Simmered Pork with Daikon Radish--Book Review

It's nearly winter, and time for daikons to come into season. I love diakons. This dish is one I make often, and it comes from my favorite Japanese cook book (that I own. It's always possible that there's a better one out there, I just haven't read it yet.) So, that leaves me with a little dilema: copyright. Do I write up the recipe here, with a reference to the book and author? Or do I just direct you to the book? Since I usually follow the recipe directly (instead of adjusting it to our tastes), I think that I will not put the recipe here.

The book.

I found this book in the English section of the Maruzen Book Store. It is a wonderful book with color pictures and complete instructions. It's called Japanese Homestyle Cooking by Tokiko Suzuki. It gives you a run-down on all types of tools and cutting styles used in Japanese cooking. It also tells you what time of year certain dishes can/should be made. Even though most ingredients are available most time of year now, when made at the traditional time of year, they can taste even better. I'm not one to really buy into the 'special Japanese four seasons' thing, but i think that certain foods do taste better at different times of year.

So I don't leave you hanging, this recipe calls for boneless pork belly, daikon, carrot and fresh shitake mushrooms (you don't need a lot of mushrooms. Also, the recipe calls for small mushrooms, but sometimes I just get big ones and cut them into quarters.) Brown the meat, add the daikon and carrot, then the mushrooms. Three cups of dashi stock, some sake, salt (just a little) and soy sauce. Simmer until the daikon is soft. It's easy and fairly quick, and this recipe alone nearly makes it worth buying this book!