Kkakdugi: Cubed Radish Kimchi
To go with the seed story about Green Luobo Radish this month, we wanted to share this recipe for Kkakdugi, a Korean cubed radish kimchi. This recipe is modified from Korean food educator Mangchii, and most of the credit goes to her.
Ingredients
- 4 pounds Green Luobo or other daikon radish
- 2 Tbsp kosher salt (iodized salt can slow fermentation)
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- ¼ cup fish sauce (substitute soy sauce for a vegetarian version)
- ⅔ cup Korean hot pepper flakes (gochugaru)
- 4 green onions, chopped
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 Tbsp minced ginger
Directions
- Peel radish. Rinse in cold water. Pat dry.
- Cut radish it into ¾ to 1 inch cubes.
- In a large bowl, mix radish, salt, and sugar. If you like your kkakdugi sweeter, add 1 or more extra tbs of sugar.
- Set aside for 30 minutes.
- Drain the juice from the radish into a small bowl.
- Add minced garlic, minced ginger, green onions, fish sauce, hot pepper flakes, and ⅓ cup of the juice from the radish. The amount of hot pepper flakes you use depends on your taste; use ¼ cup hot pepper flakes for a mild version. For a vegetarian version, replace fish sauce with soy sauce.
- Mix well until the seasonings coat the radish cubes evenly and the radish looks juicy.
- Put the kkakdugi into a glass jar and press down on the top of it to remove any air from between the radish cubes.
Serving
This is a fresh kimchi style—you can eat it right away with no fermentation process. If you like it this way, store immediately in the refrigerator. Or you can let it ferment by keeping it outside of the refrigerator for a few days. When it starts fermenting, little bubbles may appear on top of the kkakdugi and it’ll smell strong and sour. Then put it in the refrigerator. Do not let it ferment a long time like you would with a sauerkraut.
On Pepper Flakes
Most people say the quality of kimchi is only as good as the quality of your gochugaru (pepper flakes). You can buy Korean pepper flakes at any Asian grocery store. If you’re growing your own peppers to dry, choose a Korean kimchi variety or any hot paprika pepper.