Hi! Is everyone having a good summer? Like other mothers, I’m very busy during my kids’ fun summer vacation. Anyway, I hope everyone has a healthy and enjoyable summer. Today I would like to introduce a recipe that many people will be delighted with. It is pickled radish, which is a necessary ingredient for kimbap. In it’s name, “단” means “sweetened” and “무지” means pickled radish. So, as the name implies, this radish is sweet, sour, and savory like pickles. This makes Kimbap more delicious with other ingredients. I tried to make this two different ways. One is using saffron and the other is using turmeric to color it. It was my goal to make a healthy and delicious version that does not contain chemicals, and I finally achieved that goal. So I am very happy to share this recipe.
Yield: 16 Strips
Short Korean Lesson
- DanMuJi (단무지) = Pickled Radish for Kimbap
- BunSik (분식) = Snack Food
Video Instructions
Saffron DanMuJi:
- 1 Daikon Radish (1½ lb) (2 tsp Salt)
- 3 Cups Water
- 1¼ Cups Sugar
- 6 Tbsp Korean Apple Vinegar
- ½ Tbsp Salt
- ½ tsp Saffron
Turmeric DanMuJi:
- 1 Daikon Radish (1½ lb)
- 3 Cups Water
- 1¼ Cups Sugar
- 6 Tbsp Korean Apple Vinegar
- ½ Tbsp Salt
- 1 tsp Turmeric
Directions
Prepare a daikon radish (about 1½ lb). I could not find a straight radish, but if you can, pick the straightest one that you can find. That will make it easier to cut the radish into long strips.
Peel the radish.
Measure the length of the radish with a sheet of dried laver and cut the length of the radish to be just a little longer than the dried laver. Cut the the radish into a ½-inch thickness carefully. Cut it three times more in the same way to make 5 pieces of radish. Then cut each radish into 4 strips. Cut the rest of the the radish pieces to make 20 radish strips total.
Slice the leftover radish into thin round shapes. That shape is used when making the side dish to eat with jajangmyeon (black bean paste noodles). Place the radish pieces in a large square glass container.
Sprinkle 2 tsp of salt on top of the radish and mix it.
Now I will make the broth to pickle the radish. Pour 3 cups of water into a pot. Then add 1¼ cup sugar, 6 Tbsp Korean apple vinegar, and ½ Tbsp salt. Stir it until all the sugar has melted.
After the sugar has melted, add ½ teaspoon of Saffron. Saffron thought to be healthy, but it does not have a strong taste or aroma. When Saffron is used for cooking, it gives a pretty yellow color to the food. So it can be used as a natural pigment. The problem is, as you can see, this small amount of saffron is almost $3, which is expensive. I highly recommend saffron. However, if saffron is difficult to obtain or is too expensive, you can replace it with yellow food coloring – or you can just skip adding it for a colorless radish.
Once it starts to boil, cook it for about 10 minutes on high. Can you see the pretty yellow color?
Another option is to make it with turmeric. Turmeric is the main ingredient of curry a lot of research has shown that it has many health benefits. It is much cheaper than saffron. The color of turmeric gives a much darker yellow color than the saffron, although it is a little brownish. Turmeric has a unique strong flavor and taste, but isn’t that noticeable when eating it in kimbap.
All the ingredients except turmeric are the same as the saffron radish, so after the sugar is melted, add 1 tsp of turmeric. When the water begins to boil, boil it for 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes, turn off the stove and immediately pour the boiling water over the salted radish.
This is for the saffron pickled radish.
This is for the turmeric pickled radish.
Let it cool and then cover it. Refrigerate it for about a week.
Occasionally turn over the radish pieces so that they color evenly. It’s four days later. It seems to be pickled and nicely colored. When I ate it just by itself, I thought the turmeric version would not be good for Kimbab because of the strong flavor of the turmeric. After I made kimbap with it, surprisingly, the strong taste was hidden by the other ingredients. It was much more delicious than I thought it would be. The saffron radish was also very surprising because it was almost the same color and taste as the yellow pickled radish that you buy in the store. It was so delicious that I felt great. The conclusion is that my number one choice is the saffron version, but I recommend the turmeric version too. Some kimbap lovers, like me, hesitate to eat it because of the cancer-causing artificial sweeter found in most danmuji. Some people cannot easily buy any as well. This homemade danmuji can be the best solution. 🙂 I hope you try it someday and share your experience with us. Thanks.
Thank you so much for figuring this out! I too have avoided making kimbap for the kids, or have gone without the danmuji but it is not the same. I will definitely be trying this out!
*avoided because of chemicals/artificial sweeteners/msg
hi Hana K.,
I can understand how you feel..because I love kimbap..and I had the same hesitation you had..now I can enjoy kimbap anytime I want ~~~ 🙂 if you try it.. please let me know the result.. one thing though.. as you know.. the store bought pickled radish is very sweet.. to make my recipe the closest to the store bought one, I made it sweet too.. but I think you can adjust the sweetness for your taste if you think it’s too much sugar.. I might try it with less sugar too when I try it next time. 🙂
Thanks Aeri , i definitely try it soon . Have a happy summer with your two little prince
hi Mai Bouchard,
Thanks. You have a great summer too. 🙂
Dear Aeri,
I have been following your recipes for a while now, and I have been thanking you very time in my thoughts. Now it’s time to verbalise my gratitude for your efforts and sharing – THANK YOU VERY MUCH!
I have been avoiding buying DanMuji in a store for the above-mentioned reason although I love Kimbab. Just today I bought fresh radish to make GgakDuGi as I saw this wonderful recipe. I have just made it, and I have no doubt that it would taste just great!
God bless you and your family.
고마워요.
hi 이라,
Your comment made me happy and smile. Thanks a lot. I hope your danmuji turns out great and you can enjoy healthier version of kimbap with it. 🙂 God bless you and your family too. Hope to see you more often here. 🙂
Thanks for sharing! just tried it and it taste great！The afternoon sleepiness is gone. It is not so good at first, now after one week in the fridge, the taste is much better.
hi Anna,
Yes, either Korean radish or this daikon radish.. they don’t taste good before they are fermented or cooked… lol I’m glad to hear that you like this recipe. Thanks
do we need to rinse the salted radish before pouring the broth?
hi Laily,
Nope, you just pour the broth into the salted radish. 🙂 thanks
Hi,
Thank you for such an easy delicious pickle. the first one tuned out really well ,so making a second time.
However had one question. What do we do to the leftover pickle broth? Can we reuse it to make the next batch or do we throw it?
Thanks a lot.
hi Pia,
I’m glad to hear that you liked this recipe and will make it again. After time goes, the broth changes the flavor…like not quite fermented but.. kind of like that… so I will not use the broth again for the second batch. Yes, I just throw it out.
Thank you so much Lee san.
However have one more question-
I have already put the next batch . when i have kept it in the vinegar broth for a week do I take the raddish out and store it in an air tight container without the broth? If i do so wont the raddish dry up ?
Or do i keep it in the same broth and use it from there?
Thank you.
hi Pia,
Yes, we usually keep the pickled radish in the broth. When you asked me to throw away the broth, I thought you already finished eating all the pickled radishes and was going to use the leftover broth for the second batch. Thanks.
Thank you for your reply Lee san. Yes I had finished the first batch I made but had kept the pickled radish in the broth itself.
Just wanted to know for the second batch whether we take it out from broth after a week and store it in a jar without broth or do we keep it in the same broth and consume from there.
By the way wanted to know if you have other recipes too. Like soba or agedashi.
Your recipes are really easy to make and turn out yumm.
hi Pia,
Soba, agedashi sound like Japanese food.. I like Japanese to eat but to be honest, I don’t know how to cook most of the Japanese food. oops.. sorry ^^:; I will share more of the delicious Korean recipes though..
Hi, i tried your recipe but some radish pieces turned a little blue after a week. What does this mean?
hi Ann,
Unless you had some green spot (some young..not ripen part of radish can be green..) for your radish when you made it… and that’s the color you looking at now.. it shouldn’t have blue color.. I will like to see the pic if you still have it though.. thanks
I do t have an Asian market nearby. Is “Korean Apple Vinegar” similar to Apple Cider Vinegar? I spent 2 years in Korea and used to get Gimpap from a lady that sold it on my way to work. I miss it so much!! I can’t wait to make it this weekend, but it’s not the same without the danmuji!
hi Angie,
Ordinary American apple cider vinegar is totally different from the Korean apple vinegar I use for my Korean cooking. If you can not get the Korean apple vinegar, I recommend you use White Distilled Vinegar instead.. I agree with you… you need danmuji for your kimbap. 🙂
Thanks,
Aeri