Happy New Year’s Eve!! New Years is a big thing in Japan, it’s a much bigger celebration than Christmas. There a lot of New Year traditions in Japan, like visiting shrines and eating lots of special New Year food called Osechi Ryori. So this week I am sharing some of these delicious dishes! The first recipe is Kouhaku Namasu, which is a salad made from grated carrots and daikon (radish) with a sweet and sour flavour! It’s very refreshing and tastes so yummy when eaten along with other New Year’s food and by itself!
A lot of people even buy ready-made boxes of Osechi Ryori (New Year food) from department stores because it’s convenient and saves a lot of time. But it is also fun to make the food with your family. My hometown in Japan is a very small countryside town so all my cousins and their families who live in the big cities, like Osaka, all come back to visit. We all go around to one of my Aunt’s house and play a big game of bingo and eat lots of yummy sweets. Children in Japan also get given money from older relatives at New Year’s so my sneaky daughter always plans her Japan visits at this time…
I love this carrot and daikon salad because it’s so refreshing to eat here in Australia at New Year’s because it’s so hot right now! I’ve been enjoying eaten this little salad at lunch when it’s the hottest time. I think I’ll even start taking it for lunch when I start work again because it’s delicious and filling but low in calorie and healthy! Although I do love this dish, it’s not my favourite New Year’s food; my favourite is Kuri Kinton, which is sweetened chestnuts and pureed Japanese sweet potato (I will be sharing a recipe for this!). Kuri Kinton is sweet and delicious and I love it.
Kouhaku Namasu is a delicious and refreshing Japanese New Year's specialty! This carrot & daikon vinegared salad is a tasty side to many dishes!
- 300 g daikon radish
- 4-5 cm of carrot
- Sprinkle of salt
- 1 tbsp water
- 2 tbsp vinegar
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- A sprinkle of soy sauce
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Grate the daikon and carrot into a bowl.
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Sprinkle a little salt over the top of the daikon and carrot and leave for 10 minutes.
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Tightly squeeze the excess water out of the daikon and carrot with your hands then discard the water and return the daikon and carrot to the bowl.
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In a small frying pan, mix all the Vinegar Mix ingredients together over low heat.
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Once the sugar has dissolved, turn the heat off and leave it to cool down.
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Once the Vinegar Mix has cooled down, pour it over the daikon and carrot and stir.
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Serve as a side along with other dishes.
Store leftovers in an airtight container and leave for up to 4-5 days in the fridge.
4-5 cm of carrot is about 1.57inch - 1.96inch.
simple and delicious great!
thank you! 🙂