Daikon Fritters

This daikon fritter recipe will win you over, it is so easy to make and so full of flavour.

Grating the daikon is what allows it to hold its shape, with the egg and flour acting as binders.

Daikon is a cousin of the black radish: longer, larger and white, but less peppery and less fibrous. It is loved for its crunchy flesh and its faintly peppery taste, milder than radish. It is also called Chinese radish, or lo bok. It can be eaten raw as well as cooked, in salads or as fritters.

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What you need to make these daikon fritters:

Daikon — grated on a mandoline, then wrung out in a cloth; this salting step, thirty minutes with a little salt, draws off the water and is what lets the fritters hold together.
Spring onions — sliced, they add crunch and a sharp little bite.
Beaten egg — one of the two binders that hold the grated daikon patties together.
Flour — the second binder; it thickens the mixture enough to shape into patties.
Sesame oil — flavours the mixture with a toasty, distinctly Japanese note.
Panko breadcrumbs — the coating that gives the fritters their golden, crispy crust.
Vegetable oil — for browning the fritters in the pan.
Salt and pepper — the salt does double duty: it seasons, and it also helps draw the water out of the daikon.

Why these daikon fritters must be on your menu!

Genuinely easy and quick: an hour in total, most of it spent grating, wringing and shaping.
No fiddly technique involved.
Dips into any sauce you like: ketchup, sour cream, miso mayonnaise, jam — everyone has their favourite.
Here, soy sauce wins, by far the best match for these fritters.
A lovely contrast of textures: crispy on the outside thanks to the panko, soft and faintly peppery on the inside thanks to the daikon.
Great as a snack or a starter: they are best eaten hot, with your fingers, whether at drinks or alongside a Japanese meal.

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Daikon Fritters

Patties of grated, wrung-out daikon bound with egg and flour, crumbed in panko and pan-fried.

Prep 20 min

Cook 10 min

Total time 1 h

Course: Snack Cuisine: Japanese Keyword: Daikon fritters Calories:

Ingredients

Servings: 4 servings

Instructions

Slice the spring onions.
Grate the daikon on a mandoline. Put it into a colander set over a bowl with 2 pinches of salt. Leave for 30 minutes to draw off the excess moisture.
Put the daikon into a clean cloth and squeeze until no more water runs out. Tip it into a large bowl.
Add the spring onions, sesame oil, beaten egg, flour and pepper.
Take about a third of a cup of the mixture at a time and shape small patties.
Scatter a little panko on a plate and coat the patties all over.
Heat the vegetable oil in a non-stick pan over medium heat. Fry the patties for about 2 minutes on each side, until well browned.
Serve with soy sauce.

Nutrition (per serving)

Tips

Squeeze the daikon in the cloth until nothing more runs out: that step decides everything.
The mandoline gives an even grate that binds better than knife-chopping.
Shape the patties just before crumbing them; the mixture slackens if it waits.
Medium heat: any hotter and the coating burns before the daikon is cooked.

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