Recipe - Osechi Namasu なます Daikon, Carrot, and Yuzu Pickles

Namasu is a great Japanese pickle to master as it adds color to any table, and the pickles can also be used for other dishes like Vietnamese banh mi sandwiches or for fresh spring rolls.

The namasu for osechi ryori has strips of yuzu zest added to it which brings a nice citrus aroma to the pickles. If you can find the Kyoto carrots (Kyoninjin) the dark red color is a nice contrast to the white daikon.

1/2 daikon
1 carrot
salt
2 Tablespoons yuzu juice
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
2 Tablespoons sugar
yuzu zest

Peel the daikon and carrot. Cut daikon and carrots into julienne strips. Place in a large bowl, add about a teaspoon of salt, massage gently and set aside.

In a pan add the rice wine vinegar and sugar. Cook over low heat until the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature. Then add the yuzu juice.

Cut the yuzu zest into fine strips and add to yuzu and sweet rice wine vinegar.

Squeeze the daikon and carrot of excess juice and add to the sweet rice wine vinegar sauce. Allow to marinate overnight.