New Year’s Day is the biggest celebration in Japanese culture, and even the pickles get to dress up a little for this special day. You might enjoy pickled turnips on a daily basis, but on the first day of the year, we start with the best –  Pickled Chrysanthemum Turnip (Kikka Kabu 菊花かぶ).

What is Pickled Chrysanthemum Turnip (Kikka Kabu)?

These turnips are pickled in rice vinegar, sugar, and kombu. The pickles themselves are just an everyday pickle, but the white flesh of the turnip is meticulously cut to represent the petals of a chrysanthemum flower.

Why Chrysanthemum Flowers?

In addition to being a beautiful flower, the Chrysanthemum, or Kiku (菊) in Japanese, is a symbol that represents longevity and rejuvenation. It was first introduced to Japan during the Nara period (710 – 793 AC). By KENPEI (KENPEI’s photo) [GFDL, CC-BY-SA-3.0 or CC BY-SA 2.1 jp], via Wikimedia Commons The Japanese Royal Family was fascinated with the chrysanthemum, and it became the emperor’s crest and official seal called the Imperial Seal of Japan. The chrysanthemum is still a very common symbol in Japan found on Japanese passports and 50 yen coins.

The Chrysanthemum in Food

The Japanese love chrysanthemum and it is used widely in Japanese culture and food. Bright yellow chrysanthemum is often used to garnish sushi and sashimi platters. And in today’s recipe for pickled chrysanthemum turnip, the symbol of the flower is served as a part of the traditional Japanese New Year’s Day food Osechi Ryori. The white and red color of the dish represents the happiness and the flower represents longevity for the coming year. The crunchy texture, and sweet and sour flavor of the pickle, is a perfectly refreshing Hashiyasume (箸休め) – a small palate-cleansing dish served between courses.

Notes on Pickled Chrysanthemum Turnip

Japanese Turnips: I used Japanese turnips for this recipe as I can purchase these small white turnips in a Japanese grocery store. You can definitely use other types of turnips that are available in your local store. If your turnips are too big, just cut into quarters after a crisscross incision is made. The Chopstick Trick: You don’t have to use this trick, but it’s REALLY helpful as your knife won’t go through the turnip. Just be careful not to slice through the first and last few vertical slices as the turnip shape is round. A sharp knife is very useful as it slices down easily without much force. I was a bit nervous to slice into 1 mm width in front of the camera, but the more relaxed you are the better the cut. It’s important to make a perpendicular slice so that you don’t cut off the petals. Kakushi Bocho: You might remember this cooking trick from the Miso Dengaku recipe or Eggplant Agebitashi recipe. More about this cooking technique below. Dried Red Chili Pepper: You may have noticed that Japanese dishes are not spicy. We use just one red chili pepper WITHOUT seeds in my recipe as well as a majority of Japanese recipes. If you like the pickles to have more of a kick, you are welcome to add more chili peppers including seeds. Yuzu or Lemon Peel: For decoration, you can also use yuzu or lemon peel as I showed in my photos.

Cooking Trick – Kakushi Bocho 隠し包丁

Kakushi or kakusu means hidden and hide, and Bocho or hocho means a knife. This technique is used so that:

  1. The heat will go through the ingredient more easily
  2. Flavors (of the broth or seasonings) will be absorbed better
  3. The ingredient will be easier to cut with chopsticks In this recipe, it is used for #2. Turnips are thick, so with the Kakushi Bocho technique, the turnips will better absorb the marinade. We score the ingredient without making it too visible (so when you serve, it’s not obvious). That’s how the name “kakushi” or “hidden” comes from. You will see this technique used for ingredients that are hard to cook through and absorb flavors such as daikon, eggplant, and konnyaku. Now that you’ve learned how to make this elegant Pickled Chrysanthemum Turnip adorn your Osechi Ryori, I wish you happiness and longevity for the coming year!  Wish to learn more about Japanese cooking? Sign up for our free newsletter to receive cooking tips & recipe updates! And stay in touch with me on Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, and Instagram.