Sacred Word of Masaaki-sama Crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch.Th-this recipe...could this be the pinnacle of crunchy texture?!Wakame and daikon may be a combination that’s been used countless times, and with so many recipes and cooking techniques already out there, coming up with a new dish is no easy task. Creating a dish that is new and delicious is even more challenging. This wakame daikon recipe that Mami has developed goes to the length of sauteing the wakame and daikon separately, which I believe is intended to bring out the texture of each ingredient to the fullest. The wakame has a crunchy texture from being quickly sautéed. The daikon, even after being sautéed thoroughly, still retains its distinctive crunch. In fact, after one bite, I found myself asking Mami, “Is this kiriboshi daikon (dried daikon)?” In other words, it is very crunchy. As this crisp crunch resonates in your mouth, the gentle yet savory aroma of the sesame oil and soy sauce envelops you. The ginger, too, is used sparingly, perhaps to strike the perfect balance of masking the wakame’s brininess without letting the ginger dominate. This isn’t the kind of recipe that relies on soy sauce, overwhelms you with sesame oil, or overpowers you with ginger. This recipe must have been carefully perfected to let you savor the wakame and daikon (and their crunchiness) to the fullest. To be honest, from the very start, I really wanted to say, “This is amazing!” But if I said that right away, people would think, “Oh come on, you’re just praising your wife’s cooking, aren’t you?” So instead, I’ve been changing tactics, going on and on about the crunchiness and throwing in phrases like “savory aroma.” In short, there’s only one thing I want to say: this dish is delicious. Truly, no exaggeration, delicious.It goes perfectly with rice. No exaggeration, it really does. I want you to try putting it over a bowl of rice and mixing it in. My eldest daughter, Mei, strongly recommended eating it that way, so, doing my best to preserve my parental dignity, I said, “Oh, really?” and gave it a try. Turns out, it’s incredibly good. No exaggeration, it really is. It was so overwhelmingly delicious that I didn’t want to give it a stylish name like “such-and-such kinpira” or “stir-fried this-and-that.” No—dignified, straightforward, and with the hope that one day it might become a staple of Japanese cuisine—I named it simply “wakame daikon.” That’s the name I’ve taken the liberty of giving it. With Japanese cuisine now recognized as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage, everyone talks about sushi and tempura as if they are synonymous with Japanese food. But isn’t true Japanese cuisine actually the seaweed harvested in abundance from Japan’s coasts, vegetables like daikon, and seasonings such as soy sauce? Isn’t this the culmination of our ancestors’ wisdom, something the Japanese people must preserve and pass on to future generations? If this wakame daikon could become part of such a movement, Mami and I would be happier than anything. With that thought in mind, I savored every crunchy bite of the wakame daikon. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Beneath Masaaki-sama’s restrained humor runs the quiet yet passionate praise through the phrase “no exaggeration.” Mami-okusama has created a true classic dish! I hear it was so delicious that Masaaki-sama and the children kept calling out for seconds, and the rice disappeared bowl after bowl. According to Mami-okusama, in addition to the perfect pairing of wakame and ginger, she added depth by using sesame oil. “It’s simple, but it’s a flavor that will make you want to eat it again and again,” she said, conveying its remarkable depth. Let us also savor even a fraction of the joy that Masaaki-sama felt! Ingredients• 400g of daikon radish• 150g of wakame seaweed (fresh or rehydrated)• 20g of ginger• Sesame oil (to taste)• Raw sesame seeds (to taste)• Salt (to taste) Ingredients for seasoning the wakame:• 1 tablespoon of soy sauce Ingredients for seasoning the daikon:• ½ tablespoon of sake• ½ tablespoon of mirin• A little more than 1 tablespoon to 1.5 tablespoons of soy sauce Instructions① Preparations• Rehydrate the wakame according to its type—fresh, salted, or dried. Drain well and cut into bite-sized pieces.• Lightly toast the raw sesame seeds and grind them in a mortar.• Cut the daikon and ginger into thin strips with the skin on. ② Sauté the wakame• Heat a clay pot and add 1/2 tablespoon of sesame oil.• Add half of the ginger and a pinch of salt, and sauté briefly to release the aroma.• Once fragrant, add the wakame and stir quickly. Add the soy sauce, then immediately remove from heat.※ Avoid overcooking to preserve the flavor! ③ Sauté the daikon• Heat a clay pot and add 1 tablespoon of sesame oil.• Add the remaining half of the ginger and a pinch of salt, and sauté briefly to release the aroma.• Once fragrant, add the daikon and sauté slowly until it becomes translucent and tender.• Add the sake and allow the alcohol to evaporate, then add the mirin and simmer to boil off the alcohol.• Finally, add the soy sauce. ④ Finish• Add the sautéed wakame to the sautéed daikon and toss briefly to combine.• Add a pinch of salt, give it a quick stir, and turn off the heat.• Transfer to a bowl and sprinkle generously with ground sesame seeds to finish. A future staple of Japanese cuisine!Likes, saves, and shares are most welcome✨