easy takuan
quick short-cut version of the classic yellow pickle
Kenji Morimoto is a London-based Japanese American food writer and content creator who specializes in fermentation. He draws from his cultural heritage to teach, write, and share culinary knowledge through various platforms, including his popular Instagram @kenjcooks and his upcoming book "Ferment."
Kenji Morimoto•
September 29, 2025
What I love most about these are its sweetness, crunch, and bright yellow hue.
Traditionally, making takuan is quite the lengthy process: dehydrating whole daikon in the sun followed by several months of fermentation in a rice bran bed. I don't know who has time for that - especially when we were kids with two working parents - so we opted for this much simpler version which is vinegar based (more like an amazuzuke, or sweet vinegar pickle). Turmeric is key here for that distinctive yellow.
These are familiar pickles - often seen across Japanese and Korean cuisine. Slice them into strips for gimbap or makizushi or eat it alongside your next rice bowl (or even tucked into a sandwich!).
Ingredients (5)
Ingredients (5)
Instructions
Salt your prepared daikon in a bowl and let this salt for a minimum of 1-2 hours or overnight, mixing it occasionally. There should be salty brine by the end of this process - keep this! .
Make the brine by dissolving sugar into vinegar with an approximate 1:1 ratio. You can use less sugar but note that these pickles should lean sweet! Add 1 tsp of turmeric + 1/2 cup of the salty brine that you reserved.
Pour this mixture on the squeezed daikon and let it pickle for a min of 24 hours at room temp before moving to the fridge
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