Buri Daikon

Japanese yellowtail and daikon simmered in dashi, soy and mirin: the quintessential winter dish of the Edo table

Origin: Edo (Tokyo) & Kanto region, Japan

From the journey of Radish.

Buri daikon is a winter nimono, a simmered dish, of extraordinary seasonal precision. Buri (yellowtail, Seriola quinqueradiata) is at its most prized in midwinter, when the fish has fattened on its migration south through the cold Sea of Japan waters, its flesh dense and oily and sweet. Daikon is at its peak in the same season: the cold-weather root grows slowly in the frosted soil, developing a density and sweetness that summer daikon lacks. The two are brought together in a broth of dashi, sake, mirin, and soy, the four liquid pillars of Japanese savoury cooking, and simmered slowly until the daikon becomes saturated with the fat and flavour of the fish, and the fish is penetrated with the clean, sweet depth of the daikon and the dashi. The result is a dish in which neither element dominates. The daikon is the quieter partner but, in a certain sense, the more remarkable one: it begins as a sharp, pungent root and ends as something silky, unctuous, and completely transformed. Buri daikon is a dish of the Edo period (1603–1868), when the cooking traditions of the Kanto region around Tokyo became codified into what we now recognise as classical Japanese cuisine. It is eaten in lacquered bowls with hot rice, the broth poured over both, in the contemplative silence appropriate to a meal designed to honour two ingredients at the exact moment of their annual perfection.

Ingredients

Fish

  • 600 g buri (yellowtail) fillets or collar pieces, skin on, cut into 4–5 cm chunks (or substitute with salmon or sea bass collar)
  • 1 tbsp sake, for blanching

Daikon

  • 600 g daikon, peeled and cut into 3cm rounds

Broth

  • 600 ml dashi (kombu and katsuobushi, or a good-quality instant dashi)
  • 4 tbsp sake
  • 3 tbsp mirin
  • 3 tbsp soy sauce (koikuchi, regular Japanese soy)
  • 1 tbsp caster sugar

Aromatics

  • 1 piece fresh ginger (3cm), peeled and cut into thin matchsticks

To Serve

  • steamed short-grain rice, to serve
  • sliced spring onion, to garnish

Method

  1. Pre-cook the daikon: place the rounds in a pan with enough cold water to cover and add a splash of sake. Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes until just tender enough to pierce with a chopstick but still slightly firm. Drain and set aside. This step (called shitayude) removes the raw bitterness of the daikon and allows it to absorb the broth more readily.
  2. Blanch the fish: bring a pan of water to a rolling boil. Add the fish pieces and blanch for 30 seconds; they will turn white on the outside. Remove immediately with a slotted spoon and rinse gently under cold water. This removes the fishy odour (called kusumi) and any blood. Pat dry.
  3. In a wide, shallow saucepan or donabe (clay pot), combine the dashi, sake, mirin, soy sauce, and sugar. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat. Add the pre-cooked daikon rounds and the blanched fish pieces in a single layer. Add the ginger matchsticks.
  4. Place a drop-lid (otoshibuta) directly on the ingredients: a circle of parchment paper cut to fit the interior of the pan works perfectly. Simmer gently over medium-low heat for 20–25 minutes, occasionally spooning the broth over anything not submerged, until the daikon is fully tender and has absorbed the colour and flavour of the broth.
  5. Remove the drop-lid and increase the heat slightly for the final 3–5 minutes to reduce and concentrate the broth slightly. The daikon should be deep amber-brown on the outside. Serve in deep bowls with steamed rice, ladling the broth over both. Garnish with spring onion.

Notes

Buri (Japanese yellowtail) is available at Japanese fishmongers and some Asian supermarkets, often as collar pieces (kama), which are the most prized cut for this dish due to their high fat content. Hamachi (young yellowtail) is a lighter alternative. Salmon collar or sea bass belly are good substitutes. Good dashi is fundamental to the dish: make it from scratch from kombu and katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes) if possible. A good instant dashi (Ajinomoto Hondashi, or equivalent) is an acceptable substitute. The dish requires patience: the long, slow simmer is what produces the characteristic deep flavour of the daikon.

The Gastrographer

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