Hot Pineapple Daikon Relish

Photo/F Delventhal

When I first came across this recipe, I had never heard of Daikon, so I set out to find all that I could about this unique vegetable. What I found out is really interesting.  Daikon is a pearly white winter radish originally found and used as a venerable weight loss remedy in Asia. This radish cleanses the blood, promotes energy circulation, and increases the metabolic rate. Additionally, it contains diuretics, decongestants, and the digestive enzymes diastase, amylase and esterase. Regular use is said to prevent the common cold, flu, and respiratory conditions. Daikon is used for hangovers, sore throats, colds and edema,  helps cleanse the kidneys and decongest the lungs, and also has anticarcinogenic properties.

I also found out that it's not necessary to peel daikon, and to cook daikon, you simply cut it and use it as you would a carrot.  It can be used in soups, casseroles, or in steamed, braised, or stir-fried dishes. And of course, as is this recipe, it can be used in relishes.

This recipe can be found in Linda Page's Cooking for Healthy Healing, which you can find used at Amazon for less than five dollars. Cooking for Healthy Healing is an illustrated health-wise 698 pages of cleansing, rebuilding, and maintenance diets and recipe programs. I found it to be a valuable reference book.

Linda Page also authored Healthy Healing: A Guide to Self-Healing for Everyone, Healthy Healing's Detoxification, and Diets for Healthy Healing: Dr. Linda Page's Natural Solutions to America's 10 Biggest Health Problems.

Substitutions for Daikon:  Red Radish, Jicama

This recipe makes 1 1/2 cups.

Hot Pineapple Daikon Relish

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup chopped fresh pineapple
• 1 tbsp dry mustard in 1 tbsp water
• 2 tsp horseradish
• 2 tbsp lime
• 1 tbsp fresh minced ginger
• 1/2 tsp sesame salt
• 1/4 lb fresh daikon radish, peeled and shredded

Preparation
Mix ingredients together in a bowl, adding the radish last. Cover and chill.