Crispy Seokbakji (Radish Kimchi) Side Dish

Ingredients

• Use the large green onion from the white stem down to the middle, avoiding the slimy green parts.
• To aid fermentation, instead of sweetened plain yogurt you can use ground cooked rice, Yakult, or lemon-lime soda; if using unsweetened yogurt, add sugar or another sweetener.

Steps

1. Prepare the ingredients

   

   

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   Peel the Korean radish (mu) and wash it.

   Scallions would be great, but since I didn't have any, I used the large green onion (daepa) from the white stem up to the middle where there is no sticky sap.

2. Cut the ingredients

   

   

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   I cut the radish into large gingko leaf shapes about 1 cm thick.

   Cutting it into large cubes is also fine.

   Rather than cutting it too thin, having some thickness like this gives it a nice, crunchy texture.

   

   Split the large green onion in half lengthwise, then cut it into lengths similar to the radish.

3. Salt the radish

   

   

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   Add 2/3 cup coarse sea salt, 1/2 tbsp saccharin, and 1 cup water to the sliced radish.

   I added a little saccharin when salting to remove the bitter and pungent taste of the radish.

   You can also balance the pungency with sugar in the seasoning, but in the heat of summer, the brine can become thick and slimy instead of clean.

   Adding saccharin during salting gently infuses sweetness into the radish, so you can reduce or completely skip the sugar in the seasoning.

   

   

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   Toss occasionally and let it salt evenly for about 1 hour to 1 hour 30 minutes.

   

   

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   Once it softens enough to bend slightly and is salted without tasting overly salty when chewed, drain it in a colander to remove the moisture.

   If it loses too much moisture, the seasoning will be stiff rather than moist, so once a good amount drains off, you can mix it with gochugaru.

   Also, if the radish feels too salty, just rinse it once or twice in water.

4. Color with chili flakes

   

   

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   Pour 1 cup gochugaru (Korean chili flakes) over the radish, mix well, and let it sit for about 30 minutes.

   

   As the chili flakes absorb moisture released from the radish, they swell up, the flakes become finer, and the radish takes on a gorgeous red color.

5. Add seasoning and mix

   

   

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   Now add the seasonings and toss.

   Add 2 tbsp salted fermented shrimp (saeujeot), 2 tbsp sand lance fish sauce, 4 tbsp minced garlic, 1/2 tbsp minced ginger, and 1 tub plain yogurt.

   Usually, I might grind cooked rice or add Yakult or lemon-lime soda, but today I chose sweetened plain yogurt as the ingredient to aid fermentation.

   Since it contains sugar, I did not add any extra sugar.

   If you use unsweetened yogurt, just adjust the taste by adding sugar or another sweetener.

   

   

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   Once the seasoning tastes right, finish by adding the large green onion or scallions along with 2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds.

6. Finish

   

   Let it ferment at room temperature overnight, then keep it in the refrigerator for a day or two before serving, and this delicious seokbakji is complete.

   

   

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   Thanks to the saccharin added during salting, the spiciness and bitterness are gone, leaving it sweet, tangy, and wonderfully crisp.

   With the heat wave, it's easy to hesitate about making kimchi, but how about an easy radish kimchi like kkakdugi or seokbakji?

   Making a batch of this takes care of your side dishes for a week.

Ppunwife's tips

• Rather than slicing it too thin, keeping some thickness like this gives it a satisfying, crunchy bite.
• In high summer temperatures, trying to tame the sharpness with sugar can make the liquid thick and sticky, so salting with saccharin works best.
• If too much liquid drains out, the seasoning will turn stiff instead of moist, so toss it with gochugaru once a moderate amount of moisture has drained. Also, if the radish tastes too salty, simply rinse it once or twice in water.

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