Learn with recipes

Radish Fried Rice

This was a pleasant dish but not too different from the last time I made fried rice. Im only posting it because it was such a good way to use up a lot of radishes, which we are now swamped with, having pulled all the root veggies out of the garden this past week. I used 3 different radishes - some spicy, some not - but the end result was extremely sweet and mild. I aimed to use the same flavours as in lo-bak go, and it was a little reminiscent of it, although the texture was of course completely different. Like lo-bak go, it went well with a good dollop of our Chile-Garlic Sauce, which Im also pleased to report is hot but not as insanely hot as I thought it would be when I canned it up.

You could use any kind of daikon or lo-bak radish for this. Mine were a large watermelon radish - this was the one that needed peeling - a Blauer Herbst radish, and a couple of China Rose. Yes, I went on a radish seed buying binge last spring. No, I didnt know what to do with all those radishes. But so far, so good. Ill be sure to plant lots next year too.

We ate it all, but it was all I made. And were pigs too, of course.

2 to 4 servings
30 minute prep time


5 to 6 cups grated radish
1 medium carrot, grated
2 stalks celery (OR 2 cups grated celeriac)
1 medium onion (OR 3 or 4 green onions)
12-16 shiitake mushrooms
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
250 grams (1/2 pound) bacon
3 cups cold cooked rice
1 or 2 tablespoons soy sauce

Wash the radishes, and trim off the tough stringy parts of the roots, along with any damaged spots. Peel off any skin that seems really tough. (Only likely to be a problem with home-grown radishes I suspect.) Grate the radishes.

Peel and grate the carrot and celeriac, or if using celery, wash and chop it. Peel and chop the onion or green onions. Trim the stems from the shiitakes and cut them in quarters. Mince the ginger. Chop the bacon into bite-sized pieces.

Heat a large skillet or wok and cook the bacon until it is soft and has let off enough fat to coat the pan. (Add a little oil if your bacon is too lean to do that - ha ha! But it has happened.) Add the mushrooms and sauté them for a minute or two. Add the onion (but not the green onions, if using) and the celery and carrot. Cook, stirring for a minute or two. Add the radishes and ginger and continue cooking and stirring, until soft; just a few minutes.

Using wet hands, break up the rice as much as you can and add it to the pan. Rinse those fingers quickly then start stirring in the rice, breaking it up so no significant lumps remain. Add the green onions, if you are using those. Sprinkle over a little soy sauce. When the rice and vegetables are well mixed and the rice is beginning to brown in spots, serve it up; youre done.





Last year at this time I made Stir-Fried Cabbage & Carrots.