Korean radish kimchi is one of the most common types of kimchi. Unlike Napa cabbage kimchi, you cannot eat this before it is fermented because the radish will be too bitter. However, once it is fermented, the radish turns into a great flavorful kimchi. The bite-sized pieces are just perfect for eating and it matches with many other kinds of Korean food.
Yield: ½ Gallon
Short Korean Lesson
- GoRae (고래) = Wale
- SaeWu (새우) = Shrimp
Video Instructions
Main Ingredients
- 1 Korean Radish (5 Cups)
- 2 Green Onions
- 1 Tbsp Salt
Sauce Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp Sweet Rice Flour
- ½ Cup Water
- 4 Tbsp Red Pepper Powder
- 3 Tbsp Fish Sauce
- 1 Tbsp Minced Garlic
- 1 Tbsp Sugar
- ½ Tbsp Ginger
- ½ Tbsp Salt
Directions
Slice a Korean radish into ½-inch slices.
Dice about 5 cups of Korean radish and cut 2 green onions into half inch pieces.
Sprinkle 1 Tbsp of salt on the diced Radish. Let it set for 30 minutes.
Rinse the radish twice in cold water. Drain, and set it aside.
Mix 1 Tbsp sweet rice flour with ½ cup of water. Stir it thoroughly. If you don’t have sweet rice flour, you can use normal flour instead, but sweet rice flour is definitely better for kimchi.
Cook it in the microwave for 1 minute, until the texture is thick, as pictured. One minute later, take it out to stir and then cook it again.
In a large bowl, combine and mix the rice paste and all ingredients for the sauce. I only tried Korean fish sauce to make kimchi, so I recommend that you use Korean fish sauce. Other types of fish sauce might work. If you try another type, let me know the results. 😀
Add the radish and the chopped green onions into the sauce.
Mix all of the ingredients. Leave it at room temperature for one or two days, and then put it in the refrigerator for at least five days before you serve it.
Enjoy! 🙂
hello, thanks for yhe good work. my question is do u know where i can get korean ingridients in nigeria?
Hi Debbie,
I’m sorry but I don’t know much about Korean things in Nigeria. I hope somebody else here can give you a better answer.
Hi Aeri,
Where can I purchase sweet rice flour ?
Hi Catherine,
You will find it at a Korean or Asian grocery store if you have one near you..but if you don’t.. amazon sells it too.. here is a link for you. http://amzn.to/2yq2XQs
Hi Aeri, I have tried to do kkadugi few times but it taste bitter. I dont isit because I am using daikon instead of korean radish.
hi nina,
Daikon has different flavor and texture, so that can be your problem. If you can find a Korean radish, it will be great to try it again. thanks
what kind of food do people usually eat this radish kimchi with? 😀
hi Abel,
ANYTHING !! hehe.. I usually eat this radish kimchi with any kind of Korean meal. ^^
Hi Aeri!
First off, thank you for your recipes and videos. I love to cook and fell in love with a Korean man (I am of European background) who requested that I occasionally make a dish from his childhood. I started integrating Korean meals into the mix a couple times per week, and now I make Korean meals most days of the week thanks in part to your blog! I love how healthy, delicious, and relatively simply Korean cooking can be.
I do have a question for you. My fiancé’s mom stayed with us recently and made a huge amount of delicious cubed radish kimchi. The trouble is that the kimchi is REALLY fermented, past the point that even my fiancé will no longer eat it just as it is. Is there some kind of dish I can prepare using this old cubed radish kimchi? I thought about Kimchi Jjigae. Would this work?
hi Katrina,
Thanks for your comment. I’m happy to hear that you love to cook Korean food. ^^ About your question, yes, you can use old radish kimchi for kimchi jjigae.. or kimchi fried rice.. for kimchi fried rice.. just chop the radish kimchi into smaller pieces you want.. You can follow my kimchi fried rice recipe for it .. hehe
hi Aeri,
Thank you for your easy to do recipes.
I would like to ask if there’s a substitute for the sweet flour coz i think we don’t have it here. Thanks
God bless you and more recipes to come..
Sincerely
Lou
hi lougee,
You can use normal rice flour or even normal wheat flour (all purpose flour) instead. Thanks. God bless you too.
Cornstarch works.
Hi Aeri,
Is there a substitute for fish sauce? Or would it taste too off without it?
Thank you.
Carmen
hi Carmen,
Fish sauce is one of the important ingredients for kimchi..but it is possible to make kimchi without it. You might want to adjust the saltness with salt and add some water to your kimchi paste though.
Hi Aeri,
I made this kimchi a few days ago but when I checked it last night it smelled strange. The smell was more acidic than sour and made my eyes and nose burn. Is this normal for radish kimchi? I left it out at room temperature for about 24 hours and it’s been in the fridge since. It smells really different from the cabbage kimchi, even though the kimchi paste is similar.
Thanks,
Sara
hi Sara,
Korean Radish has strong bitter flavor to eat as raw.. that’s why we don’t eat raw radish kimchi.. although we eat raw napa cabbage kimchi before it’s fermented.. maybe that’s why ?? I don’t know how it turned when it’s fermented. I guess it is already fermented by now.. hopefully you like it after it’s fermented.
OMG! I am so glad I found your website! 😆 I have been looking for a kimchi recipe for so long. My step-mother is from Korea and after my father passed away decided to go back to Korea 🙁 We have a Korean restaurant here, but I can’t eat out that often. My step-mother always laughed at me after she made this kimchi, because I could not wait to eat it and only waited about two days before I dug in and ate it. Thank you and I can’t wait to make this!!!!
Pls can I get d Ingredients in Nigeria store,’s
What does rice powder paste do for the kimchi? Some recipes I see without it and some with it. What if I skip the rice powder paste step?
it helps the fermenting process…and the texture and flavor for the kimchi..
This is my favorite kind of Kimchi, so I’m giving it a try. You make the steps so easy to follow. Thanks!
is this using coarse salt like nappa kimchi, or just regular salt?
hi sheri,
I just used normal salt for this recipe. thanks 🙂
Hi, if i wanted to make a smaller portion of this to try, would i just simply adjust the ingredients accordingly?
For example if i wanted to make half portion, just change all the ingredient amounts to 1/2 of yours?
– thanks
Yes. You can divide the recipe in half. Thanks 🙂
I was wondering what I could use to subsitute for korean radish…. I can not find it anywhere. Thank you in advance 🙂
@Jackie J,
You can try other kind of kimchi..such has napa cabbage kimchi, garlic chive kimchi instead.. I have recipes for them too. thanks