Thursday’s Side Dish: Yellow Pickled Radish

Crunch on with this sour sidekick
We remember snacking on pickled daigu in Guam after a long day at school. Mom-and-pop stores or the snack truck near the Cathedral would sell it out of huge jars at 50 cents per sandwich bagful. The daikon used is originally white and ranges in size between 6 inches to 12 inches. Don’t get turned off by its neon color acquired from pickling. Yellow pickled radish (aka Takuan) is also a popular condiment in Korean and Japanese cuisines. It’s sold in the prepared foods section of Asian supermarkets. Also, look for various packages of (whole) unsliced yellow pickled radish in H Mart’s chilled foods section. The sweet, tangy, and salty flavors compliment many Asian dishes served with sticky rice. The flavors and texture -- pickled yet crunchy – are almost a contradiction. Finally, pickled foods are believed to help curb appetites so have some more daigu.