깍두기 (Kkakdugi) - Radish Kimchi

Hub, Harvest. "Daikon Radish - Harvest Hub". Harvest Hub. N.p., 2014. Web. 3 May 2016.

Feature Ingredient: Daikon radish

Daikon literally translates to 'big root' in Japanese; it is also known as a winter radish, as some varieties are only grown in Winter. However, some Chinese and Indian varieties are able to tolerate higher temperatures more easily, allowing the crop to grow year round. The root is used in mainly asian cuisine for soups, salads and even for pickling. Today, we'll be experimenting with pickling a daikon radish using a Korean kkakdugi recipe I found here. Below is the video from the recipe author's YouTube channel:

Recipe: Radish Kimchi (Kkakdugi)

Serves 20 +

* I mostly followed the recipe above, although I did make some alterations.

Ingredients:

1 large daikon radish (mine was about 5kg), peeled and chopped into cubes

2 cups of chilli power/flakes 

3 tbsp of salt 
3 tbsp of sugar
3 nashi pears, diced

1/4 cup garlic cloves, peeled
1/2 ginger root, peeled 

2 bunches of green onion, roughly chopped

1/2 cup of fish sauce
1/3 cup of juice produced from the radish

Method:

1. Mix the salt and sugar with the cubed daikon pieces, cover each piece throughly and set aside for 30 minutes.
2. To make the sauce; blend the ginger, garlic, apples and green onion to produce a paste-like mixture.
3. After 30 minutes, empty most of the water that has been drained from the radish pieces, keeping only about 1/3 cup. 
4. Add the chilli flakes, the blended mixture and fish sauce. Make sure to cover every piece of radish.
5. Compact the pieces into a glass jar and set aside for 2-3 days in the fridge or just in the kitchen if the weather is generally chilly. The radish will ferment in this time.

Below are some photos from what I did:

Adding the mixture to the cubed radish

Adding fish sauce

Adding chilli flakes

Mix well

Compress in a jar

Ratings/Comments:

Price: Approximately $0.50 per serving 

Difficulty: 3/5

Taste: 4/5

Overall: 4/5

(1 being lowest/not good - 5 being highest/best)

The recipe was lots of fun, especially because it was my first time pickling something. I think adding the pears to the mixture also helped to balance the flavours. I would also suggest blending the pickling ingredients rather than having them in chunks as it ensures all the flavours are distributed well. Moreover, you won't need to deal with picking out ginger pieces when you actually eat the cubes. Overall, I would highly recommend this recipe as it can accompany all your meals (maybe not breakfast) as a side dish! Hope you try this recipe out!
- C