After first frying, before second.
Based on this method: Perfect French Fries
Note: I have included 10 Tablespoons of peanut oil for the entire recipes in calories/fat since that was the amount that seemed to dissipate from the pan.
I prefer the thinner-cut fries for this recipe because they cook and crisp up slightly better than the 1/4″ fries recommended by the link above. These fries get soggy pretty fast after the second cook, so be prepared to serve immediately, or make smaller batches, freezing the rest for later. Be careful; frozen foods can cause hot oil to spatter.
Delicious Daikon French Fries
2 pounds (907 grams) of Daikon radish, skinned and sliced into 1/4″ x 1/4″ strips (1/8″ x 1/8″ is even better for crisping them up)
2 Tbsp vinegar
4 cups (1 quart) peanut oil
Place daikon radish and vinegar in saucepan and add 8 cups (1 quarts) of water and 2 tablespoons of salt. Bring to a boil over high heat. Boil for 10 minutes. Daikon should be fully tender, but not falling apart. Drain and spread on paper towel-lined rimmed baking sheet. Allow to dry for five minutes.
Meanwhile, heat oil in 3-quart saucepan over medium- heat (about 7 on my stove top) to 400°F. Add 1/4 of fries to the oil (oil temperature should drop to around 360°F). Cook for 55 seconds, agitating occasionally with a metal slotted spoon, then remove to second paper-towel lined rimmed baking sheet. Repeat with remaining daikon (working in two more batches), allowing oil to return to 400°F after each addition. Allow daikon to cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes. Continue with step 3, or for best results, freeze daikon at least over night, or up to 2 months.
Bring oil to 400°F over medium-high heat. Fry half of potatoes until crisp and light golden brown, about 3 1/2 minutes, adjusting heat to maintain at around 360°F. Drain in a bowl lined with paper towels and serve immediately with salt.
Makes 2 pounds of fries, or about 6 servings.
Per serving: 226 Cals.; 6 g Carbs.; 2 g Fiber; 4 g Net Carbs. ; 1g Protein; 23 g Fat
This is a terrific idea!!! Can’t wait to try it and thanx your posting efforts…
I love your site! Thank you so much for taking the time to discover, test and teach. Now to my question, I am a little confused, does this mean that the daikon is boiled, then fried, then fried a second time? Thanks
Yes! Though I am sure you could fry once if you don’t plan to freeze and cook again.
Wow, these look awesome! Totally ketchup (lc of course) worthy.
These loooook so awesome. I hate cleaning after frying though, so I’m a gonna just drop by to eat yours.
i just happen to have a nice fresh Daikon in the fridge. I am going to use some of it as “potato cubes” in my favorite clam chowder, but there should be plenty left to try out some crispy fries. Thanks for experimenting for us Jamie.
How do you use these as potato cubes? do you just put them in raw with you other chowder ingredients?
I’d like to try this in my deep fryer. I bet it would work fantastic. Wonderful idea, Jamie!
Can you make this using any other kind of Oil??
Sure, so long as it’s high-temperature-tolerant oil.
Jamie – Question? Have you tried super thin slicing them on a mandolin and deep frying them like potato chips? Would you and let us know how they are?? I’m thinking about purchasing a deep fryer, and this would be the deciding factor! LOL
Hi, Pamela! First of all, I’ve seriously owned a deep fat fryer and I think they’re more work than they’re worth. I am a fan of a good candy thermometer and a deep saucepan for frying. Secondly, I haven’t tried them like chips yet… hmm…
These look great. As I’ve never cooked with daikon before, I was wondering what the reason was for the vinegar/water boil first? Have you tried them without this step? I do a lot of veggies in my actifry and they turn out great, but I think if I boiled them first they would break apart too much. Thanks!
Hi! I followed the method from Serious Eats. That’s why I chose to follow their steps. I thought if they worked for their fries…
You call them potatoes in the recipe and in my head I was RIGHT there with you, but picturing a Daikon instead ;). I love veggies. I love fried things. You just made this girl SO happy!
Any idea how long we would cook them if we were going to serve them immediately?
In that case, cook them until they’re golden brown. They should be perfect then!
I seriously ADORE diakon but I recently had an allergy test and it told me that along with ALL of my food allergies, diakon is one of them!!! I tested myself the other night and had some with my sushi and… I could barely get out of bed the next day! It was kind of shocking and equally SAD! but this recipe still looks phenomenal!
Oh no! I didn’t even think about daikon allergies, but I guess it makes sense. With all of the allergies I have, nature owns me a solid!
Hi Jamie, Can you tell me a little about the flavor of the diakon. I know flavors are hard to discribe, but although I love the hot, bite back at you flavor of Horse Radish, I’m not all that crazy about regular salad radishes. It’s not that I freak out if I eat one, but if I see them I’ll pick them out of the salad. I would love to have something to replace a regular french fry and would even love if these were a little spicy like the Horsh Radish. Thanks for the recipe.
Living in Japan, I think I can answer your question…Daikon has a subtle flavor like a radish, but not the bite. Often eaten raw here or pickled. They’re also simmered in broth until just off crunchy…It doesn’t taste anything like Horseradish.
Hi! I would agree with Dutch. It tastes gamier than potato, but less gamey than the turnip. A parboiling and then adding of them to most dishes and the vegetable takes on the flavors of the dish around it.
Dutch / Jamie, Thank both of you for replying. I will definitely give this a try, I really miss french fries. Can we say really really miss french fries and I like potatoes and turnips so if it’s texture are anywhere similar, I’m good with that.
Definitely eat the fries as soon as they’re cool enough, but don’t wait too long; they tend to go a little floppy if you wait.
Closer to turnips,than potatoes and milder than red radishes…The two-step frying method is the proper way to do French Fries. Blanch-fry first, then rest them and when finishing, get the oil as hot as possible, without smoking. That puts the crisp to them, inside was already cooked the first time…Jamie’s also right in suggesting they be eaten as soon as possible…Fast food restaurants/chains have experimented with using a starch based coating to keep them crisp longer, but just eat them as quick as they’re cool enough…
I love it, a relatively healthy recipe for fries. They must really be like the real thing because I got confused when you used the word “potatoes” in the post – I assume referring to the radish substitute “potatoes” 🙂 That is unless actual potatoes were included in the recipe and I missed that part.
Blarg! Thank you. It also helps when I tell you what a metal slotted ____is… it’s a spoon/spatula.
Can you oven bake them instead I love oven baked chips !
I think you may be able to, especially if you oil the pan, or toss the daikon in oil prior to baking. That said, try a small batch to be sure, first.
I tried making these today–while not bad they were WAY too salty. I only added the salt to the water as directed. I will have to try again without all that salt.
Hi I’m new here just wanted to make sure I understood your directions right… I can do the first round of frying and then freeze them for up to 2 months, taking them out of the freezer to do the 2nd round of frying correct?
hi! I made them but they came out soggy. Is that normal?