Japanify: Daikon-Tuna Stir Fry

Sometimes the most humble ingredients can yield some seriously satisfying results. Some days I procrastinate until the last stop on my train to plan out what I'm going to make for dinner. I mentally piece together what I have in the fridge and try to make a meal out of it... kind of like how I mentally piece together my outfit for the day in the shower.

Today I knew I had about half of a daikon left in my fridge, so that was a start. Canned tuna is always a great backup source for protein, so I decided to marry the two. When I got home, I discovered that I also had some ginger and green onions -- always a great addition to a stir fry dish.

With that, I made a stir fry.

DAIKON-TUNA STIR FRY

INGREDIENTS
2-3 cups of daikon halved and then sliced
1 tsp grated ginger
1 can tuna in olive oil
1 tbsp soy sauce



1. To make this dish, I used about half of a daikon (about 8 inches long and 2 inches in diameter). Cut the daikon in half lengthwise. Slice with mandolin or with sharp knife.



2. Grate a teaspoon of ginger.

3. Open the can of tuna and pour the olive oil into a frying pan. Be careful not to get the actual tuna into the pan, just the oil. Add the ginger into the pan.

4. Turn the heat on to high.

5. Once the ginger starts to sizzle, add the daikon slices into the pan.



6. After a few minutes, or until daikon are slightly translucent, bring the heat down to medium and stir fry for five more minutes.

7. Add the tuna and mix ingredients well.

8. When the tuna is mixed in well, turn the heat off and drizzle the soy sauce. Give it a few more stirs.

9. Garnish with fresh green onions.

10. Serve with hot rice.



Wow! This tasted 100x better than I expected. Sauteeing the daikon in the olive oil from the tuna can was the key -- then drizzling a bit of soy sauce in the end really brought the ingredients together. The crunch of the daikon was also super satisfying. The kakushiaji (hidden flavor) of the ginger brought a depth to the dish, perfectly accented by the raw green onions topped off at plating.

From start to finish, this dish took about 15 minutes total to make. What a perfect hump day meal! This is a dish that satisfies the weary and the frugal.