Curry braised pork and daikon

Tasked with cooking 3 huge daikon before they go bad, I looked at my small collection of Japanese cookbooks.  I have acquired several of them over the years, some with both Japanese and English while others are just in English.  I prefer the dual language cookbooks as they tend to be more authentic (according to my husband). 

As I flipped through the books, one of the recipes caught my eye.  It used a lot of daikon and I had most of the ingredients.  Plus it looked super simple, which is always a plus on a Monday.

After school and playing at the park, my son and I headed to the store.  We grabbed the items on my list, and a few other items as well.  I had read the basic directions and thought adding some carrot and mushrooms would add some good flavors to the recipe and make it more substantial. 

After getting home and settling my son down with some workbooks to keep him occupied, I got cooking.  The first thing I did was remove my meat from its package to marinate for a short time while I cut up the vegetables.  As soon as I removed the plastic wrap, I realized my mistake.  I had purchased pork ribs (called country style in the US, as it had a lot of meat on it) instead of pork belly.  Ugh.  Well, I wasn't going to let that hold me back.  I proceeded anyway.  I mixed together the marinade and tossed it with the meat.  At the same time, I also mixed up the braising liquid.

I then started to peel and cut up the daikon into half moons.  My son then popped into the kitchen and asked if he could help.  Since he has been peeling things for me for a few years now, I gave him the task of peeling the remainder of the daikon and carrots. 

In a large pot, I heated up the oil and added the meat to brown it.  As soon as I finished cutting up the daikon and carrots, I tossed them into the pot.  I stirred everything around to get the curry powder all over the vegetables.  I then added the mushrooms and braising liquid.  After bringing to a boil, I covered the pot and reduced the heat to a simmer. 

I grabbed a second pot and stuck it on the burner to boil some water.  My son and I cut up the daikon greens (which are packed full of nutrition).  After it came to a boil, I generously salted the water and then added the greens for about 5 minutes.  As soon as we shocked them by draining the greens and putting them into icy water, we let them sit while everything else cooked.

I made sure to stop by the pot of daikon periodically to stir.  But, to be perfectly honest, for the next 20 minutes, I was much more focused on reading to my son.  He has a collection of Mickey Mouse books that he's determined to get through. 

On my last visit, the daikon was nice and tender.  So, I squeezed the greens to remove excess liquid and threw them into the pot.  A quick stir, taste, and adding a touch more soy sauce and sugar, finished the dish.  Dinner was ready.

I looked up from the kitchen to see my son had fallen asleep on the couch, holding his book tightly.  He had helped, but missed the final product because I didn't want to wake him up (he's a growing boy and needs his sleep).  I guess he'll just have to enjoy it in his bento tomorrow!  My husband and I both thought it was fabulous!

*I am able to share this recipe because I have made it my own.  I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!*

Curry braised pork and daikon radish

Vegetables:
1 kilogram / 2.2 lbs daikon radish (1 large daikon), including the greens from one daikon
1 or 2 carrots
1 package shimeji mushrooms

Meat:
500 grams / 1.1 lbs country style pork ribs

Marinade:
10 ml / 2 tsp sake
10 ml / 2 tsp soy sauce
20 ml / 4 tsp curry powder

Browning:
10 ml / 2 tsp vegetable oil

Braising liquid:
100 ml / .5 cup sake
400 ml / 2 cups water
10 ml / 2 tsp sugar
30 ml / 2 tbsp. soy sauce

1. Season and coat the meat with the marinade.
2. Peel and cut the daikon and carrots into 1.5 cm / .5 inch half moons.
3. Heat browning oil and sear the pork meat.
4. Add the daikon radish and carrots.  Stir to coat with curry powder.
5. Add the braising liquid.  Bring to a boil.  Cover and simmer for 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
6. While the daikon is cooking, bring a pot of salted water to boil.  Cut up the daikon greens and add them to the boiling water.  Cook for 5 minutes.  Drain and shock in cold water.  Squeeze out the excess moisture.  Set aside.
7. When the daikon is tender, remove the meat and shred as desired.  Put it back into the pot, along with the greens. 
8. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.
9. Enjoy with a bowl of rice.