Hiroko Shimbo

Daikon Oroshi & Momiji Oroshi

Grated Daikon & Spicy Grated Daikon

Appears in
top 1000The Japanese Kitchen
The Japanese Kitchen

By Hiroko Shimbo

Published 2000

  • About

Fried dishes, including tempura, and grilled or broiled oily fish are almost always served with grated daikon. To produce the best grated daikon or daikon oroshi, choose a radish that is heavy for its size, so it will be juicy. Grate only the top part, which is sweeter than the lower part. For a very fine grate, use a porcelain grater.

Let the grated daikon rest on a sieve 2 to 5 seconds to remove excess juice, but do not let the daikon become dry. It should be not watery, but quite moist.

Momiji, which literally means “autumn leaf color,” is so named because its pleasant reddish color reminds diners of autumn leaves. To prepare momiji oroshi, use a cooking chopstick to make two deep holes on the cut surface of a disk of daikon. Insert one akatogarashi (Japanese dried red chile) into each hole. Grate the daikon and chile together. This produces a slightly red, spicy oroshi.