Korean Radish Kimchi (Kkakdugi Recipe)

5 from 3 votes

Korean Radish Kimchi (Kkakdugi Recipe)

Korean Radish Kimchi is a tangy, crunchy, and spicy side dish and condiment that you can easily make at home. This recipe is delicious and foolproof. Enjoy your homemade radish kimchi with rice and noodle dishes. It also works great as an accompaniment to Korean BBQ, fried eggs, and wraps.

Prep Time30

Ferment Time1

Total Time1 30

Course: condiment, Side Dish, Snack

Cuisine: korean

Diet: Vegetarian

Servings: Servings

Author: Luay Ghafari

Cost: $5

Equipment

Glass jar with lid

Ingredients

1 lb Korean or Daikon Radish - Peeled and cut into ¾ inch cubes
2 tsp Kosher salt or coarse sea salt
½ Asian pear - Peeled and cubed, about ½ cup
2-3 Garlic cloves
1-2 tbsp Fresh ginger
3 tbsp Korean chili flakes (Gochugaru) - Use more or less to taste
1-2 tbsp Fish sauce
5 Scallions - Cut into strips or chopped

Instructions

Salt the Radish. Add your cubed radish to a large mixing bowl and sprinkle them with salt. Mix the salt well and let the bowl rest on the counter for 15-30 minutes. The salt will draw out moisture from the radish.
Rinse the radish. You will notice that there is a puddle of liquid forming at the bottom of the bowl. Discard it and quickly rinse the radish under cold water. Just a quick 5-second rinse is enough, you don’t want to wash away all the saltiness from the radish cubes.
Make Gochugaru paste. Process the Asian pear, garlic, ginger, pepper flakes and fish sauce in a food processor until you have a smooth paste.
Combine. To the radish bowl, add chopped green onions and the chili paste.
Mix. With your hands, massage everything together to get the chili paste evenly distributed.
Ferment. Transfer and pack the seasoned radish and scallions to a mason jar, making sure to press down as you pack to reduce air pockets. Cover with a standard lid (or fermentation lid if you have one) and ferment on the counter for 1-2 days. Burp the jar every day to release any potential gasses that form. You might notice small bubbles forming in the jar. That’s a good sign. Refrigerate when the radish reaches the desired sourness. Remember Kimchi should be a little sour.

Notes

See the post above for step-by-step recipe photos.

Ingredient notes:

Radish: Ideally you would use Korean Radish (mu). This is a variety of white radish with firm crisp flesh. You can of course use the more commonly available Daikon for this recipe.
Asian Pear: Traditionally, you will find Kkakdugi recipes that use sugar for added sweetness. I am using half an Asian pear instead. The liquid in the pear helps bring the chili paste together and adds sweetness. Of course, you can omit and replace it with a tablespoon of sugar instead.
Red pepper powder: You must use Korean chili flakes (gochugaru) for this recipe. Gochugaru comes in coarse and powdered textures. I personally prefer the coarse variety but you can use either.
Fish Sauce: Fish sauce adds umami and saltiness to the Kimchi. You don’t need much. But to keep this recipe vegan, you can omit it or replace it with soy sauce or coconut aminos.

Container: Use an airtight container (kimchi container) or simply a mason jar. You can use a fermentation lid on the mason jar if you like, however, you can simply burp the jar (open it and close it quickly) once or twice a day to release any trapped gasses.

The spicy juice in the jar can be used to add heat to other dishes like rice and eggs.

Nutrition