Chicken and Daikon Radish Stew

White radish is combined with Ground chicken to create this hearty yet simple stew. The aroma of fresh ginger and the taste of soy and sake make this a delicious and appealing meal that you will be proud to serve.

Chicken Entrees Japanese

Chicken and Radish Stew, known in Japanese as Soboro Daikon (そぼろ大根) is made with white daikon radish and ground chicken. Daikon is a vegetable used often in Japanese kitchens and you can smell daikon cooking in homes and restaurants around the country.

Soboro Daikon is considered a comfort meal in Japan that many grew with. It’s not hard to see why Chicken and Radish Stew is popular – it’s a simple meal to prepare, it can be served as an entree or a side dish, the tempting aroma of ginger and cooked daikon is one that reminds people of their childhood. It’s a very healthy dish – low in calories and high in protein and low in saturated fats (a serving of this stew contains over 10 grams of protein and less than 2 grams of saturated fat!)

Daikon radish are spicy and crunchy before cooking, however stewing the radish softens it and takes the bite out. Daikon is white before cooking, but after preparation it becomes translucent. When preparing soups or stews with daikon, it’s important to cook the daikon long enough to soften it.

Soboro, ground chicken, is another ingredient that is used in many Japanese recipes. Ground chicken has a light taste, it’s very healthy, and it can be cooked with miso or other traditional Japanese spices to create low fat and protein rich dishes. My recipe for Nasu Dengaku features Soboro, and makes a good accompaniment to Soboro Daikon.

The stew is flavored with plenty of fresh ginger. Soy sauce and Japanese cooking sake are added to give the stew a little saltiness, but to also impart an authentic Japanese taste to the meal.

We eat Chicken and Daikon Radish stew regularly at my house and once you try it I think you will see why. Prepare it as a side dish or as an entree and enjoy it the next time you decide to cook a Japanese meal!

Chicken and Daikon Radish Stew (Soboro Daikon)

The aroma of Chicken and Daikon Radish stew is a familiar one to many living in Japan. You can often smell daikon when you walk into a traditional Japanese restaurant or as you walk by homes on any brisk fall evening.

Be sure to cook the daikon until it is soft before adding the other ingredients. Choose your favorite dashi as the base – I love konbu dashi which is made from seaweed, but Agodashi or Iruka-dashi which are both fish based, are quite good as well.

After you give the recipe a try, please post here and let us know how you liked it!

PREP	COOKING	YIELD

PREP
COOKING
YIELD

Ingredients:

1 8-inch long Daikon (Japanese White Radish)
8 cups Konbu Dashi
1/2 lb ground chicken
4 tsp potato starch
1/4 cup Japanese cooking sake
1 TBSP soy sauce
1 TBSP fresh grated ginger
1 TBSP cooking oil

Instructions:

Peel the daikon and cut into 1 inch slices. Quarter each slice.

Boil the daikon over medium high heat in the konbu dashi for 30 minutes. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 30 more minutes. The daikon should be soft and a fork will pass through it easily.

In a large frypan or a wok, sauté the chicken and ginger in the cooking oil for 5 minutes over medium high heat.
Add in the potato starch and sauté for another minute until the starch is completely absorbed into the meat.
Using a spoon with holes, add the daikon into the chicken mixture and sauté for 2-3 minutes allowing the daikon to break up a little into smaller pieces. Reduce heat to medium.
Mix in a cup of dashi and the sake and soy sauce. Stir with a wooden spoon over medium heat 2-3 minutes until sauce reaches desired consistency.

Serve.

Notes:

Make sure that you cook the daikon through until it is completely softened. It will break apart easily in the stew – this is what you are looking for.
This stew is a low calorie healthy meal. Another option for those looking for even more protein and lower carbs is to replace the potato starch with a beaten egg. The egg will thicken up the stew. Add the beaten egg just prior to adding in the soy sauce after you have lowered the heat.
Leftovers can be refrigerated for up to 5 days, but seal them up tightly. Daikon does have a strong smell.

Jay H

Jay is a Project Manager for a U.S. Company that does business globally. He has worked and lived in many places and has spent time learning how to cook dishes from around the world. Currently based in Japan, he created the Mountain Plums website during the Covid pandemic as a way to express himself though cooking while staying active.

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Jay H

Jay is a Project Manager for a U.S. Company that does business globally. He has worked and lived in many places and has spent time learning how to cook dishes from around the world. Currently based in Japan, he created the Mountain Plums website during the Covid pandemic as a way to express himself though cooking while staying active.