The radish (Raphanus sativus) is often an overlooked vegetable. Usually found in salads, the thin white disks with a red border seem quite unassuming, yet they can pack quite a punch! This peppery bite may be why many of us were turned off from a young age, but what if there was more to the radish than we are accustomed to? For this, we must venture into the garden and grow it ourselves.
Start with a single radish seed. A bit larger than a grain of salt, these tiny seeds each have the potential to grow into a delicious radish. Season the earth with a sprinkle of radish seeds to maximise your garden’s harvest, covering gaps between lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, broccoli, etc.
They will come up in no time – instant gratification and a quick win for getting kids engaged in growing their own food.
Being a root vegetable, they are also great at breaking up your soil and adding additional oxygen for neighbouring roots once harvested.
The radish is a great addition to the vegie patch as it doesn’t take up much room and is inherently unfussy with weather conditions. It can be grown all throughout the year, but radishes grown in summer will be spicier than those grown in winter!
Once your little seed has evolved into a fully ripened radish, you will delight in plucking it straight from the earth.
Pinch, twist or wriggle – refine your own technique for maximum satisfaction. By all means, toss them into salads as they are traditionally used. Better still, try your hand at pickling them in salt and water to store on your pantry shelf as a quick and easy addition to a cheese platter. Have you ever roasted radishes with potatoes and carrots, or sautéed them with bacon and shallots? Maybe it’s time you tried!
Don’t forget the greens too. Bulk out a pesto, mix them with other leafy greens and a vinaigrette or throw them roughly chopped into a hot pan to accompany ginger, mushrooms, green beans, sesame seeds and soy sauce for some highly nutritious fast food.
Of course, there is a special variety of radish that deserves highlighting as it plays a popular role in many Asian kitchens – the daikon radish. In China, daikon is cut into fondants, then boiled and braised in an aromatic red sauce, served as a side or main course alongside rice.
Across the pond, Japanese cooks use an oroshi grater (though any grater will suffice) to turn daikon into a fine paste. Lightly squeeze out any excess moisture from your paste to make daikon oroshi, a healthy condiment that helps with digestion.
In Korea, daikon is cut into julienne pieces (matchsticks), mixed with salt, left to sit for 10–15 minutes, then drained of excess water. Simply add chilli (optional), fish sauce, garlic, sugar, spring onion and sesame seeds to make a delicious side called musaengchae.
Travelling south to Vietnam, daikon is paired with another, more familiar root vegetable, the carrot, to make a delicious pickled salad. Cut the carrots and daikon into julienne strips, then mix with salt and let sit to drain excess liquid. Transfer to a jar and cover with a brine made from vinegar, salt and sugar. Let that sit in the fridge overnight and you’ve made Vietnamese đô chua.
Simple to use, healthy and versatile, it’s no wonder the daikon radish is so popular!
Let’s head back out to the garden now, because letting your radish go to seed offers great value too! Did you know that the radish seed pod is an awesome snack in its own right? I liken them to a sugar snap pea; the fresh green pod providing a crispy crunch with a sweet hint of that quintessential radish flavour.
If you’ve practised some self-control, you can let your radish plants flower and produce seed pods. Once fully dried, collect the pods to harvest the tiny seeds within, bringing us back to the beginning of our little radish’s lifecycle. Repeat this process and grow your own radish seeds or add the seeds themselves to a cracker with cream cheese, pickled onions, capers and dill, or sprinkle over a salad for a lighter radish pop.
Radishes are definitely underrated.
They’re seriously quick and easy to grow, versatile in the kitchen and a great intro for beginner gardeners and for those wanting to experiment with their cooking. With fun varieties like ‘French Breakfast’, ‘Watermelon’ and ‘Black Spanish’, there are so many ways to appreciate the humble radish, and it all begins with a tiny seed, full of rad-ical promise!
