Preserved Daikon Radish, known as Luo Bo Gan 蘿蔔乾 or Cai Po 菜脯, is a traditional cured vegetable in Taiwan, made by salting then sun-drying daikon radish. It is one of many pickled foods of the Hakka people, a migratory group with Chinese ancestry that now makes up around 15% of Taiwan’s population.

Meinong Farmers‘ Association makes their preserved daikon radishes from white jade daikon radish 白玉蘿蔔. Although white jade daikon is relatively small—only the size of a karaoke microphone—it has thin skin and fibers, yielding a more finely textured product than those made from bigger varieties.

First, members of the farmers’ association slice the radish into wedges and massage salt into it over the course of two to three days, ensuring that the moisture is completely drawn out. Then the radish is sun-dried in bamboo baskets for a few more days before packing. The salt and decreased moisture inhibit the growth of harmful bacteria, and promote the growth of lactobacilli and other beneficial microbes, which consume the sugars within the radish to create an acidic environment. Throughout the process, wave after wave of different microbes peak and die off, metabolizing and transforming the radish from sharp and white to mellow and dark brown.

All that daikon essence is condensed into a piquant, potent little shred of a thing. It’s got a lovely “cui cui de” 脆脆的 texture. It’s crisp and snappy as much as it is old and dried, reminiscent of the bite in salted jellyfish, pig ear, a perfectly prepared raw celtuce salad, or a masterful shredded potato stir fry.

Across Taiwan, Preserved Daikon Radish appears in homestyle dishes like Preserved Radish Omelet 菜脯蛋, as well as in restaurant dishes like Spicy Stir-Fried Preserved Radish 辣炒蘿蔔乾, a biandang or lunchbox staple.