Fresh Daikon "pickles"

A friend gave me this recipe and it's great. From the time she was a toddler, my daughter has loved to snack on this, the spicier the better. Adjust the ingredients to your taste, making it sweeter, spicier, or more sour. I know the sodium content in this will be astronomical, but remember that you don't consume all the soy sauce and that this is used as a condiment. Prep and cooking time does not include drying the daikon or allowing the pickles to sit overnight.

• Ready In: 30 mins
• Yields: 1 batch

Ingredients

• 1  medium daikon radish
• 1  piece  konbu (seaweed, about 4 inches)
• 1  cup soy sauce
• 1⁄2-1  cup rice vinegar
• 1  cup brown sugar
• 1⁄4 cup fresh ginger (fine julienne)
•  crushed red pepper flakes, to taste

Directions

1. Take the daikon and put it out into the sun for a day until the skin gets a bit wrinkly and the surface dries.
2. Wash, peel, and cut the daikon lengthwise. Chop the daikon halves into 1/8 or 1/4 inch semi-circles.
3. Wash the konbu piece(s).
4. Put the konbu, soy sauce, rice vinegar, brown sugar, ginger, and red pepper in a pan, bring it to boil.
5. Remove from heat.
6. Add the daikon while the brine is still hot.
7. Put into a jar or bowl, cover well, and refrigerate overnight.
8. Enjoy!