Many times when I am looking for something new to try fermenting, I try to find out why other cultures may have chosen to ferment particular foods. A few weeks ago, I decided to try fermented daikon radish. These radishes are served often by the Japanese, and with good reason.

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Spicy Fermented Daikon Radish — This is great eaten on its own, as a condiment or thrown in a salad!

Daikon radishes are an amazing source of digestive enzymes that help to break down fats, carbs and protein. Of course, these digestive benefits are increased in this fermented daikon radish recipe! These enzymes also help dissolve mucus in the respiratory system.

These radishes have plenty of phytonutrients that help to strengthen the immune system and fight cancer. It is a good source of phosphorous, which is essential for tooth and bone health. It also has the important amino acid cysteine, which means it aids greatly with detoxification:

[Daikon]…is a very effective diuretic. It causes the kidneys to process waste more effectively and thus excrete more urine. This helps to both improve kidney function and to treat edema. It also helps to clean the blood, eliminating the toxins through the kidneys, liver, sweat glands and digestive tract. Because of this, it helps food be digested more completely leading to less over eating and often weight loss. – herbwisdom.com

Enzymes are destroyed by cooking pretty quickly, so fruits and vegetables are especially beneficial in their raw state. However, they can contain anti-nutrients that makes it difficult for us to get the nutrition they offer, and they can otherwise be very difficult to digest. Fermenting these foods helps to pre-digest them while preserving and enhancing their nutrients so that we can get the most out of them!

I asked around for a good recipe but ended up winging it a little, what resulted was really good!

Spicy Fermented Daikon Recipe

nourishingtime.com

This recipe makes 1 quart

5 from 6 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Course Ferment

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs daikon radish
1/2 medium onion (any kind works, I like vidalia)
2-3 cloves garlic
1 inch ginger (grated)
1 tbsp crushed red pepper flakes

Brine

1 tbsp raw, sweet variety honey
15 g salt (approx 1 tbsp)
2 cups filtered water (approximately)

Instructions

Peel and cut daikon into thin chips (or sticks). I use a mandoline slicer for even thickness.
Put spices into jar
Fill jar with daikon chips/sticks
Mix up your brine (the salt, honey and water) and pour over the daikon. You want them submerged.
Close jar and ferment 5-7 days. Move the fridge where you can enjoy right away or age longer!

Notes

Ginger: You can sub 1 tbsp ginger powder if necessary, but fresh ginger works best!

Brine: Generally you need 5g of salt per cup of water for this recipe. Your jar should be filled to the shoulder, only leaving 1-1.5 inches of space above.

My family really enjoyed these and I am actually going to make up another batch sometime this week. If I’m to be completely honest, they ran out quite quickly. The only thing that has ever disappeared quicker than these was tomato salsa!

If you decide to try this recipe, let me know if you enjoyed it by leaving a comment. And don’t forget to pin this recipe!

Naturally Fermented Spicy Daikon Radish Pin

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Heidi

Wednesday 18th of September 2024

Is the half-onion left in one piece or sliced? Should the garlic be left whole?

@Heidi,

Hey there, you can do it however you like! I thinly slice the onions and usually put the garlic cloves in whole or halved, but it will work either way. We love fermented onions so having it sliced makes it easy to eat as well.

14 Non-Dairy Fermented Foods You Must Try - Nourishing Time

Wednesday 29th of June 2022

[…] flavors of whatever you add with it very nicely. One of my favorite daikon radish ferments is my Spicy Daikon recipe. Don’t be shy if you’re not a pepper lover, because it doesn’t have overwhelming heat. In […]

Becky

Sunday 20th of February 2022

These are hands down the best daikon pickles I've made. I usually have the problem of daikon pickles being too pungent because of their natural spiciness plus chillies but I used a Sakurajima daikon for this, which is known to be sweeter, and the honey in this recipe really mellowed out the whole concoction. I also used a food processor to shred the daikon into strings which is just such a pleasant texture to have. Will be making this every winter from my daikon harvest for sure. Thank you!

Saturday 21st of May 2022

I'm so glad you love these! My family loves them soooo much as well! How nice to have your own daikon harvest! I am jealous :)

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Wednesday 13th of January 2021

[…] fermented foods such as sauerkraut and fermented daikon can also be very helpful. Including more garlic in the diet can lead to a stronger immune system […]

Rachel

Friday 2nd of October 2020

Thanks for such a quick response, I will try using the honey I have in the cupboard and see what happens!