Ginger Daikon Rice

Ginger Daikon Radish “Rice” with Gochugaru and Fried Egg

There’s an independent grocery store in my apartment building that I like to go to...

Ginger Daikon Radish "Rice" with Gochugaru and Fried Egg

There’s an independent grocery store in my apartment building that I like to go to for last-minute items (it’s a bit pricey). I love having it there when I’m craving a snack (that’s a blessing and a curse) or if I forgot to get something on my big weekend grocery run.

This grocery store has the biggest daikon radishes ever. They’re almost two-feet long, really!

Every once in a while, I’ll pick one up in hopes of using it in a recipe – they spiralize so effortlessly. They’re literally the perfect diameter and texture.

Ginger Daikon Radish "Rice" with Gochugaru and Fried Egg

However, after tasting the raw noodles, I’m turned off. The bitterness is overwhelming – they almost taste soapy. I’m actually unsure how people eat daikon radishes raw. Kudos to y’all!

A lightbulb went off and I thought to make rice with them. After ricing them, I realized that that process left for a lot of excess moisture. Rats! Luckily, I squeezed the water out with my hands and the water came right out! Phew, disaster averted.

Still bitter, so I literally opened up my pantry and there it was, staring me in the face: gochugaru. Gochuga-what? Gochugaru is red chili pepper, dried and ground into a coarse powder. It’s a Korean spice that’s used to make kimchee (or, kimchi.) I had recently bought it here on Amazon, after many failed attempts finding it at grocery stores near me.

Thank you, Amazon Prime – thank you!

Ginger Daikon Radish "Rice" with Gochugaru and Fried Egg

I’m currently working on a kimchi recipe (with cucumber noodles), but what better way to experiment than use the spice another way? Ever since Molly Yeh introduced me to it, I’ve been dying to use it in a recipe. Side note – if you’ve never checked out her blog, do it – she’s a former Brooklynite percussionist that now lives on a farm. Crazy.

Although the gochugaru would give the daikon radish a spicy kick, it needed actual flavor. I wanted to keep it subtle, so I went with a tiny bit of ginger and some garlic. I threw in chopped scallions and topped it with a fried egg.

Ginger Daikon Radish "Rice" with Gochugaru and Fried Egg

It brings me to tears that my camera died and I couldn’t take pictures of me cutting into this egg and the yolkiness that erupts over the fluffy rice. Literally, tears.

There’s not much more I can say but that daikon radish rice might be better than sweet potato rice. Don’t quote me on that, but daikon rice looks more like rice and has a very similar consistency, so you really feel like you’re beating the system.

Might I add that the calorie count on daikon radishes is negligible? The calorie count on a cup of daikon rice is less than 45!

If that’s not a win, I don’t know what is.

Ginger Daikon Radish "Rice" with Gochugaru and Fried Egg

Please please please make this – and if you don’t have gochugaru, use regular red pepper flakes. But, if you can wait a couple of days, order it through Amazon. Then, when my kimchi recipes comes out, you’ll be ready to go!

Have you ever cooked with gochugaru before?

 

Daikon Radish “Rice” with Gochugaru and Fried Egg

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Servings 1

Ingredients

  • 1 large daikon radish peeled, Blade C
  • 1 tbsp virgin coconut oil or olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp peeled and minced ginger
  • 1 small garlic clove minced
  • 1/4 cup diced scallions
  • 1/4 tsp gochugaru sub in a pinch of regular red pepper flakes here if you don't have gochugaru
  • 1 large whole egg
  • pepper to taste

Instructions

  • Place your diakon radish noodles into a food processor and pulse until rice-like bits. Place in a bowl near a sink. Place another bowl next to the bowl of rice. Take large handfuls of the rice and squeeze out the excess water into the sink and then place in the empty bowl. Repeat this until you've squeezed out the excess moisture in all of the rice. Set aside.
  • In a large skillet, place in the oil. Then, place in the garlic and ginger. Let cook for 30 seconds and then add in the scallions and daikon rice. Cook for 1 minute and then sprinkle over the gochugaru. Stir to combine and cook for 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently. Set aside when done, in a bowl.
  • In the same skillet, crack over the egg and let cook until the whites set. Once done, place on top of the bowl of rice and season with pepper.
with love, Ali

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comments

  • I love trying new veggies and lately I put fried egg on almost everything. So this is a must try recipe! Thanks Ali!
  • Where did you get your 'cheater chopsticks'?
  • I don't have a food processor but am dying to make your "rice" dishes. Any suggestions?
    • The food processor I mainly use is a mini chop processor and was only $35 from Cuisinart! I'd order one and you can use it for so many other purposes! It's worth the investment !
  • GORGEOUS recipe!!! I gotta get some hands on daikon soon.
  • Daikon radishes just added to my grocery list!
  • Low on caffeine today.. Did you cook the radish? Loosing my mind today... looks super yummy... truing to see how many parts of Easter Dinner can be sprialized. Thinking my nephews 5 & 3 might want to eat the "fun" foods.
  • Wow, that looks delicious. Where do you get other large vegetables, like your large-diameter carrots? All the carrots at my local grocers are pretty narrow, so I can't get many spirals out of them.
  • You showed that daikon who's boss!! I need to get my hands on some of that gochugaru...it sounds like it could be a fixer upper for a lot of recipes!
  • OMG!!! I made this for lunch and it was AMAZING!!!! I went to the Asian store in town looking for the gochugaru but they didn't have it so I bought some other hot sauce concoction that worked out fine. I ran back to the grocery store to get more daikon radishes so I could make this again tomorrow! (I already have the cauliflower bolognese in the crockpot for dinner!!). You are amazing! Keep these great recipes coming!!!
    • I'm so glad to hear that you liked it! It is quickly becoming one of my favorite dishes...
  • This saved me! I had a monster daikon in my CSA box this week and was totally stumped since radishes ain't my thang. I followed your recipe and then threw in a bit of canned coconut milk, almond butter and coconut aminos. Topped it with a duck egg and it was fantastic! Thank you Ali!
  • I made this Daikon 'rice' last night then sautéed it with onion, garlic and a bit of chili powder. I served it up with black beans and the fixings as the 'rice' in a burrito bowl spread. It was perfect! My boyfriend actually didn't even notice it wasn't rice! I will definitely be doing this again.
  • Came across your blog during a search for daikon recipes - and I love the concept of your website. I love daikon and I use gochugaru in everything. Will use your recipe in my blog post that features daikon (with proper credit of course). Thank you!
  • Picked up some Daikon today...can't wait to get started on this recipe!
  • This looks amazing! Do you have to peel the daikon before spiralizing? Never worked with one before...
  • Every asian market should have gochukaru. HMart (korean)is the best but if not, many chinese markets carry korean groceries too. If you have any korean friends, definitely ask them. Must try this recipe ASAP. :)
  • Just saw the gochukaru you linked too. Wfoods carries that brand but it's not authentic.Try an authentic one next time but you'll probably want to use a little less, likely it will be spicier.
  • Sorry, last comment. There are so many korean dishes (soups, side dishes, etc.) that use julienned cucumber and daikon radish...especially those similar to kimchi or side dishes. I bet you can do a whole slew of spiralized versions of those. Would love to see some of those!
  • If you want to enjoy raw daikon, it's best peeled, shredded (or spiraled), and then lightly salted. Let it stand for at least 10 min and squeeze off and discard the liquid. The bitterness will go with the liquid. I like to shred carrot and mix it with the salted-and-squeezed daikon, and then dress with a little sesame oil and lemon juice. Daikon can be stir-fried, pickled with sugar and vinegar in the fridge, or eaten as is, but it must be peeled. Thickly sliced gives a different taste to thin slices or shreds.
  • Just got a food processor and rushed to try this! What an amazing dish, my father and I loved it to bits! For anyone wondering, this works with kimchi too, if those are easier to find!
  • That gochugaru is three times more expensive than what you can find in a Korean grocery store. It’s worth wandering the aisles and reading the ingredients. I even found a gochujang with no high fructose corn syrup.
    • Hi Kaspar! Great tip! Thanks for sharing!