Iburigakko (Smoked Daikon Pickle)
Quick answer
- Active time
- 60 min
- Waiting
- See the steps
- Level
- Hard
- Servings
- 48 servings
- Ingredients
- 6
About this dish
The daikon hangs in hardwood smoke for days until the skin turns an even amber and the radish is dry enough to bend, and only then does it go into the rice bran bed.
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That smoking needs a dedicated outdoor smokehouse with fire control, never a home oven or an enclosed room, because of fire and carbon monoxide risk. Bran, steamed broken rice, salt, coarse sugar and a little turmeric must fill every gap between the radishes and cover the top, since the pickle then sits through winter for 50 to 60 days. Any mold, off smell or unusual stickiness rules it out for eating.
Ingredients
Instructions
- 1
Remove soil and root hairs from 12kg whole daikon and wash thoroughly in cold water.
Do not use bruised or soft radishes for long preservation.
- 2
Tie the radishes in groups of about 10 and hang them in a dedicated outdoor smokehouse.
Maintain steady smoke from oak, cherry, or another hardwood for 4 to 5 days. Never do this in an enclosed indoor space because of fire and carbon monoxide hazards.
- 3
Finish smoking when the surface is evenly amber and the radishes have lost enough moisture to bend.
Rinse soot and dust off quickly with cold water and dry with a clean cloth.
- 4
Mix 1.5kg steamed broken rice, 1.5kg rice bran, 1.5kg salt, 1kg coarse sugar, and 5g turmeric evenly to make the pickling bed.
- 5
Spread a thin layer of mixture in a sanitized, fully dried food-safe vessel.
Pack one tight layer of smoked radish, cover with mixture, and repeat. Bury the top completely, then add a clean drop lid and weight.
- 6
Mature for 50 to 60 days in a cool, dark winter location.
Rinse the rice bran quickly from a finished radish and slice thinly. Discard the batch if mold, offensive odor, or abnormal slime develops.
References checked
These references were consulted when this page was prepared or corrected. A source check does not mean the recipe was independently kitchen-tested.
- 일본 농림수산성 うちの郷土料理
『あきた郷味風土記』（秋田県農山漁村生活研究グループ協議会） · Checked: 2026-08-11
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