The recipe seems kind of random, but trust me, it’s not — I’ve been thinking about making it for a long time. Plus, I’ve got a gigantic daikon radish in my fridge that I need to get rid of.

I love daikon radish, but I find that the only way I can really use it is when I’m making sinigang, a sour Filipino tamarind-based soup stock with meat and vegetables. The problem with daikon radish is that it smells really, really bad while it’s cooking (my uncle likened it to a soiled diaper). I’ve got seven roommates, and I’ve learned that either I’ve got to omit using daikon radish in my sinigang, or cook when they’re not home.

But on with the pickles! Don’t say that you haven’t eaten radish pickles, because almost every Asian culture has some kind of version. The Koreans make this into a particularly good kim chee, and the Japanese serve it as a mini-dish to eat before a main course.

Recipe:

1 1/2 c cubed daikon radish
kosher salt
1 tbs rice wine vinegar
1 tbs water
2 heaping tsp sugar
drizzle of sesame oil

In a mixing bowl, toss daikon radish with a bit of kosher salt and set aside for about 30 minutes, until the liquid from the radish is released. Drain. Rinse the salt off the radish and pat dry. Add the rice wine vinegar, water, sugar and a bit of sesame oil and stick it in the fridge for about 8 hours. This keeps for about 2 weeks in an air-tight container.

You can make variations of this with napa cabbage and carrots. I recommend eating this as an palate-cleanser with heavy Asian dishes such as duck, Chinese 5-spice beef or broiled chicken.