Takuan (; also spelled takuwan), or takuan-zuke (沢庵漬け; 'pickled takuan'), known as danmuji (단무지) in the context of Korean cuisine,
History
In Japan, famous Buddhist monk Takuan Sōhō (1573–1645) is popularly credited with creating this yellow pickle, which now bears his name.
[Nagamura, Kit. "All at sea in Shinagawa". The Japan Times Online. October 5, 2007. Accessed July 11, 2011.]
Usage
Usually,
takuan is washed with water to remove excess
Brining and then sliced thinly before serving. It is eaten as a
side dish during meals, and eaten as a
snack at
teatime. Strip-cut
takuan is often used for Japanese
bento. Traditional
takuan—using daikon radish that has been
sun-dried and then pickled in a
rice bran bed—is sometimes
stir-fried or
braised when getting older and sour. Some
sushi rolls use strip-cut
takuan for ingredients, e.g.
shinkomaki (
takuan only) and
torotaku-maki (
maguro fatty and
takuan).
In Korea
Takuan is called
danmuji (단무지) in Korea.
Danmuji is a common
banchan (side dish) served with
bunsik (light meal or snack), as well as with Korean Chinese dishes.
Production
In the traditional process of making
takuan, the first step is to hang a daikon radish in the sun for a few weeks by the leaves until it becomes
dehydrated and flexible. Next, the daikon is placed in a
pickling crock and covered with a mixture of
Edible salt, rice
bran, optionally
sugar, daikon greens,
kombu, and perhaps
chilli pepper and/or dried
persimmon peels. A weight is then placed on top of the crock, and the daikon is allowed to pickle for several months. The finished
takuan is usually yellow in color and quite pungent.
Most mass-produced takuan uses salt or syrup to reduce the dehydration time, and artificial color to enhance the appearance.
Iburi-gakko (lit. 'smoked takuan') is eaten in Akita Prefecture in the North. It is smoked rather than sun-dried before pickling.
Gallery
File:Takuan by -puamelia-.jpg|Sliced
File:Takuan by Heroic Beer near Eiheiji, Fukui.jpg|Whole
File:Tsuruga 20240608104455 (53900062167).jpg|Katsudon with takuan
File:Zippys Zip Pac.jpg|Bento with takuan
File:塩むすび 2016 (29498749770).jpg|Onigiri with takuan
File:汁 (24850835907).jpg|Rice and miso soup with takuan
See also
External links
