Refreshing Yeolmu Mulkimchi (Young Summer Radish Water Kimchi)
A crisp, refreshing young summer radish water kimchi made flavorful with anchovy broth and glutinous rice paste.
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 →
This yeolmu mulkimchi features an anchovy broth base enriched with glutinous rice paste and blended red chili peppers for deep flavor and a lovely color. Tossing salted young summer radishes with aromatic vegetables, pouring over the broth, and letting it ferment at room temperature for about a day yields a tart, crisp, and refreshing kimchi. The crunchy greens are wonderful in bibimbap, and the chilled broth makes an excellent soup for somyeon noodles.
- Servings
- about 10–12 servings
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Spiciness
- Mildly spicy
Ingredients
Ingredients
- Young summer radish (yeolmu)2 bunches, 2 kg
- Onion2 (small)
- Red chili pepper3
- Green chili pepper3
- Coarse sea salt1 cup
Glutinous rice paste
- Glutinous rice flour (or flour)2/3 cup
- Bottled water5 cups
Kimchi broth
- Anchovy broth15 cups
- Bottled water5 cups
- Red chili pepper4
- Peeled garlic20 cloves
- Ginger1 knob
- Coarse sea salt5 tbsp
- Sugar2 tbsp
- You can also use half young summer radish and half baby napa cabbage.
- Strip away any wilted or yellowed leaves, scrape the root with a knife to remove fine rootlets and dirt, and clean away any grit trapped where the root meets the stems. Radish roots harvested through spring are fine to use, but summer roots can taste pungent and bitter, so you can cut them off.
- Salt for about 1 hour and 30 minutes, but if the young summer radish is very tender, keep it under 1 hour; turn it over once halfway through so it salts evenly.
- The red chili peppers are included for a slightly spicy broth and bright color, but if you do not have them, you can steep gochugaru (Korean chili flakes) in the broth to tint it instead.
- If using leftover cold cooked rice instead of cooking glutinous rice paste, prepare one bowl of rice and blend it with water, or blend it directly with the seasoning ingredients.
Steps
Prepare the young summer radish
Here are 2 bunches of young summer radish (yeolmu). Usually one bunch is about 1 kg.
You can also use half young summer radish and half baby napa cabbage.
Strip away any wilted or yellowed leaves, scrape the root with a knife to remove fine rootlets and dirt, and clean away any grit trapped where the root meets the stems. Radish roots harvested through spring are fine to use, but summer roots can taste pungent and bitter, so you can cut them off.
After cleaning, it weighs 1.8 kg.
Cut it into bite-sized lengths of about 3 to 4 cm.
Salting
Salting
Rinse several times under running water until the water runs clear, then layer the radish by sprinkling 2 tbsp of salt evenly over each layer.
It needs moisture to salt properly, so salt it immediately after rinsing.
Salt for about 1 hour and 30 minutes, but if the young summer radish is very tender, keep it under 1 hour; turn it over once halfway through so it salts evenly.
Once it has softened and wilted gently, rinse just once and drain the water.
Preparing the secondary ingredients
Prepare the secondary ingredients
While the radish is salting, you can prepare the garnish ingredients and make the broth.
I prepared onion, red chili pepper, and green chili pepper for extra crunch and color alongside the radish. Thinly slice or diagonally slice them into bite-sized pieces.
Preparing the broth ingredients
Prepare the broth ingredients
Here are red chili pepper, peeled garlic, and ginger.
Roughly chop the red chili peppers since they will go into the blender.
The red chili peppers are included for a slightly spicy broth and bright color, but if you do not have them, you can steep gochugaru (Korean chili flakes) in the broth to tint it instead.
Add the red chili pepper, garlic, and ginger to a blender, pour in about 2 cups of anchovy broth or bottled water from the kimchi broth ingredients so it blends smoothly, and blend finely.
Cooking the glutinous rice paste
Cook the glutinous rice paste
Today I ran out of cooked rice, so I made glutinous rice paste.
Pour 5 cups of water over 2/3 cup of glutinous rice flour and stir well so no lumps remain. Place over low heat, stirring frequently so it does not scorch, cook until thick, and let it cool.
If using leftover cold cooked rice instead of cooking glutinous rice paste, prepare one bowl of rice and blend it with water, or blend it directly with the seasoning ingredients.
Making the kimchi broth
Make the kimchi broth
Now make the kimchi broth.
Pour the bottled water and cooled glutinous rice paste into the anchovy broth, and pour the blended seasoning through a fine strainer.
If you dislike chewing on seasoning sediment, strain it well through the sieve and discard the remaining pulp.
If using gochugaru instead of red chili peppers, stir it into this broth, let the color infuse, and skim out the sediment.
Season the broth with 4 tbsp of coarse sea salt and 2 tbsp of sugar.
Adjust the amount of salt and sugar to suit your taste.
If you prefer to season the broth with only bottled water instead of anchovy broth, adding saeujeot (salted fermented shrimp) or sand lance fish sauce (or anchovy fish sauce) in a 1:2 ratio with salt will give the broth deeper flavor. Replace the sugar with green plum syrup (maesil-cheong) or your preferred sweetener to add sweetness.
Finishing the water kimchi
Finish the water kimchi
Toss the young summer radish, onion, red chili pepper, and green chili pepper together evenly, place in a container, pour in the kimchi broth, and let ferment at room temperature for overnight or about a day.
After fermenting, store in the refrigerator and enjoy chilled.
Ppunwife's tips
- It needs moisture to salt properly, so salt it immediately after rinsing.
- If you prefer to season the broth with only bottled water instead of anchovy broth, adding saeujeot (salted fermented shrimp) or sand lance fish sauce (or anchovy fish sauce) in a 1:2 ratio with salt will give the broth deeper flavor.
FAQ
Can I use leftover cold cooked rice instead of glutinous rice paste?
Yes, you can blend one bowl of cold cooked rice with water, or add it directly to the blender with the seasoning ingredients.
How can I substitute if I don't have fresh red chili peppers for the broth?
When making the kimchi broth, stir gochugaru (Korean chili flakes) directly into the liquid to tint it, then simply strain out and discard the sediment.
Can I make this using only water without anchovy broth?
When seasoning the broth with bottled water alone, mixing in saeujeot (salted fermented shrimp), anchovy fish sauce, or sand lance fish sauce in a 1:2 ratio with salt will give it a deep, savory flavor.
How long should the young summer radish be salted?
Salt it for about 1 hour and 30 minutes in general, but keep it under 1 hour if the radish greens are very tender, turning it over once halfway through so it wilts evenly.
