The Secret of Korean Restaurant Style Radish Kimchi (깍뚜기)

Who can resist the crunch, refreshing, and perfectly fermented Korean radish kimchi called “Kkakdugi”?

One Korean food that I am dying to eat right now is a bowl of hot bone marrow soup (설렁탕, seolleongtang) and this kkakdugi kimchi as a side dish. For some reason, restaurant style radish kimchi tastes so refreshingly good. It is not so much different in terms of making the kimchi itself between the home style vs restaurant style, but there is a fine difference in the taste. You will be surprised to see what I added in the recipe to mimic the flavor. And it turned out to be the best Kkakdugi I ever made. It tastes the same as the restaurant kimchi, if not better. No joke!

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추운 겨울에 뜨끈한 설렁탕은 한국인이라면 꼭 먹게되는 음식인데요, 이 설렁탕 한그릇을 먹을때 꼭 따라오는게 있다면 시원한 깍뚜기지요. 설렁탕집 깍뚜기맛을 따라잡는 레시피를 공개합니다. 만드는 방법은 일반 깍뚜기와 다를바 없지만 특별한 재료 하나가 들어가지요. 다름아닌..... "우유"~!
깍뚜기를 보다더 시원하게 만들어주는 비법이랍니다. 김치양념에 추가해보세요. 김치가 익으면서 훨씬더 시원하고 깔끔한 맛을 선사해 주거든요.

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Cubed Radish Kimchi
2 medium size Korean radish
1/4 cup Korean coarse sea salt
2 tablespoon sugar
5 tablespoon Korean chili flakes
1/2 large onion, diced
3 cloves garlic
1″ piece ginger, chopped
2 tablespoon salted shrimps
5 tablespoon milk
1-2 tablespoon anchovy sauce
2 tablespoon Korean corn syrup or 1 tablespoon sugar
2 green onion diced

I was lucky to get a bunch of Korean radish the other day and I am so~ so~ so~ excited to share this wonderful recipe with you. I presented this recipe in my blog, Beyond Kimchee. You can add the green leafy parts of the radish if you want. I usually don’t. Instead, I freeze them and use them in the soup later on. Delicious!

Slice the radish into 3/4-1 inch thick disks, then slice into cubes. They will reduce in size as they go ferment, so don’t cube them too small.

In a large bowl or kitchen sink, sprinkle salt and sugar over cubed radish, and toss. Let them soak for 45-60 minutes. Some people add carbonated drink to mimic the taste at this stage but I don’t think it is necessary in this recipe.

When the soaking part is done, rinse the radish cubes once, drain, and place them in a large shallow bowl. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of Korean chili flakes and toss well. This extra chili flakes will help radish to keep the vibrant red color.

In a blender, add diced onion, garlic, ginger, and salted shrimps. Now here comes the “IT” factor of this recipe!

“Is this milk?” Yes, it is. How bizarre to add milk in kimchi?

Well, all I can say is that it DOES the wonder. Milk will create a gas during the fermentation and it adds a very good flavor to the radish kimchi. It won’t curdle, but makes your kimchi very desirable in both taste and texture.

Add the chili flakes and anchovy sauce to the onion/milk mixture. I added Korean style corn syrup to the mixture. You can substitute the corn syrup with sugar instead.

Pour over to the radish cubes. Add some chopped green onion to bring the contrast color!

Toss together. Taste and adjust your seasoning by adding more anchovy sauce and sugar.

• How to Store Kimchi

Store them in an airtight container (Glass container with an airtight lid is the best), and let it sit on the room temperature for 1-2 days depends on your room temperature. You will see some bubbles forming on the surface. Then transfer to the refrigerator and continue to ferment for 7 days. You might want to keep a box of baking soda in your fridge to keep the odor off, so the smell won’t smear into the other food items. Nobody won’t appreciate the kimchi smell in their milk.

Here is the picture of my radish kimchi after 7 days of fermentation. Perfectly crunch and refreshingly cool! So good that I just keep eating one after another. Radish kimchi is easier to make than the cabbage kimchi. So if you are a kimchi lover, this is definitely worth to try yourself. You won't fail, I promise.

@hello-sunshine