Hakurei Turnips (Japanese Turnips) - Wholesome Yum (2024)

When you’re looking for a new vegetable to try, make Hakurei turnips! Also known as a Japanese turnip or Tokyo turnip, these veggies are sweet and crisp when raw, but turn buttery when cooked unlike regular roasted turnips. You can roast this Japanese turnip recipe in the oven or cook them even faster in an air fryer. Then, they are tossed in a sweet and savory miso maple sauce — it’s a delicious way to enjoy them.

Air frying fresh produce is a great way to cook vegetables because it’s so easy and they always end up delicious! If you don’t have Japanese turnips around, try air fryer eggplant and air fried zucchini chips.

What Are Hakurei Turnips?

Hakurei turnips, also known as Tokyo turnips or Japanese turnips, a root vegetable that has a mild flavor, natural sweetness, and a juicy, crunchy texture. These white radishes are sometimes compared to a cross between red radishes and regular turnips.

What do Tokyo turnips taste like?

When the Tokyo turnips are cooked, they have a buttery flavor. When raw, they are sweet and crispy.

Ingredients For Roasted Hakurei Turnips

This section explains how to choose the best ingredients for roasted Hakurei turnips, what each one does in the recipe, and substitution options. For measurements, see the recipe card below.

For the turnips:

• Japenese turnips – Look for a bunch of Hakurei turnips that is white and firm. They look like white radishes.
• Oil – I used olive oil, but avocado oil or even sesame oil will also work. If using sesame oil, be sure it’s not the toasted kind, which has a low smoke point.
• Sea salt & black pepper

For the miso dressing:

• Miso paste – Use a rice-based miso paste so that it’s gluten-free.
• Rice vinegar – Rice vinegar will add most authentic flavor, but other vinegars are fine as well.
• Maple Syrup – Regular maple syrup is fine if sugar content is not a concern for you, but I prefer to use For the perfect sweet and savory dressing in this recipe, I turn to Wholesome Yum Sugar Free Maple Syrup. It’s 100% natural, with real maple flavor!
• Lime juice – Two tablespoons is equivalent to the juice from one lime. Bottled lime juice is also fine, but less flavorful. Fresh lemon juice is fine as well.
• Sesame seeds – Use white or black sesame seeds.
• Oil – Use the same oil you used for roasting (options above).

How To Cook Hakurei Turnips

This section shows how to make Tokyo turnips with step-by-step photos and details about the technique, to help you visualize it. For full instructions, including amounts and temperatures, see the recipe card below.

• Chop. Cut the turnips into halves for small turnips or quarters for larger turnips.

• Season. Toss the turnip wedges with olive oil, salt, and pepper.
• Roast. Place turnips in a single layer in the air fryer or on sheet pans, and roast in the air fryer or the oven, respectively, tossing halfway through cooking time. If using the air fryer, be sure not to crowd the basket; cook in batches if necessary.

FYI: The air fryer is about 1.5X faster than the oven, which is why it’s my favorite way, but both methods are delicious.

• Make miso dressing. In a small bowl, whisk together miso paste, rice vinegar, maple syrup, lime juice, sesame seeds, and olive oil.

• Serve. Toss air fryer Japanese turnips with miso dressing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where to buy Hakurei turnips?

Hakurei turnips are most common in the late spring, summer, and early fall, but are available year round. You’ll find them at farmer’s markets and grocery stores that have an abundant produce section.

Can you eat Japanese turnip greens?

Yes, the leafy greens are edible, so don’t throw them away. The leafy tops can be sauteed over medium heat with a little salt or soy sauce. For this Japanese turnip recipe, I left some of the green tops on the turnips.

Are Japanese turnips good for you?

Yes, they are low in calories and high in a variety of nutrients like fiber, calcium, iron, magnesium, and vitamin C.

Do Japanese turnips need to be peeled?

No, you don’t have to peel Japanese turnips, but you can if you want to. You can also leave the turnip tops on, like I did here.

Storage Instructions

• To store: Store this recipe for Hakurei turnips in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
• To reheat: Reheat turnips in a 350 degree F oven or air fryer, or the microwave, until warm. They are also delicious at room temperature.
• To freeze: Freeze this Tokyo turnip recipe without the miso dressing for up to 6 months.

What To Serve With Hakurei Turnips

• Pan Seared Salmon
• Air Fryer Pork Chops
• Pan Seared Chicken Breast
• Kani Salad
• Chicken Stir Fry
• Salmon Sushi Bake

More Healthy Vegetable Recipes

If you like this Hakurei turnip recipe, you might also like some of these other easy vegetable recipes:

• Asparagus In The Oven
• Air Fryer Eggplant
• Rutabaga Recipe
• Green Beans Almondine
• Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Recipe Card

4.95 from 18 votes☝️ Click stars to rate or click here to leave a review!

Hakurei Turnips (Japanese Turnips)

Learn how to cook Hakurei turnips perfectly, in just 20 minutes! This Japanese turnip recipe works in the oven or air fryer, and has the BEST miso maple sauce.

Prep: 10 minutes

Cook: 10 minutes

Total: 20 minutes

Author: Maya Krampf from WholesomeYum.com

Servings: 8 (adjust to scale recipe)

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Ingredients

Tap underlined ingredients to see where to get them.

See Also

Gochujang Buttered Noodles Recipe

Turnips:

• 5cupsJapanese turnips(halved for small ones, quartered for large ones)▢
• 3tbspOlive oil▢
• 1/2tspSea salt▢
• 1/4tspBlack pepper▢

Miso Dressing:

• 1tbspMiso paste▢
• 2tbspRice vinegar▢
• 1tbspMaple syrup(I use Wholesome Yum Sugar Free Maple Syrup, it's 100% natural!)▢
• 2tbspLime juice▢
• 1tspSesame seeds▢
• 1/4cupOlive oil▢

Instructions

Tap on the times in the instructions below to start a kitchen timer while you cook.

1. Preheat the air fryer to 350 degrees F (176 degrees C), or preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (204 degrees C).

2. Toss the Hakurei turnips with olive oil, salt, and pepper.

3. To cook Japanese turnips in the air fryer: Place the halved or quartered turnips in a single layer in the air fryer basket. (You may have to cook them in batches depending on the size of your air fryer.) Cook for 10 minutes, tossing halfway.

   To cook Japanese turnips in the oven: Arrange the halved or quartered turnips in a single layer on a sheet pan. Roast in the oven for about 15 minutes, tossing halfway.

4. Meanwhile, prepare the dressing. In a small bowl, whisk together all the dressing ingredients, until combined.

5. Serve Hakurei turnips with the miso dressing.

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Related Easy Recipes

• Air Fryer Eggplant

• Air Fryer Zucchini Chips

• Air Fryer Chicken Legs

• Air Fryer Bacon

Recipe Notes

Serving size: 1/2 cup

Nutrition info is based on using Wholesome Yum Sugar Free Maple Syrup.

Nutrition Facts

Amount per serving. Serving size in recipe notes above.

Calories136

Fat12.3g

Protein1.1g

Total Carbs6.2g

Net Carbs4.6g

Fiber1.6g

Sugar3.3g

Nutrition facts are provided as a courtesy. Have questions about calculations or why you got a different result? Please see our nutrition policy.

Course:Side Dish

Cuisine:Japanese

Keywords:Harukei turnips, Japanese turnip, Japanese turnip recipe, Tokyo turnip

Calories: 136 kcal

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Hakurei Turnips: Easy Japanese Turnip Recipe

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