Persimmon and Daikon Salad for Hot, Sultry Afternoons

It's been a while yeah since I blogged. I feel a little ancient even saying this. This time, I want to share a new salad recipe that I discovered. It's a Japanese salad that you can make if you have some daikon and firm persimmons in your kitchen.

I saw this recipe while browsing Facebook and since I had these two ingredients at hand, why not?

Ingredients
Half a daikon
1 ripe persimmon
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon salt

I used half a daikon, sliced thinly. Salt the daikon slices for 10 minutes to draw out its water content. Rinse and keep aside.

Slice the persimmon into small slices. I keep the skin on as I like it this way. You do you if you prefer peeled persimmon. (As an aside, I used to dislike this fruit when I was a child. Maybe I had dried persimmons and they didn't taste great. But in the past few years, I have discovered my love for this orange-coloured fruit!)

You could also cut them up into match stick sizes.

Add all ingredients into a large bowl. Mix well. Refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving as a cold salad.

It is addictive - crunchy, crispy, slightly sweet and salty and tart. I love that both ingredients are healthy and this makes for a great potluck dish too. I love salads and this is going to be one of those recipes that I will be making for the next potluck gathering.

Persimmons lower bad cholesterol, boosts eye health, feeds gut bacteria, promotes regular bowel movement, rich in Vitamin C and prevents sharp sugar spikes. From the TCM perspective, it helps with clearing internal heat, moistening the lungs and generating body fluids. Dried persimmons soothe coughs, mouth ulcers and sore throats. It is best to limit eating this if you have bloating or cold limbs.

Raw daikon in this case contains diastase, an enzyme that digests starches and prevents indigestion, heartburn and upset stomach. A note: Don't eat too much of raw daikon as it contains goitrogens which interferes with thyroid hormone production. Don't eat raw daikon at night either as it may give you gassiness.

Let me know how you like this refreshing salad!

Comments

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