Monday, May 21, 2007

Ding Dong, the Daikon's Dead!

 

Daikon and Lamb Casserole
Despite two outings, there was still a large torso of Daikon left to eat. Top Veg left a useful comment on the blog, having visited a Chinese neighbour for the inside knowledge on this veg-beast. "The meat gives it good flavour. She kept repeating this...it is the opposite of our cooking, where we add veg to the meat to flavour the meat during cooking. Winnie said add the meat to the Daikon in stews & casseroles. The meat will give the Daikon a good flavour!"
So taking on board this advice, I bought some lamb neck fillet, cooked it for five minutes with some chopped red onions,clove of garlic, a few mushrooms,herbs and seasoned it. I hacked the remaning boulder of Daikon into small cubes and boiled it for 20 minutes with a vegetable stock cube. I must warn you that Daikon seems to be indestructible. It barely flinches in boiling water. It is the Freddie Krueger of veg. I then drained it and added it to the lamb with a tin of chopped tomatoes and half a glass of red wine. And then I put it all into a casserole dish and into the oven at 180 for an hour and a half.
The meat did make the Daikon taste a little better. My husband, who will eat anything and rarely complains, muttered, "Thank God that's finished." Freddie ate all the lamb and two chunks of Daikon and left the rest. I didn't have it in me to make a fuss. His score was five out of ten.
As we finished the meal, the children started to sing a bowdlerized version of the Wizard of Oz "Ding Dong! The Daikon's dead. Which old Veg? The Wicked Veg!
Ding Dong! The Wicked Veg is dead."
We all joined in. That's enough Daikon for anybody.


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13 comments:

  1. So glad the Daikon's gone ... such an interesting idea, using meat to flavour veg, one with lots of possibilities - especially if the veg in question is actually good to eat!

    What's next? E for eggplant, and aubergine pizza all over again!

    Joanna
    joannasfood.blogspot.com

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  2. Anonymous9:23 AM

    Well this is it - what is next.
    We are attempting to do dandelions.
    Right now a lovely woman in Cheshire is posting us country-fresh dandelion leaves. Because the London version is probably toxic.
    Then it is E....ideas please. We may end up doing aubergine ALL OVER AGAIN for the hell of it.

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  3. Endive? No, you've covered it under its alias - chicory.
    Edamame? They are Japanese soybeans. Very tasty. My nieces love them!

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  4. I really enjoyed reading the daikon adventures.It made me laugh out loud :D
    I must admit, I have never tried it. Does it taste like radishes ?

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  5. Anonymous8:06 PM

    Thank you Patricia.
    Daikon tastes like a mild radish. It is quite delicate in taste - its texture is like a turnip crossed with a radish. But it doesn't have the bite that you associate with a small red radish.
    It is basic a big bullying giant white radish with the power to take over the kitchen.

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  6. Anonymous8:07 PM

    How about edamame and esacarole for E vegetables?

    I'm looking forward to the dandelion greens. Nice job tackling the daikon.

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  7. Anonymous8:18 PM

    Escarole - what is that?
    GBVC

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  8. Anonymous10:27 PM

    Escarole is a type of endive...what the UK calls chicory. Since eggplant is aubergine, E seems to be full of re-runs! I agree that you should try edamame, though.

    I'm sad that daikon inspired such dread. I've only had it pickled, but I quite like it, especially with sushi or bulgogi (Korean barbequed beef). Of course, I've never pickled it myself, so perhaps I too would be frightened if I dealt with a large quantity in person. Maybe I'll try a pickling recipe I found online, and if it is good, I'll suggest it when R for Radish comes around. :)

    Jen M. in Seattle

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  9. I came across a blog last week that had a Dandelion Syrup, made from the flower heads, not the greens. I guess you could do a lot with a syrup. I'll try to find the site and send you the link. The Daikon is dead. Long live the Daikon... tee hee
    Amanda

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  10. Hi Charlotte,
    Happy Vegetarian Week!
    I thought this was the perfect opportunity to show off some great veggie sites, I know yours isn't purely veggie, but it's way up there at the top for using it's vegetables! I have linked to the dreaded daikon, because the potato cakes looked fabulous! What serendipity! Hope you don't mind!

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  11. Anonymous12:56 AM

    What about dill pickles? Does that count as a veg... maybe not. Edamame and endives I think are a good way to go next.

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  12. Charlotte, that was an enjoyable read. You have a great sense of humour. I'm looking forward reading about the next veg.

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  13. Anonymous6:11 AM

    Billie, Dill pickles - if I can buy them I will try them with Freddie but I dont want to put the poor boy off vegetables for life!

    Holler - I am delighted that you link to the Daikon cakes.

    And Jen M - please do send us the pickling recipe when R comes around. We are in the mood to try anything so long as it doesn't take over the kitchen.

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We always love to read your comments - thank you