Bought some daikon that’s quite bitter when eating raw. So I tried these remedies after a web search:
- slice it up, salt it heavily, let it sit in a collander for >30 min to drip out bitter liquids, rinse, add to stir-fry
- simply steam it
The first approach worked, but the saltiness remains even though the salt was rinsed off. It was still decent as a salty taste happened to be compatible with the stir-fry.
The 2nd approach was a disaster (even though I peeled it as well as the bitter tastes can be concentrated in the skin). I was skeptical when I read an article claiming that simply steaming the daikon removes the bitterness. I tested the claim by steaming for like 30—40 min. It was not instantly bitter but as I chewed it it became increasingly excessively bitter. I’m sure it would have ruined the miso soup I was originally planning to put it in.
I got a 2nd opinion. Someone else tasted the same steamed daikon as I did and said it did not taste very bitter. Of course there is a dilemma here: either the other person does not perceive the strong level of bitter taste (due to human genetic differences), or they are simply not bothered by it. We could not work out how to test which case it was.
2 theories for why people /think/ steaming works
Daikon can be bitter for a number of reasons: genetics of the veg, harvesting of it (particularly the timing), and storage (to a lesser extent).
① I wonder if people who claim cooking alone is sufficient are perhaps buying daikon that is not notably bitter to begin with.
② The human genetic factor: some people do not taste some bitter compounds.
In any case, I would like to know if anyone has other techniques to preparing bitter varieties daikon.
Is bitter the right flavor descriptor? I’ve also never had a bitter daikon, but it does have a destinctive radish/mustard flavor that can be strong and persistent (but it’s a flavor that I like).
Yeah, I agree with you. Never in my life have I ate a daikon and thought it was bitter. The OP should go eat a bitter melon then eat a daikon for some relief.
But daikon can have that spiced flavor. If OP doesn’t like the “standard” salad radish (small, red/purple, usually sliced thin) because it’s a bit spicy/mustard-y, then they probably won’t like any radish. I find daikon more mild than other radish types.
Back when I was young enough to be in school, the teacher handed out bits of paper with a chemical on it for students to taste. For some students it was sharply bitter and for others the same chemical was clearly not bitter, almost tasteless, IIRC. The teacher explained that the variation was due to a genetic difference in people… either they have a gene that made that chemical taste bitter, or not. It was very long ago and I have no idea what chemical it was, but now I wonder if daikon’s bitter taste (when present) might be similar in this way to whatever the teacher gave students to taste.
When searching the web on daikon prep, “bitter” is often the term we see. It’s not at all like mustard or a conventional red raddish, for me. Unlike daikon, I have never encountered a typical red raddish (such as that used in salads) that was bitter.
I’m with you. Old daikon tastes bitter to me. I don’t mind the flavor, but it’s definitely a bitter taste to my palate.
I definitely buy explanation number 1, since I’ve never had a particularly bitter daikon before. Certainly not bitter enough to try and do anything about. So, if a only-slightly-bitter daikon was still too bitter for somebody, maybe steaming would work for them.
As for what to do about it, perhaps it could be removed with a torchietto the way Italians do with eggplants? Using a press instead of just dripping might allow you to use less salt in the first place, or perhaps it might expunge the salt along with the bitterness.
I definitely buy explanation number 1, since I’ve never had a particularly bitter daikon before.
If you have never experienced sharply bitter daikon, then I would think you might be among those with genetics that do not detect the bitter compounds of some chemicals (which I describe here). I have had daikon that tastes fine raw. Yet I recently got one that is quite bitter. Both were bought in different parts of the world.
Anyway, I appreciate the tip about the torchietto. I will keep my eye out for one at flee markets. I’ve previously seen one at a flee market but at the time I did not know what I was looking at.
That’s definitely a possibility! The other possibility like you said is that they just don’t sell especially bitter daikons in some places (like where I live/shop) at all, which would also explain why some people claim that steaming works. Because their only available daikons aren’t super bitter.
I had another idea though! What if you grated it like with daikon oroshi, but then mixed it with a fat of some kind? That should mask and/or complement the bitterness, right?
To lessen bitterness, you can add sweet. I typically end up pickling bitter veg if I dont want the full bitterness. A bit of vinegar, salt, and sugar does a lot to change a veg. But this is diving into the science behind cooking; a wonderous, deep rabbit hole if you want to explore it.
FYI, if the saltiness remained after a salt bath, you likely used too much salt or waited too long. The salt bath is to create an imbalance such that water is pulled from the veg to balance out the salt level between the bath and the veg. It will try to equalize, so too much salt and/or time then salts the veg (which may be desired for some dishes).
