What is Daikon?

 
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Daikon (pronounced “dye-kon”) translates to “big root” in Japanese. It is also commonly called white radish, Japanese radish, Oriental radish, Chinese radish, and winter radish in American supermarkets. Raw Daikon radish is sweet and mildly spicy, with a crunch and juicy body. It is less peppery than other types of radishes. Cooking Daikon enhances its sweetness, and its flavor transforms into a more mellow and tender root. 

Some other interesting varieties of Daikon include Watermelon Radishes—an heirloom variety of Daikon known for its bright colors, Miyashige White Daikon, Alpine Radish,  and KN-Bravo Daikon. According to Japan Times, the Daikon root became widely cultivated in Japan during the early Muromachi Period (1392-1573). The tender young leaves of the plant have been included as one of the nanakusa, the seven herbs traditionally eaten in rice porridge in January to wish for health and longevity during the year. 

While the culinary name “Daikon” comes from its use in Japanese cuisine, the root vegetable is actually enjoyed throughout Asia in many regional varieties. The lobak variety is often eaten as radish cakes in Chinese, Malaysian, and Indonesian cuisine. In Korean cuisine, the mu variety is often eaten as fermented in kimchi or pickled. Daikon is also called chai tow, most known through the popular street dish “chai tow kway,” in Singapore, Thailand, and Taiwan. Finally, the radish is also referred to as  mooli in South Asian cuisine, lo pue in Hmong cuisine, labanos in Filipino cuisine, and cu-cai trang in Vietnamese cuisine. This radish spans many Asian cultures in such a beautiful variety of forms.

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Daikon Benefits

Daikon is a low-calorie density but nutritionally-packed vegetable. The following nutritional details about Daikon are taken from Half Your Plate, a cross-sector network aimed at increasing healthy produce consumption in Canada. One serving of Daikon has a very high Vitamin C content, with 124% of an individual’s Recommended Daily Intake (RDI), and very high in potassium, with 767 mg per serving. It is packed with magnesium (22% RDI), copper (19% RDI), iron (10% RDI), calcium (8% RDI), and Vitamin B6 (6% RDI). 

1 serving = 338 g (1 radish)

  • Boosts immune system (from Vitamin C)

  • Alleviate stress (from Vitamin C)

  • Improves bone health - (from calcium and magnesium)

  • Help manage blood pressure (from potassium and magnesium)

  • Boost muscle and nerve function (from potassium magnesium)

  • Promotes cardiovascular health and circulation (from copper and iron)

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Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has four uses for food: diet, medicine, tonic, and abstention to maintain a balanced flow of qi, or life energy, through the body. Foods are either cold, hot, or neutral in nature, which is based on the food’s effect on the body internally. Implementing eating habits based on TCM can help prevent illness, thwart pain, and achieve longevity and overall health in the body. 


In TCM, Daikon has two major uses: (1) reduces food stagnation and (2) reduces phlegm. According to Ping Ming Health, an ancient traditional Chinese herbal book from the Tang dynasty called Tang ben cao states “white radishes taste sweet and spicy, have cooling characteristics and acts more on the digestive channels. It helps to digest food quicker and move the food down the intestines, so it can help with indigestion and avoid food stagnation.” Daikon can help relieve sluggish bowel movements, indigestion, burping, bloating, chronic cough, and heavy white phlegm. Biomedical experiments have shown that these benefits may come from the antimicrobial properties as well as the presence of digestive enzymes diastase, amylase, and esterase—similar to those found in the human digestive tract, which help break down fat and starch. Eat a side of Daikon with fatty and fried foods, and your stomach will thank you later!

 
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