 weeks in the refrigerator.

Braised Potatoes And Mooli Recipe

This is a good warming meal for cold, rainy days. For extra protein, add pork or lean beef to the recipe.

1. Heat a medium-size pot over medium heat and add a tablespoon of oil. Add chopped green onion and 1 teaspoon ginger. Let this cook for a minute.
2. Add 2 teaspoons of doubanjiang (spicy fermented bean paste) and diced mooli radish. Stir to mix well.
3. Add 2 cups of vegetable stocks, soy sauce (1 tbsp), sugar (1 tbsp), and a pinch of five-spice powder. Cook over medium-high heat until brought to a boil. Turn to medium-low heat. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Add salt to taste.
4. Serve with steamed rice or by itself.

Pan-Seared Daikon And Japanese Curry

Our recipe is based on another dish we tried in a small cafe in Hokkaido, Japan. The caramelised daikon makes it naturally sweet and does not need any added sugar. The cafe's owners serve traditional homemade Japanese food to commuters. This is an easy recipe for a quick meal at home.

For this dish, you'll need daikon, potatoes, carrots, onions, and your favourite Japanese curry roux. We like to use S&B Golden Katsu Curry Sauce Mix, but you can use a milder or hotter curry roux if you like. You can find Japanese curry roux in most supermarkets and a larger variety in Asian grocery stores.

1. Start off by chopping the daikon, carrots, and potatoes into medium-sized cubes. About 1-1.5 cm on all sides. Cook the oriental radish with oil in a large saucepan on medium heat. Cook each side for 2-3 minutes or until light brown and set aside for later. This is to caramelise the surface of the daikon to make it turn out sweet.
2. In the same saucepan, stir-fry the sliced onions with oil on medium heat for approximately 5 minutes or until brown and wilted. Add the potatoes and carrots.
3. Add water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until ingredients are tender for approximately 15 minutes.
4. Turn the heat off, break S & B Golden Curry Mix into pieces and add them to the saucepan. Stir the mixture until all the curry roux pieces completely dissolve. Simmer for at least 5 minutes, stirring constantly. The longer you simmer, the better. The umami of the ingredients will be released over time, making the curry much nicer.

White Radish And Tofu Soup

Make a delicious, soul-warming soup with winter vegetables! To start, dice the peeled radish and semi-firm tofu. Secondly, add 3 cups of water and 1 cup of vegetable stock to a pot. Thirdly, add half an onion, 3 slices of ginger, and a stalk of green onion. Let this simmer for 10 minutes before adding the daikon and tofu. After the radish turns translucent, serve the soup with spring onions.

Where Is Daikon Radish From?

The oriental radish, along with peas and onions, is one of the oldest vegetables on earth. People in ancient China called the vegetable hail burst or purple flower tincture. During a famine, Emperor Hanyang (132D-168AD) asked his people to grow the winter vegetable. Zhuge Liang (181AD-234AD) enlisted soldiers on military expeditions to grow the crop.

Although the vegetable is native to Asia, it is cultivated in various places and can be grown in the UK. This type of daikon takes up to 70 days to grow to a foot long. There are many varieties, such as green radishes, white radishes, and water radishes. The root can be eaten and is one of the main vegetables in China.

Health Benefits Of Mooli

White daikon radish has many nutritional values. The winter radish has a very high water content, about 94%. It is low in calories and has high levels of dietary fibre, calcium, phosphorus, iron, potassium, vitamin C and folic acid.

Daikon is a" natural digestive agent." It contains various digestive enzymes that can break down starch and fat in food, promote digestion, relieve chest tightness, and inhibit hyperacidity. It helps stomach peristalsis, promotes metabolism, and also detoxifies. This digestive enzyme is not resistant to heat, so white radish is suitable to eat raw.

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