Green Oriental Radish

APPEARANCE: Like many of the white Oriental radishes, this vegetable is tubular, 6 to 8 inches in length, about 2 inches in diameter, and green, both inside and out.

QUALITY: Sound, heavy roots are best; examine the stem end in particular for signs of rot.

COMMENTS: This is another cultivated variety of the radish (alias daikon in Japanese). It has the same crisp texture and mild pungency of its siblings, but is a different color. And, like the other radishes, it is considered “cooling” and detoxifying, but also potentially debilitating; hence it is always cooked well (2 to 3 hours) before serving and is invariably cooked with (nourishing) carrots both procedures deemed to counterbalance its potentially harmful qualities.