Poached Daikon

SAVORY

Sep 29

Mushroom Dashi, XO Sauce, Honey, Chives, Bonito Flakes

Chef Daniel Harthausen of Late Air | Savannah, GA

INGREDIENTS

Mushroom Dashi:
Yield: 3 quarts
2 sheets kombu
4 cups dried shiitake mushrooms

Poached Daikon:
Yield: 3 quarts
Kosher salt
3 daikon radishes, peeled and cubed
2-inch piece ginger, sliced
1 head garlic, halved
1 cup mirin
½ cup rice vinegar
1 bay leaf

XO Sauce:
Yield: 3½ quarts
20 heads garlic, minced
10 shallots, sliced
4-inch piece ginger, peeled and minced
100 grams dried shrimp, rehydrated and minced
5 Fresno chiles, minced
2 cups chopped scallions
4 cups chopped pork jowl
8 cups neutral oil
½ cup sake
½ cup honey
½ cup fish sauce
3 tablespoons hijiki
3 tablespoons tamari
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon gochugaru

To Assemble and Serve:
Yield: 1 serving
Honey
Lemon juice
Sansho
Ground black pepper
Sliced chives
Bonito flakes

METHOD

For the Mushroom Dashi:
In a pot, bloom kombu in 1 gallon cold water. Place pot over low heat and cook mixture 20 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove kombu. Add dried mushrooms and bring mixture to a gentle boil. Let simmer 30 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool. Strain, reserving liquid and mushrooms separately.

For the Poached Daikon:
In a large nonreactive container, make a three percent salt-water solution. Add daikon to the brine and let sit 2 hours at room temperature. Strain daikon, rinse, and pat dry. Transfer daikon to a large pot over medium-high heat. Add ginger, garlic, mirin, rice vinegar, bay leaf, and reserved Mushroom Dashi liquid. Bring mixture to a gentle boil. Reduce heat and let simmer 1 hour. Remove from heat and let cool 1 hour.

For the XO Sauce:
In a mixing bowl, add reserved Mushroom Dashi mushrooms and enough water to rehydrate. Once rehydrated, transfer mushrooms to a work surface and roughly chop. Set aside. In a pot over medium flame, heat oil to 280°F. Add shallots and fry 20 minutes, or until lightly brown. Transfer shallots to a nonreactive container and set aside. Add garlic, ginger, and chiles to pot. Sauté until softened, then transfer to bowl with the fried shallots. Add ½ cup reserved mushrooms to the pot and sauté 15 minutes. Transfer mushrooms to a separate mixing bowl. Stir in 2 spoonfuls shallot-chile mixture and 4 ounces cooking oil. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt. Set aside. Add shrimp to the pot and fry 10 minutes. Transfer shrimp to mixing bowl with vegetables. Increase heat until remaining oil reaches 320°F. Add pork jowl to pot and fry 20 minutes, or until well browned. Return reserved vegetable-shrimp mixture to pot and stir to combine. Fold in remaining ingredients. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt. Strain mixture, reserving solids and oil separately.

To Assemble and Serve:
Heat oven to 500°F. On a sheet tray, add Poached Daikon, desired amount reserved XO Sauce solids, and ¼ cup reserved XO Sauce oil. Season with salt. Roast 5 minutes. Transfer mixture to a serving bowl. Drizzle with honey and lemon. Season with sansho and black pepper. Garnish with chives and bonito flakes.

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