DEAN SENSUI / DSENSUI@STARBULLETIN.COM
Michiharu Ikeda tends the prolific daikon garden at the Honbushin International Center. The crop is shared with the congregation and community.
Daikon ministry
The Honbushin community
celebrates the favorite vegetable
in its shared garden
The Honbushin International Center promotes a message of goodwill, meditation and international peace, but there's a side ministry here -- the ministry of daikon happiness.
The Rev. Mamoru Yamasaki, the center's director, is known within and without the small Honbushin congregation as "daikon sensei."
Daikon Matsuri
When: 4 to 9 p.m. Saturday
Place: Honbushin International Center, 95-030 Waihonu St., Mililani
Admission: Free
Call: 623-7693
It was his idea to plant a garden on the center's property in the far regions of Mililani. His son, Yuhi, says the garden was first seeded 18 years ago with a mix of vegetables, "but daikon had the biggest impact on everybody."
The large variety of Japanese daikon and its leaves were hard to find in local markets, and was highly coveted, so most of the garden space went to the humble white root.
His father's purpose, Yuhi, says: "to give people something to take home, so they go home happy."
The daikon thrives in that rich, red dirt that once grew pineapple.
"We have so much daikon that we donate to others in the community," says Yuhi. The son communicates for his father, who speaks only Japanese.
"We're not trying to make money off it. It's to share."
COURTESY HONBUSHIN INTERNATIONAL CENTER
Volunteers chop and season the huge daikon to make takuan for Saturday's Daikon Matsuri.
Saturday the Honbushin Center hosts its first Daikon Matsuri, a fall harvest festival that celebrates the many fine properties of daikon.
Two weekends back, volunteers put up several gallons of takuan, or pickled daikon, which will be sold along with kiriboshi (dried daikon) and the fresh vegetable. Other vegetables and Japanese foods will also be sold and recipes for daikon dishes will be handed out. There will also be a healthy dose of culture, in the form of Japanese dance.
It will be a simple affair, in keeping with the modest attitude of its vegetable-of-honor. "We wanted to make it small first and build the base," Yuhi says.
The aim is simple as well: "To give thanks for the food."
The Honbushin faith is an offshoot of Shinto and is only about 50 years old, Yuhi says. The Hawaii congregation is small, just 20 or so members, although the faith has grown quickly in Japan.
The Mililani land, north of the town proper, was purchased in 1984 as a home for a Hawaii Honbushin community. The Pineapple Research Institute had been based there and left behind a few low-rise buildings that have been converted into offices, a kitchen and a worship space.
But mostly what the Honbushin Center inherited was 143 acres of weed-choked land. That's all been tamed now, although most of it remains open spaces.
DEAN SENSUI / DSENSUI@ STARBULLETIN.COM
Yuhi Yamasaki holds a large bucket of takuan that will be packaged and sold at Saturday's Daikon Matsuri at the Honbushin International Center in Mililani.
The largest section of property has been given over to the Genten, a monument in the shape of a koa tree trunk that is the focus of prayers for peace.
The garden takes up a slice of the southern edge of the property, planted mostly in daikon and turmeric, which is processed into a dietary supplement called Ukon (Japanese for turmeric).
Michiharu Ikeda is studying for the Honbushin ministry, but it's also his job to tend the garden. At the moment he has 3,000 plants growing in two neat rows (much has already been harvested for the matsuri).
Ikeda says it takes two months for daikon to grow from seed to harvest size, which is a root of about 18 inches in length and 3 inches across. At this size it is sweet, Ikeda says, before that, "karai" -- spicy and harsh.
The variety is called ao kubi, or green neck, for the pale green tinge near the leaves.
In Japan, daikon has long been one of those nothing-goes-to-waste products. The leaves, the skin and of course the long, white root all have their place in the cuisine.
Daikon was traditionally planted in the fall so that it could be harvested and pickled or dried before winter.
The Honbushin Center offers these recipes for using both daikon greens and roots.
Daikon Leaves and Tuna Fry
Leaves from 1 large daikon, about 1/2 pound greens
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 can tuna, drained
2 tablespoons miso
1 tablespoon sake
1 tablespoon mirinBoil leaves in water for 3 minutes. Rinse, squeeze out water and cut into 3/8-inch long pieces.
Heat sesame oil in a skillet and stir-fry leaves over moderate heat. When oil is incorporated throughout the leaves, add tuna.
Combine miso, sake and mirin; stir into skillet. Stir-fry until the liquid is absorbed. Serves 2.
Approximate nutritional analysis, per serving: 240 calories, 9 g total fat, 1.5 g saturated fat, 25 mg cholesterol, 950 mg sodium, 12 g carbohydrate, 25 g protein.
Daikon and Satoimo
1 pound daikon, peeled and cut in 3/8-inch thick half-circles
3/4 cup diced chicken
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3 cups dashijiru (Japanese soup stock, homemade or from dashi-no-moto powder)
1-1/2 cups satoimo (Japanese taro), peeled and quartered
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons mirin
1 tablespoon sake
1 tablespoon sugarFry daikon and chicken in oil to brown chicken.
Combine dashijiru, soy sauce, mirin, sake and sugar in a pot over medium-high heat; add daikon, chicken and satoimo. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer 15 minutes. Serves 4.
Approximate nutritional analysis, per serving: 170 calories, 6 g total fat, 1 g saturated fat, 25 mg cholesterol, greater than 1,000 mg sodium, 16 g carbohydrate, 12 g protein.
Daikon and Somen Salad
1 pound daikon, peeled and cut in 2-inch-long matchsticks
1/2 pound dry somen noodles
5 sticks artificial crab, in bite-sized pieces
1 bunch mitsuba (see note)>> Sauce:
2 tablespoons white sesame seeds, ground
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1/2 tablespoon somen tsuyu (bottled somen soup base)
3 tablespoons waterRinse daikon in water; drain well.
Break somen noodles in half and cook in boiling water for a few seconds (noodles should be firm, not soft). Rinse with cold water; drain well.
To make sauce: Combine sesame seeds and mayonnaise. Combine somen tsuyu and water. Slowly stir diluted somen tsuyu into mayonnaise.
Toss daikon with somen noodles. Top with imitation crab and mitsuba. Pour sauce over salad. Serves 4.
Note: Mistuba is a Japanese herb, also called Japanese parsley or white chervil. May substitute a handful of mixed greens.
Approximate nutritional analysis, per serving: 470 calories, 9 g total fat, 1.5 g saturated fat, 50 mg cholesterol, 530 mg sodium, 70 g carbohydrate, 26 g protein.
Click for online
calendars and events.
