Yuja Pickled Daikon

Name: Yuja Pickled Daikon
Cook time: P0Y0M0DT0H15M0.000S
Total time: P0Y0M0DT1H15M0.000S
Yield: about 1 quart
Ingredients: 3 cups cubed daikon (about 1/2-inch pieces); 1 cup Korean apple vinegar or unseasoned rice vinegar; 3/4 cup sugar; 1/4 cup honey yuja tea (also called honey citron tea); 1 teaspoon kosher salt

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Level: Easy

Total: 1 hr 15 min (includes cooling time)
Active: 15 min

Yield: about 1 quart

With fried food, you absolutely need something sharp to cut through the richness. And with Korean fried chicken, the classic way to do this is with pickled daikon. Usually, this recipe does not contain yuja tea – a citrusy cheong (like a marmalade) – but one day, at the last minute, I added a spoonful and it was so good, I don’t want to go back. (Though I will say the recipe, from my book Hand Taste: Cook Like a Korean Grandmother, works just fine if all you want is a simple daikon pickle to eat with fried chicken.)

Level: Easy

Total: 1 hr 15 min (includes cooling time)
Active: 15 min

Yield: about 1 quart

Ingredients

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3 cups cubed daikon (about 1/2-inch pieces)

1 cup Korean apple vinegar or unseasoned rice vinegar

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup honey yuja tea (also called honey citron tea)

1 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions

Put the daikon in a medium heatproof bowl. In a small saucepan over medium heat, stir together the vinegar, sugar, yuja tea, salt and 1 cup water. Once the sugar is dissolved and the mixture starts to boil, remove from the heat and pour over the daikon. Let cool completely. These can be enjoyed right away, but they do taste better after they pickle overnight covered in the refrigerator.
Once cool, transfer to a glass quart jar, cover and refrigerate until needed. Pickled daikon keeps in an airtight container in the refrigerator for at least 1 month.

Cook’s Note

Korean apple vinegar is really good for this recipe. It’s not apple cider vinegar. Instead, it’s a clear vinegar from Korea that has a softer acidity than plain white vinegar.