Daikon Saucer

I saw a picture in a winter food magazine the other day of piece of daikon with some of the center scooped out. There was some mushroom placed in the center and a little fu-ball sitting on top. So cute. Couldn't understand much of the recipe though, so I came up with my own version.

Daikon and yuzu are classic winter flavors and they're delicious together in this. I love the aromatic, almost floral essence of yuzu. Such a distinct flavor; I can pick it out of  any dish. And you don't need to use much either. Honestly, I only put a few bits of yuzu peel in this, and they completely transformed the flavor of the stock.

2 thick slices of daikon
2 cups water reserved from washing rice
1/4 package of enokitake
1 shiitake
2 fu

Liquids for cooking mushrooms:
3 tsp sake
2 tsp mirin
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp soy sauce

Broth for serving:
1 1/2 cups dashi
2 tsp sake
2 tsp mirin
1 tsp soy sauce

Mitsuba and yuzu peel, to garnish.

Serves 2
Time: 40 mins.

Clean enokitake and cut the ends off. Slice cleaned shiitake into thin strips. Cook the mushrooms over medium heat in the liquids until most are absorbed. Be careful to monitor the heat, as the soy sauce will burn and turn bitter. Also, I recommend tasting this reduction as you go to make sure it's not too salty. If you find the flavors are too strong, add a splash of dashi or water, and continue to cook.

In the meantime, pour the rice water into a small pot and set it to boil. As it heats up, peel the daikon rounds and bevel the edges. This will allow the daikon to keep it's shape when cooking. With a metal spoon, scoop out some of the center of the white radish to create a "cup." This will hold the mushrooms later. Once the water is boiling, add the daikon and cook until tender. You should be able to put a toothpick through it easily when it's done. Remove from water and rinse off any rice starch residue.

Add the ingredients for the broth in a pot and let it come to a gentle boil. Reduce the heat to medium and add the daikon and fu. Cook for about 20 minutes to let the daikon absorb the flavor of the stock. Be sure to check that the daikon doesn't overcook and break apart. You can lower the heat, if necessary.

Place the daikon in a small bowl. Arrange the mushrooms in the scooped out center and place the fu on top. Gently ladle the broth into the bowl and garnish with mistuba and yuzu peel. Put a little of the peel in the broth and the heat from the liquid will extract some of those wonderful yuzu oils.