Sweet and Sour Maneul Jangajji (Pickled Garlic)
A year-round side dish made by soaking garlic in vinegar to remove its pungent sharpness, then pickling it in a boiled soy sauce brine.
Translated from Korean by AI and not yet checked by a native speaker. Amounts and numbers are taken directly from the original recipe. Read the Korean original →
Ferment the garlic in vinegar water for ten days to mellow its sharp bite, then age it in a soy sauce brine neatly colored with regular soy sauce and salt. Periodically boiling, cooling, and pouring the pickling liquid back in yields a dependable side dish you can enjoy through all four seasons.
- Servings
- about 10–12 servings
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Spiciness
- Not spicy
- Keeps
- 365 days
Ingredients
Ingredients
- Whole garlic cloves50 heads, 1.4 kg
- Vinegar4 cups
Soy Sauce Brine
- Regular soy sauce (jin-ganjang)0.5 cup
- Vinegar1 cup
- Sugar0.5 cup
- Water2.5 cups
- Salt1 tbsp
- Peeling the garlic all the way down to the inner skins takes about 1 hour.
- If you do not like a tart flavor, you can omit the vinegar from the soy sauce brine or reduce the amount.
- When using 2x vinegar, mix it with water in equal parts before using.
Steps
1. Here are 50 heads of fresh new-crop garlic. You can pickle whole heads of garlic, but I pickled mine completely peeled.
In the past I pickled them whole, and it was a bit inconvenient when eating them.
2. Peel them cleanly all the way down to the inner skin. My husband and I peeled them for 1 hour.
Wash them thoroughly and dry off the moisture well.
3. First, to remove the sharp, pungent taste of the garlic, we will ferment it in vinegar water.
Place the garlic in a glass jar and pour in enough vinegar to submerge it.
Since I peeled the garlic, there was no empty space between the cloves, so 4 cups of vinegar was plenty.
If you do it with whole heads of garlic, you will naturally need more vinegar due to the empty spaces between the cloves.
I used vinegar with 6-7% acidity. In the case of 2x vinegar, mix it with water in equal parts.
Close the lid tightly and let it sit in a shaded, cool place for ten days to ferment.
4. Here is the garlic fermented for ten days; taste one piece, and if much of the sharp bite remains, you can ferment it longer.
5. Drain the fermented garlic through a strainer to catch the vinegar liquid. Place the garlic back into the jar.
You no longer need the vinegar liquid for this, but it is a waste to throw it away, so you can use it as a seasoning for vegetable namul side dishes.
6. Add 0.5 cup regular soy sauce (jin-ganjang), 1 cup vinegar, 0.5 cup sugar, 2.5 cups water, and 1 tbsp salt, and bring to a rolling boil.
I seasoned it so the tangy flavor comes through strongly, but if you do not like sour tastes, you can omit the vinegar or reduce the amount.
Last year, I seasoned it with only soy sauce, and the garlic turned quite dark.
So this year, I seasoned it with both soy sauce and salt to make a much brighter-colored pickle.
Pour the cooled soy sauce brine in now, and repeat 2 more times every 5 days.
In total, I boiled, cooled, and poured the soy sauce brine 3 times.
You keep boiling the very first soy sauce brine you made; never discard it and make new soy sauce brine.
About half a month after pouring the soy sauce brine, the flavors will have soaked in.
If you boil the soy sauce brine once a month and keep it in a cool place, you can keep and eat it for about 1 year.
Ppunwife's tips
- Do not throw away the vinegar liquid used to ferment the garlic; use it as seasoning for tossed namul side dishes.
- When boiling, cooling, and repouring the soy sauce brine, keep using the original soy sauce brine you first prepared; do not discard it and make a new batch.
- If you reboil the soy sauce brine once a month and keep it in a cool place, you can store and enjoy it for about 1 year.
FAQ
How do you remove the spicy, sharp bite from garlic?
Place peeled garlic in a container, pour in enough vinegar to submerge it, seal tightly, and let it ferment in a cool, shaded spot for about ten days. If you taste it and a sharp bite remains, you can extend the time and ferment it more.
Is it okay to use 2x vinegar?
When using 2x vinegar, to adjust the acidity to match standard vinegar, you can mix it with water in equal proportions and use it.
Should I throw away the vinegar strained off after fermenting?
Do not throw away the vinegar liquid collected after straining; you can repurpose it as seasoning for various seasoned vegetable namul dishes.
How should I care for it to keep it for a long time?
Drain the initial pickling liquid, bring it to a rolling boil again, let it cool completely, and pour it back in; repeat this process 2 more times at 5-day intervals. After that, keep it in a cool place and boil and repour the liquid roughly once a month, which allows it to keep for about 1 year.
