Daikon Salad with Ume Plum Dressing 大根サラダ

With long and thin strips of white radish, Daikon Salad with shiso and mizuna has a nice crunchy texture and refreshing flavor. Here, I add ume (pickled plum) to a sesame ponzu vinaigrette base for a delicious Japanese dressing.

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For today’s recipe, I prepared a very refreshing Daikon Salad because it’s been a while since I’ve shared a Japanese-style salad. Daikon Salad is a popular Japanese salad menu at traditional Japanese restaurants and Izakaya, and I hope you enjoy making this easy salad at home.

Daikon is mild-flavored, very large, white Japanese radish, and it’s often used as garnishing for sashimi or grated and served with Agedashi Tofu or Tempura. For this salad, I shredded daikon into long thin strips so that it gives a nice crunchy texture while you eat. Daikon is widely available at Asian markets and sometimes even in Western supermarkets in the US. To pick a good daikon, just make sure the inside looks juicy and not dry. If you are also able to get organic daikon, I highly recommend it since the flavor is much better than regular ones.

As for the salad dressing, I combined my favorite sesame ponzu vinaigrette and umeboshi. Ponzu is a citrus-based soy sauce and it’s used as a dip for Shabu Shabu and sashimi, or used as a dressing. Umeboshi is a salted pickled Japanese ume (plums). They are a common ingredient for Onigiri (rice ball) and you might have also seen a single umeboshi placed in the center of the rice inside a bento (Japanese lunchbox). The salty-sour flavor from umeboshi adds a nice kick to the dressing. If you cannot find umeboshi, don’t worry, this sesame ponzu vinaigrette for the recipe is still very delicious.

With this recipe, I’m guest posting at my blogger friend Charle’s Five Euro Food. You might remember Charles, who’s English and currently living in France, shared his delectable Flambéed Pear Purses with Caramel Sauce and Ganâche on Just One Cookbook last December when I was in Taiwan. I hope you will stop by his wonderful site. Have a wonderful week ahead!

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Daikon Salad with Ume Plum Dressing

4.69 from 16 votes

With long and thin strips of white radish, Daikon Salad with shiso and mizuna has a nice crunchy texture and refreshing flavor. Here, I add ume (pickled plum) to a sesame ponzu vinaigrette base for a delicious Japanese dressing.

Print Pin

Prep Time: 20 minutes mins

Total Time: 20 minutes mins

Servings: 3

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 3 inches daikon radish
• ▢ 7 oz mizuna (Japanese mustard green) (or substitute cucumber or microgreens)
• ▢ 3 shiso leaves (perilla/ooba) (optional)

For the Ume Plum Dressing

• ▢ 1 umeboshi (Japanese pickled plums)
• ▢ 3 Tbsp ponzu (or make my homemade Ponzu recipe)
• ▢ 1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
• ▢ 1 Tbsp rice vinegar (unseasoned)
• ▢ ½ Tbsp soy sauce
• ▢ ⅛ tsp sugar

For the Garnish

• ▢ 2 Tbsp katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes) (optional)
• ▢ 2 Tbsp ikura (salmon roe) (optional)

Japanese Ingredient Substitution: If you want substitutes for Japanese condiments and ingredients, click here.

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Instructions

 

• Peel 3 inches daikon radish. Using a mandoline slicer, shred the daikon radish into thin sticks.
  
• Soak the shredded daikon in cold water for 5–10 minutes to get a crunchy texture and remove the bitter flavor.
  
• Cut 7 oz mizuna (Japanese mustard green) into 2-inch (5-cm) pieces.
  
• Chiffonade 3 shiso leaves (perilla/ooba).
  
• Combine all the salad ingredients in a bowl and toss it all together.
  

To Make the Dressing

• Remove the seed from 1 umeboshi (Japanese pickled plums) and chop it into small pieces.
  
• In a small bowl, combine the chopped umeboshi, 3 Tbsp ponzu, 1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil, 1 Tbsp rice vinegar (unseasoned), ½ Tbsp soy sauce, and ⅛ tsp sugar. Whisk them all together.
  

To Store

• Serve the salad chilled. Pour the dressing when you are ready to serve. Sprinkle 2 Tbsp katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes) and 2 Tbsp ikura (salmon roe) on top, if you‘d like.
  
• You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Keep the toppings and dressing separate from the salad and add when you are ready to serve.

To Serve

Nutrition

Calories: 70 kcal · Carbohydrates: 11 g · Protein: 3 g · Fat: 3 g · Saturated Fat: 1 g · Polyunsaturated Fat: 1 g · Monounsaturated Fat: 1 g · Sodium: 314 mg · Potassium: 481 mg · Fiber: 4 g · Sugar: 3 g · Vitamin A: 2000 IU · Vitamin C: 71 mg · Calcium: 103 mg · Iron: 1 mg

Author: Namiko Hirasawa Chen

Course: Salad

Cuisine: Japanese

Keyword: daikon, umeboshi

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