깍두기//Kkakdugi//Radish Kimchi

Kimchi is the staple of korean side dishes and comes in many varieties. The most common in western culture is kimchi made with napa cabbage. This kimchi I've made today however, is made with korean radish, called Mu. If you can't find Mu in your grocery store, daikon radish will work as well. It is a deliciously crunchy kimchi to have with your rice and maybe some delicious korean meatballs! (Recipe to come soon ;) )

Korean radish, "Mu"

Ingredient List

• 1 Medium sized Radish (Mu or Daikon)
• 3 Tbs. Hot Pepper flakes (Gochugaru)
• 1 Tbs. Minced Garlic
• 2  sliced Green Onions
• 3 Tbs. Soy Sauch or Fish Sauce
• 2 Tbs. Salt
• 2 Tbs. Sugar

A note on the ingredients: To make a more authentic Korean radish, use fish sauce. Since I am a vegetarian and usually like staying away from fish sauce, I substitute in soy sauce. 
Additionally, feel free to change the amount of any of these ingredients! In particular, you may want to adjust the amount of hot pepper flakes to your spice preference. This is just the ratio that I personally like. :)

Steps

Step 1: First things first: preparing the radish. To get our radish all ready for kimchi making, first I peel and rinse the radish. Then cut into 1/4 inch cubes.

Step 1.1: Place the radish in a bowl, toss with the salt and sugar. Let this sit for 30 minutes. Why? The salt will help pull out excess water from the radish. During this time I slice my green onions/mince my garlic.  After 30 minutes, drain all but approximately 1 Tbs. of the liquid.

Step 2: Mix in remaining ingredients.

Step 3: Enjoy! Yup, it's that simple!

I placed most of my kimchi in a jar which I set out on the counter. Since I like my kimchi a little more fermented, I will let it ferment for a couple of days before putting it in the refrigerator. The rest I put in a container to put in the refrigerator as is, for fresher, crisper kimchi!

맛있게 드세요!