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! 🙂
Hi Aeri!
I made kak doo gi and chive pancakes this past weekend. I don’t cook very often so I don’t have any of the measuring tools. =P I just mixed the ingredients without measuring anything. I put way too much red pepper and because of all the pepper, I put more fish sauce. Silly me. Now, it’s spicy and salty. Kekkee. Can I just put in more radish? Is it too late?
But my chive pancakes came out delicious. I’d sent you some pics but I was so busy eating it that I took the picture when it was already half eaten. And the pic of my kak doo gi is…blah. I should go buy some measuring tools and a nicer camera. Hehehe.
For my future reference and WHEN I make something decent from your recipes, how can I email you the pictures? Sorry, I’m new to Youtube.
Hi, Mimi ^^
oh… Let me think..hm… at first I want to ask how much your kak doo gi is fermented now. If it’s becoming sour or fermented, then I want to tell not to add more radish. It’s too spicy and salty to eat?? What I will do save the kak doo gi is.. just leave it in the refrigerator until it becomes a little sour (fermented..) then.. make another food with it. My mom used to make this with sour ..old kimchi..and I loved it. okay.. I will tell you how to make it. (I will call it as a side-dish) Wash your kimchi. (just rinse them in water once, so it will still have some kimchi sauce in it..but mostly removed) then… add oil.(plenty.. ).. and some water (like stew..but not too much..) boil.. (fry..kkk) … occassionally.. you can add more oil or water…. add a little minced garlic for flavor.. since your kimchi is salty you don’t have to add any salt.. Since you have beef stock powder.. you can add it a little if you want.. cook it until the kimchi cooked completely.. maybe 20 ~ 30 minutes?? I will send you my e-mail address on youtube. 😀 I’m happy you liked the chive pancakes.. hehe thanks !!!!!
made this just now! will send u the pic once ur site is ready. think it will turn out great. in the meantime, it has to ferment a bit! can’t wait for it, really!
Hi, layping ~~
wow ~~ cool ~~~ Yes, especially radish kimchi takes time to be fermented right. hehe.. I can’t wait to see how it will turn out also.. thanks !! 😀
Hi Aeri,
Will salted shrimp work as a substitute for the fish sauce in your ggakduki recipe? If so, how much?
By the way, since finding your website, I enjoy making Korean meals two or three times a week, which makes my Korean husband very happy with my cooking! Our favorite is the dubu doenjang jjigae. Thank you so much for sharing your recipes, and for such a pretty website!
Hi, Besty
Yes.. you can use shrimp too..
Grind the salted shrimp and make it like a little liquid not chunk ?? (I hope you can understand what I mean..).. I will say..use similar amount with fish sauce.. but depend on how salty your shrimp is..so.. (usually I feel like salted shrimp is saltier than fish sauce..)so 2~ 3 tbsp for this recipe. I will recommend 2 tbsp to start with.. and taste the sauce before you add the salt the recipe require… and adjust the amount of salty flavor..
haha.. I’m happy you make Korean food that often as much as your husband. 🙂 Thank you very much. I hope to see you more often here.
Yes, I understand exactly. I will give it a try. Thank you, Aeri!
P.S. I hope one day to see your recipe for soon dubu jjigae (another favorite). I have been making it, but I would like to know how to make a richer broth.
Hi, Besty
Thanks !!! You are good at understanding..hehe 😉
p.s After I started to make Korean cooking video, I found that there are so many people like soon dubu jjigae.. ^^
Okay..I will add it to my list.. thanks !!
Hi Aeri,
I made kak doo gi on Sunday and then put it in the refrigerator the next day. I tasted it and it was bitter. What did I do wrong? Help please!
Hi, Jennifer
Oh~~ Have you ever tasted raw radish?? You don’t have to worry at all. Since it’s not fermented yet, it’s so natural to have bitter taste. We can eat napa cabbage kimchi when it’s not fermented, but we don’t eat not fermented radish kimchi since it’s too bitter. so wait until it becomes fermented. Usually it takes longer than napa cabbage kimchi to be done. Thanks !!! 🙂
Hello Aeri,
Would it make any different if I use the chinese radish here instead of the Korean radish? Also can you tell me if there is different variety of red pepper powders/flakes such as sweet/mild vs the hot one. Since I can not read Korean and the bag I bought was very hot/spicy. Thank you so much.
Hi, Hanna
I’m not sure what the differences are between Korean radish and Chinese radish actually… It is a big long white radish with white skin ?? Korean radish taste a little bitter and sweet.. it’s similar ?? then.. I guess you can use it for this recipe. (sorry for poor answer) about red pepper powder question.. here is the link for it. 🙂
http://aeriskitchen.com/2008/09/hot-pepper-powder/
Usually the red pepper powder is hot… and we have super hot red pepper powder too. thanks !!!
Thank you for your quick answer. A Chinese Market is near my home than the Korean market, and it doesn’t carry Korean radish. It only have a long white one as you describe. About the chili red pepper powder, I once eat a few side dishes at the restaurant…they have red pepper powder, but they weren’t spicy. As the matter of fact, they are very mild and sweet….therefore, I thought maybe there is a mild/sweet kind of red pepper powder in which they are written in Korean on the bag. In short, thank you again for your clarification. Have a nice weekend.
Hi, Hanna
Thanks for your message. I’m happy that I could help you a little. Aha.. maybe the Korean restaurant used less amount of red pepper powder ??? I’m not sure..hehe anyway.. Have a great week. 🙂 Hope to see you more often. 😉
Hi, Aeri! I’m from France and here we don’t really use “cup” mesures. Could u tell me what is the volume of “cup”, please?
hi Tata,
Nice to meet you. I’m not sure what you are asking exactly.. you mean.. ml ??
1 cup = 256 ml.. ^^
thanks
Hey aeri-unnie I’m from singapore
and the room temperature is about 28 Celsius.
Is that temperature fine?
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hi Grace,
wow.. your room temperature is high..
hehe than instead of leaving it at temperature for 1~2 days.. how about half day..and see ..if it’s start to change the smell..you can keep it in the refrigerator.. ^^
Hi Aeri,
I was wondering if it is possible to make this dish with cooked rice instead of sweet rice flour?
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Hi Nini,
Actually for one of my kimchi recipes..I used cooked rice instead of rice flour .. to do easier..hehe here is a link for you.. you will get some idea from it..
http://aeriskitchen.com/2009/08/easy-napa-cabbage-kimchi-mak-kimchi-%EB%A7%89%EA%B9%80%EC%B9%98/
I just made this again this morning. Except I cut the radish into matchsticks. I’m told it’s not technically kimchi because it’s not cut into squares but namul doesn’t sound as exciting as kimchi! Will post a picture later today. Thank you!
hi Bo,
Oh.. I thought you made musaengchae (radish side-dish) .. lol wow.. radish kimchi as matchstick shape.. cool ~~ so you liked it ?? i hope you did.. ^^ thanks
Is it better to use Korean Radish? Will the taste be different?
hi kyo,
Yes, it has good taste and texture. So if you can find it, I recommend you try this recipe with Korean radish. 🙂 thanks
I have access to gochujang, can I use that instead of using the red pepper flakes and rice flour? How much would you use in place of your recipe?
hi Jin,
Sorry..but you don’t use gochujang for kimchi ^^:;
Thank you for sharing your kimchi receipe 🙂 I find the many pictures and the detailed descriptions very helpful since I’m new to Korean cuisine. As a beginner in cooking, I didn’t have any trouble following your directions. I love exploring your blog for new things to make <3 You did a really good job building this website ^^
hi Meredith,
hehe..I’m happy to hear that my recipes are helpful for you. thanks..
Hi Aeri,
Just made this today with Jeju muu and it came out perfect! Thanks for posting this recipe. 😀
Just tried my first bite of this recipe! awesome! not too salty and not too sour. I can even eat it alone without rice! 😀 Thanks, Aeri!
Oh, is it suppose to be crunchy? Because mine is, and i love it!
hi Densy,
before it’s fermented..which means.. fresh radish kimchi is crunchy..but once it’s fermented.. it will not be as crunchy as it was before.. thanks
Hi Aerie, can I salt the radish overnight? Thank you and keep up the terrific work!
hi Kimm,
Not like napa cabbage, radish get salty flavor very quick when you sprinkle salt on it.. so you don’t want to salt it too long… thanks..
hey aeri!! this looks really yummy.. do we have to put it in a glass container or can plastic be used? how much will this recipe yield?
Hi phoebe,
Thanks. You can use both glass and plastic container. I just prefer to use glass jar for health and cleaning better. (The kimchi broth will make the plastic container stain.. ) the yield for this recipe is ½ gallon. ^^
Hi Aeri!
Thi is my first time looking through your blog and I absolutely love it. I have saved nearly all the recipes and can’t wait to try each one out! I was wondering if you could by any chance post a recipe for dried radish kimchi (무우말랭이). I have tried very hard to find a good recipe for this side dish, but all the good ones are in Korean, and unfortunatelly A LOT gets lost in the translation.
Thanks,
Niki.
hi Nikolina,
Nice to meet you.
I will add it to my list. thanks 🙂
Hi Aeri,
I’m living in Korea now, and your recipes have been very helpful-thank you! 🙂
I second Nikolina’s request–I would also really appreciate a recipe for mu malaengi! Thank you!
-A
hi a,
I will add yours too. thanks 🙂
How long will this keep in the refrigerator? I love love love Korean food!
Thanks for the great blog,
Lou
hi Louven,
You can keep it over month.. ^^ thanks
hi miss aeri! can you recommend any substitute ingredient for the sweet rice flour? ty so much!
hi crissy fontanilla,
U can use normal flour also. ^^
plastic and heat does not get along, so please make sure to use a stone bowl or glass bowl in the microwave. The plastick package says ‘microwave and dishwasher safe’… however, it is the best not to use it though. we love you! 😳
Thank you very much for your lovely n easy cook, today I just cook this but what will happen if I forgot to put fish sauce. 😯
hi Bunny bun,
oops.. you forgot to put fish sauce ?? oops.. then you will lose some flavor for your kimchi.. (not salty enough..and maybe fermented faster.. or goes bad or.. sour faster) 😯 I hope it’s still turns out okay..
Vietnamese Three Crabs brand, the best fish sauce by taste, work superbly well. =)
Hi! I’m turkish Girl, live in Germany and I looovveee korean Food because its healthy and delicious. Korean food is like turkish food. resemblance. today i have make your kimchi recipe. I hope that its in the end of 1 week very good and delicious. i have try to make kimchi but the first time it was not good. secondary try i am sanguine about this time 😉
Hi Aeri,
I tried using the Squid brand of fish sauce and I have to say that I prefer the Korean brands better. I usually use Assi brand (까나리).
Hi Yun G.
Yes, I use Korean brand fish sauce too. I wonder have you ever tried (하선정 액젓)..that is known as a good one in Korea. If you have a chance, try that brand too. 🙂
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
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 🙂
is this using coarse salt like nappa kimchi, or just regular salt?
hi sheri,
I just used normal salt for this recipe. thanks 🙂
This is my favorite kind of Kimchi, so I’m giving it a try. You make the steps so easy to follow. Thanks!
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..
Pls can I get d Ingredients in Nigeria store,’s
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!!!!
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.
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,
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.
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
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, 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
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