Chrysanthemum Leaf and Persimmon Salad
At Izakaya Rintaro, where chef/owner Sylvan Mishima Brackett serves this salad, they make their own dashi for the savory dressing by soaking kombu in water overnight, then bringing the water to a simmer, adding freshly shaved katsuobushi (bonito flakes), and boiling the mixture briefly before straining the flakes out. Here, however, we’ve simplified the recipe by using prepared dashi. Chrysanthemum greens, which have a grassy, herbal flavor, are used in widely in several Asian cuisines and can be found at many Asian grocers and farmers’ markets. It you can’t find them, substitute baby arugula or watercress. Any leftover dressing can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Ingredients
For the dressing:
- 1/4 cup (2 fl. oz./60 ml) soy sauce
- 1 Tbs. mirin
- 1 Tbs. zarame (Japanese raw sugar), Demerara sugar or turbinado sugar
- 3 Tbs. rice vinegar
- 1 Tbs. dashi
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1 Tbs. grated yellow onion
For the salad:
- 8 cups (12 oz./375 g) chrysanthemum greens, torn into bite-size pieces
- 1/2 cup (3 1/2 oz./105 g) grated and drained daikon radish
- 1 Fuyu persimmon, peeled, quartered and cut into bite-size slices
Directions
To make the salad dressing, in a small saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the soy sauce, mirin and sugar and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, until the sugar is dissolved, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool completely.
In a small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce mixture, rice vinegar, dashi, salt and grated onion until combined. Taste and add more salt if desired.
To assemble the salad, in a large bowl, toss together the chrysanthemum greens and daikon. Add about 3 Tbs. of the dressing and toss, adding more if necessary to lightly coat the vegetables. (Be careful not to overdress the salad, or the chrysanthemum greens will wilt). Garnish with the persimmon slices and serve immediately. Serves 6.
Sylvan Mishima Brackett, chef/owner, Izakaya Rintaro, San Francisco, CA
