Sautéed Daikon and Carrot Matchsticks

This recipe takes me back to the days at Dai Bosatsu Zendo. I remember working in a small crowd of people to julienne a massive quantity of carrot and ginger in the lead-up to the opening dinner of a retreat.

What we’ve got below is a very simple version of this recipe. It comes out well this way — I love the colors! — but it certainly could be augmented with garlic, crushed red pepper, or any number of other things. While it’s true that the julienning prep work takes a while, that step can be done ahead, and everything after that is quite easy and worry-free.

Ingredients

  • 1 large carrot
  • 1 medium or large daikon
  • a 3-inch-long chunk of ginger
  • sesame oil (other oils would work as well)
  • soy sauce to taste
  • toasted sesame seeds (optional)
  • Preparation

    1) Peel the ginger. I find the easiest way to do this is to use the edge of a large metal spoon to scrape the skin off the ginger. Using a spoon, no matter how odd-shaped the ginger is or how many times your tool slips, you really can’t cut yourself.

    2) Cut the carrot, daikon, and ginger into matchsticks about one and a half inches long.

    3) Drizzle enough sesame oil in the bottom of a large sauté pan to coat the bottom, and turn it up to medium-high heat.

    4) Toss in all the vegetable and sauté until they’re “crisp-tender” — or whatever texture you’d like them to be when you eat them.

    5) Drizzle everything with soy sauce until you’ve got the level of saltiness that you’re looking for.

    6) Stir in the sesame seeds if you’re using them. And there you have it!

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