Salted Daikon Salad (Shio Momi Daikon)

Salted Daikon Salad (Shio Momi Daikon) is almost like the preparation stage of daikon before it becomes part of a more complex dish. You only need daikon and salt, and it takes about 15 minutes, including 10 minutes of sweating time.

Because of the extreme simplicity, you can truly enjoy the raw daikon flavour. It is comforting, healthy, and rich in vitamin C.

I used to eat Shio Momi Daikon when I was living in Japan, but I had completely forgot about this simple dish until my younger sister came to Sydney with her family recently.

On a couple of evenings, we decided to eat at home instead of dining out. My sister helped me gather food from the fridge to put together dishes to nibble on with drinks. Shio Momi Daikon was one of them, and I was delighted that she made it. Now I can share the recipe.

Just like most home cooks, my sister didn’t have a written recipe. The amount of salt was guesswork, and she adjusted the saltiness at the end. So, I had to work out the ideal percentage for this dish.

Although I named today’s dish a salad, the Japanese name, Shio Momi Daikon (塩揉み大根) or ‘daikon no shio momi‘ (大根の塩揉み) does not suggest that it is a salad. The word ‘shio momi’ (塩揉み) means ‘massaging with salt’.

In Japan, it is actually categorised as pickles. My sister called it “daikon no otsukemono”, meaning pickled daikon.

But here in Australia, most pickles are preserved in liquid such as brine or vinegar, and I certainly imagine pickles in a jar with liquid inside. So I thought it might make more sense to call it a salad.

What’s in my Salted Daikon Salad (Shio Momi Daikon)

You will be surprised to learn how simple it is.

• Daikon (white radish)
• Daikon leaves
• Salt
• Lemon zests as garnish (optional).

Most shops sell daikon without leaves, unfortunately. But some vegetable shops and Asian grocery stores do sell daikon with leaves attached. Even if the leaves are cut off half way, that’s fine since I mostly use the stem part of the leaves.

If you can’t get daikon leaves, you can use white radish sprouts, snow pea sprouts, mitsuba, or a small amount of finely chopped green onions instead. If you are using one of these substitutes, add it after the daikon is wilted.

How to make Salted Daikon Salad (Shio Momi Daikon)

1. Cut daikon into about 3mm/⅛” wide 5cm/2″ long batons.
2. Chop the daikon leaves into 3-5mm pieces (more stem part than leaves).
3. Put the daikon pieces, including the leaves, in a bowl. Add salt and mix well.
4. Leave for 10 minutes, then squeeze water out of the daikon.

The daikon pieces will wilt even with a small amount of salt. After squeezing the water, taste the piece and add more salt if necessary. But be careful not to add too much salt – you can always drizzle some soy sauce over the daikon when eating, if you feel it needs a bit more seasoning.

Salted Daikon Salad (Shio Momi Daikon) can be served not only as a salad but also as an ingredient for other dishes such as Kōhaku Namasu and stir-fries. There are countless ways to use it.

Salted Daikon Salad (Shio Momi Daikon) is a refreshing, simple salad that goes well with almost any dishes. It keeps for several days in the fridge.

Yumiko

5 from 2 votes

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Salted Daikon Salad (Shio Momi Daikon)

Prep Time

5 mins

Wilting time

10 mins

Total Time

15 mins

 

Salted Daikon Salad (Shio Momi Daikon) is almost like the preparation stage of daikon before making it into a more complex dish. It is a quick and easy salad. Because of its extreme simplicity, you can enjoy the natural raw daikon flavour.

Don't forget to see the section 'MEAL IDEAS' below the recipe card! It gives you a list of dishes that I have already posted and this recipe that can make up a complete meal. I hope it is of help to you.

Recipe Type: Salad, Side

Cuisine: Japanese

Keyword: Daikon salad, pickled daikon

Serves: 2 as salad

Author: Yumiko

Ingredients (tbsp=15ml, cup=250ml)

• 200g/7.1oz daikon (a fat 5cm/2"-long disc or 2 thin 5cm/2"-long discs, skin removed, note 1)
• 40g/1.4oz daikon leaves (note 2)
• 2.5-3.5g/0.09-0.12oz salt (note 3)
• Lemon zest (for garnish, optional)

Instructions

1. Slice the daikon vertically into 3mm/⅛"-thick slices, then cut them vertically into 3mm-thick batons.

2. Cut the daikon leaves into 3-5mm/⅛-3⁄16" pieces.

3. Put the daikon, leaves, and salt in a bowl. Mix well, ensuring that salt is evenly distributed.
4. Leave it for 10 minutes. The daikon pieces wilt.

5. Take a handful of daikon at a time and squeeze out most of the water from the daikon (note 4). Taste and add a little more salt if needed, then mix again (note 5).

6. Serve in a bowl with a small amount of lemon zests on top, if using.

Recipe Notes

1. You need to cut your daikon in the direction of the fibres when making thin batons, so each piece is the same length of the baton.

If you end up with more or less than 200g/7.1oz of daikon to use up the disc, that’s OK. You can adjust the amount of salt.

2. Use mostly the stem part of the leaves rather than the leafy tops.

If your daikon does not come with leaves, you can substitute it with white radish sprouts, snow pea sprouts, mitsuba, mizuna, or a small amount of finely chopped green onions. If you are using one of these substitutes, add it after the daikon is wilted.

You can also omit this, but it’s nice to have a touch of green colour in the dish.

3. The salt needs to be 1-1.5% of the combined weight of the daikon and leaves. Depending on your palate, you may find that 1% of salt is too light. It is best to start with 1% and adjust the saltiness at the end.

4. The amount of water you want to squeeze out of daikon depends on the texture of the salad you want. I like squeezing out quite a lot of water, but if you prefer a slightly wet daikon salad, you can leave a small amount of water in it.

5. Alternatively, you can serve the daikon without extra salt and let each person drizzle some soy sauce over the daikon when eating.

6. Nutrition per serving. The sodium should be much less in reality, since I did not take into account the discarded salty water squeezed out of the daikon.

serving: 121g calories: 23kcal fat: 0.1g (0%) saturated fat: 0g (0%) trans fat: 0g polyunsaturated fat: 0.2g monounsaturated fat: 0g cholesterol: 0mg (0%) sodium: 515mg (21%) carbohydrates: 5.2g (2%) dietary fibre: 2.4g (10%) sugar: 2.5g protein: 1.0g vitamin a: 1.6mcg (0%) calcium: 79mg (2%) iron: 1mg ( 2%) potassium: 307mg (9%)