Before I go any further I need to explain a few things here. I searched high and low for what to do with daikon radishes and I kept seeing these little bricks of white pop up called turnip cakes. I ignored them thinking that maybe it was just some weird search engine mistake. I saw more and more of the little things, at times called Lo Bak Go, keep popping up. Having never eaten at any sort of dim sum establishment I had no clue that they don’t actually use turnips, but daikon radish. I also found out daikon can also be referred to as Chinese turnip which is where that all came from.
I found one recipe, realized it needed more ingredients than I was willing to shell out money for and moved on. I kept poring over Lo Bak Go recipes only to find they all needed like four or five things I would have to buy and just have sitting around in my kitchen because it would be rare for me to find another use. That is when I found the recipe for today which is actually called Pan Fried Daikon Cake and it was a little brick of fried daikon radish. What I made for today is definitely not Lo Bak Go, but this is kind of my poor person equivalent and maybe an easier step into incorporating daikon into your life.
With that all being said, I like to think that I am a fairly professional blogger/writer. I take things fairly seriously but I’m also a fan of what I believe is comedy. However, above all things, I am an honest person. I do not enjoy lying or trying to sell things without disclosing any faults. So, I just need to give you a fair warning before you go clutching your pearls and losing your monocles.
These things smelled like farts.
There are certain sulfur compounds in the radish that make it smell like that but the whole time when I was chopping and grating I was holding my breath.
Anyways, these little cakes turned out pretty tasty and not at all smelling like a fart, which is why I think the recipe called for so much onion. The shredded radish made it have a texture like a crab cake and I love crab cakes like no other. And even though there is quite a bit of onion floating in these fritters, I could tell when I was eating onion and when it was radish. The daikon has more of a kick to it than the little red radishes I have come to love. It isn’t a powerful bad kick, but it did make me reach for my water. I hope you all get a chance to try these little things because even though they’re fried, they are still full of vegetables and could get you trying something new.
Try 52 