Daikon is the great white winter radish of East Asia — a long, smooth, ivory taproot, commonly the length of a forearm, with crisp, juicy, faintly sweet flesh and only a gentle peppery bite far milder than the little red salad radish. The same crucifer mustard-oil chemistry runs through it, but in a cooler, watery, refreshing register that all but vanishes when the root is simmered. It is grated raw beside sashimi, pickled golden as takuan, and stewed soft in dashi for oden, and it anchors everyday cooking across Japan, China, Korea and northern India.