Takuan
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![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/35/Takuan.jpg/270px-Takuan.jpg)
Takuan (Japanese:
History
[edit]In Japan, famous Buddhist monk Takuan Sōhō (1573–1645) is popularly credited with creating this yellow pickle, which now bears his name.[3]
Usage
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9f/%E6%9C%9D%E9%A3%9F_2017_%2836074680054%29.jpg/220px-%E6%9C%9D%E9%A3%9F_2017_%2836074680054%29.jpg)
Usually, takuan is washed with water to remove excess brine 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 tuna] and takuan).
In Korea
[edit]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
[edit]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 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.{{Citation needed|date=August 2024}
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
[edit]-
Sliced takuan
See also
[edit]- Nukazuke – Japanese pickle made by fermenting vegetables in rice bran
- Pickled radish – Radish dish served with Korean fried chicken
- List of foods named after people
- List of pickled foods
References
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- ^ Sula, Mike (22 January 2009). "Omnivorous: Black Noodles and Other Delights". Chicago Reader. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
- ^ Surh, Jeonghee; Kim, Young-Kyung Lee; Kwon, Hoonjeong (2008). "Korean Fermented Foods: Kimchi and Doenjang". In Farnworth, Edward R. (ed.). Handbook of Fermented Functional Foods (Second ed.). Boca Raton: CRC Press. p. 336. ISBN 978-1-4200-5326-5.
- ^ Nagamura, Kit. "All at sea in Shinagawa". The Japan Times Online. October 5, 2007. Accessed July 11, 2011.
External links
[edit]- Tokyo Central Pickle Co., Ltd. (in Japanese) History of Takuan and Its Varieties.