Crunchy and delicious Korean radish kimchi (Kkakdugi) recipe!
Radish kimchi is one of my favorite types of kimchi (김치). When I was a child, I always preferred radish kimchi over regular napa cabbage kimchi. Because it has a crunchy texture and a subtle sweet note to it.
You can easily buy this kimchi from a Korean grocery store, but they never gave me the taste or the texture that I grew up with.
So I decided to make some myself. I even asked my mum for her advice on how to make tasty Kkadugi and she gave me some pointers on what to add.
And, I’m very happy with how it turned out. It’s crunchy and not too salty nor not too sweet. It has a well balanced taste and I might dare to say it was pretty close to my mum’s version. 😉
What is Radish Kimchi (Kkakdugi)
Radish kimchi is a kimchi made out of radish and its Korean name is Kkakdugi (깍두기). The name originates from kkakduk sseolgi (깍둑설기) in Korean. It describes the motion of cutting food in cubes.
Many Koreans say Kkakdugi made in mid to late autumn (October to December) tastes best as it is the Korean traditional radish harvest season.
Korean radishes picked during this time have the most natural sweet taste and also are firmer. I even remember snacking on raw radishes when my mum was slicing them in her kitchen.
Kkakdugi is commonly paired with these main dishes: Korean ox bone soup (Seollengtang, 설렁탕), Beef short rib soup (Galbitang, 갈비탕) and Korean knife cut noodles (Kalguksu, 칼국수).
I hope you give my radish kimchi recipe a try soon!
Ingredients for Radish Kimchi
Main
- 1.1kg (2.5 pounds) Korean radish (or other variety of white daikon radish) – rinsed and skin peeled
- 3 stalks (50g, 1.8 ounces) green onion – rinsed
- 2 Tbsp raw sugar
- 2 Tbsp rock salt (or Korean coarse salt)
Radish Kimchi Base
- 1/2 small brown onion (70g, 2.5 ounces), skin peeled, cut into small pieces to blend
- 1/2 small red apple (50g, 1.8 ounces), seed and core removed, cut into small pieces to blend
- 3 Tbsp Korean fish sauce (I used anchovy sauce)
- 1 Tbsp Minced garlic
- 1/2 Tbsp Minced ginger
- 4 Tbsp Korean chili flakes (gochugaru)
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 Tbsp rice flour
*1 Tbsp = 15ml, 1 cup = 250ml
** If you’re unsure of the above Korean ingredients, find out more about them from my other post “30 Essential Korean cooking ingredients“.
How to Make Radish Kimchi
1. Cut the radish into medium sized cubes. (It could be smaller or bigger if that’s what you prefer. Just be mindful that the radish will shrink as they go through the fermentation process.) Put the cubed radish into a large mixing bowl and add the sugar and the salt and mix them well. Leave it for 1 hour at room temperature.
2. While waiting, chop the green onion into small pieces and make the kimchi base. Blend the onion and apple with the fish sauce in a blender. (It can take a few minutes as the liquid isn’t as much as the solids.) Make the rice porridge by mixing the water and the rice flour in a bowl and heating them up for 1 min in a microwave. (It could be shorter or longer depending on the output power of your microwave). It should give you a mildly runny porridge texture. Mix all the kimchi base ingredients (*except for 2 Tbsp of Korean chili flakes) in a medium sized bowl.
3. After one hour, rinse the radish in cold running water a couple of times and drain any excess water for 5 mins.
4. Put the radish into a clean mixing bowl and add 2 Tbsp of Korean chili flakes. (Put a food prep glove on.) Mix the chili flakes with the radish evenly. (By adding this chili flakes separately and earlier than rest of the kimchi base, you are giving a nice vibrant colour to the radish. Also, my mum believes that it will help the kimchi base to smear well into the radish). Add the chopped green onion and the kimchi base and mix them evenly and thoroughly.
5. Move the seasoned radish into an air tight glass container (1.5L glass jar for the above-listed quantity) and leave it at room temperature for between 6 to 24 hours depending on the temperature (I left mine out for 1 day with early spring temperature.). After that keep it in the fridge. (The best temperature for storing any kimchi is 6 degree Celsius (42.8F).)
Note
- Rice flour is used to make the kimchi base stickier so that it holds onto the radish well. Also, it is used as a bait for probiotics. (Apparently, this helps them to breed well, and kimchi with more probiotics tastes best.) If you don’t have rice flour, you can use sweet glutinous rice flour or even all purpose flour. I haven’t tried with them, but some Koreans use them as alternatives.
- If you think adding the chili flakes separately in step 4 is cumbersome, you can mix them with the rest of kimchi base in step 2.
- The radish kimchi should start to taste nice from Day 3. You could start eating it a bit earlier but then you will notice that the radish is still a bit raw. It needs to go through the fermentation process to become more tasty.
- Is this recipe too hard? Or want some quick radish kimchi? Then try my shredded daikon radish salad recipe!
Korean Radish Kimchi (Kkakdugi)
Ingredients
MAIN
- 1.1 kg Korean radish (2.5 pounds), or daikon radish, rinsed and skin peeled
- 3 stalks green onion (50 g / 1.8 ounces), rinsed
- 2 Tbsp raw sugar
- 2 Tbsp rock salt or Korean coarse salt
RADISH KIMCHI BASE
- 1/2 small brown onion (70 g / 2.5 ounces), skin peeled, cut into small pieces to blend
- 1/2 small red apple (50 g / 1.8 ounces), seed and core removed, cut into small pieces to blend
- 3 Tbsp Korean fish sauce , I used anchovy sauce
- 1 Tbsp minced garlic
- 1/2 Tbsp minced ginger
- 4 Tbsp Korean chili flakes (gochugaru)
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 Tbsp rice flour
Instructions
- Cut the radish into medium sized cubes. (It could be smaller or bigger if that’s what you prefer. Just be mindful that the radish will shrink as they go through the fermentation process.) Put the cubed radish into a large mixing bowl and add the sugar and the salt and mix them well. Leave it for 1 hour at room temperature.
- While waiting, chop the green onion into small pieces and make the Kimchi base. Blend the onion and apple with the fish sauce in a blender. (It can take a few minutes as the liquid isn’t as much as the solids.) Make the rice porridge by mixing the water and the rice flour in a bowl and heating them up for 1 min in a microwave. (It could be shorter or longer depending on the output power of your microwave). It should give you a mildly runny porridge texture. Mix all the Kimchi base ingredients (*except for 2 Tbsp of Korean chili flakes) in a medium sized bowl.
- After one hour, rinse the radish in cold running water a couple of times and drain any excess water for 5 mins.
- Put the radish into a clean mixing bowl and add 2 Tbsp of Korean chili flakes. (Put a food prep glove on.) Mix the chili flakes with the radish evenly. (By adding this chili flakes separately and earlier than rest of the Kimchi base, you are giving a nice vibrant colour to the radish. Also, my mum believes that it will help the Kimchi base to smear well into the radish). Add the chopped green onion and the Kimchi base and mix them evenly and thoroughly.
- Move the seasoned radish into an air tight glass container (1.5L glass jar for the above-listed quantity) and leave it at room temperature for between 6 to 24 hours depending on the temperature (I left mine out for 1 day with early spring temperature.). After that keep it in the fridge. (The best temperature for storing any Kimchi is 6 degree Celsius (42.8F).)
Nutrition Info (per serving)
The nutrition information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
I haven’t made this recipe yet, so I can’t rate it – but definitely will! But I have a question: can you continue adding more salted & rinsed vegetables to already made kimchi? I made kale kimchi, and not surprisingly, it has reduced down to about 2/3 of the original bulk. My husband keeps bringing home produce from the store, and I’m sure more kale will be showing up soon. 😉
PS – he brought home a LOT of radishes, which is why I’m making radish kimchi.
How long will it last in the fridge? I made this about 5 months ago, and it got forgotten in the back of the fridge. It doesn’t smell different or look bad…
I know this is for radish, but would it be okay to use this based for cabbage based kimchi as well? Or can I add a pear to the kimchi recipe you have? I really liked that flavor
I’m not certain how it will turn out, as each time I make kimchi, I adjust it slightly to better suit the ingredients I’m using at that time. I do have a cabbage kimchi recipe here: https://mykoreankitchen.com/kimchi-recipe/ or a quicker version of kimchi salad here: https://mykoreankitchen.com/fresh-napa-cabbage-kimchi-salad-baechu-geotjeori/. If you decide to use this radish kimchi base with cabbage, let me know how it goes. I’m curious. As for using pear, that’s also an option. Enjoy!
I ended up mixing the two yesterday and added the soy sauce and sesame seeds from the other recipe and a pear instead of an apple. It came out tasty but I think it was better with apple like in your original recipe! The pear just doesn’t have the same tartness. Overall it was tasty though! Thank you for responding!
I just made this recipe with freshly harvested radishes from my garden. I had three kinds, one of them being the white icicle radish. I also used garlic scapes in place of green onion, Vidalia onion, and a pink lady apple. I can’t wait to try it! About how long should I wait to start eating it?
In the Description part, it says it tastes best at day 3. But that you can eat it whenever.
Delicious!! I have made this recipe three times now. My family loves it
Thank you for sharing this recipe. It is a winner!!! I have been a fan of Korean food and kimchi as well, so I had to make this and I am happy to share that I now have a delicious big jar of radish kimchi. My friends tried it as well the day it was ready and loved it.
Quick question…do I have to salt the radish for an hour prior to mixing all the ingredients together? Will this change the taste?
Yes, you need to pickle the radish for one hour before mixing it with the sauce. Please follow the recipe as written; there are other steps you need to follow beforehand. What do you mean by will this change the taste?
Hello, sadly I can’t eat apple (or any other fruits 🙁 ) Do you have any suggestions what I could use instead?
That’s unfortunate, but not everyone adds fruit to their kimchi. But I do believe it tastes better when you add it. I would slightly increase the amount of sugar to increase the sweet taste, but you can also omit it if you don’t like adding too much sugar. It’s all about balance – what you want to achieve: diet or flavor.
깍두기나 김치는 유리병에 잘 안담궈요. 발효되서 나중에 열다가 다 터져 나올수도 있어요. 그래서 한국에 어머니들이 플라스틱 컨테이너에 담그죠. 알려주셔야 할 것 같은데요…
Can I substitute regular red radishes for daikon?
I haven’t tried with red radishes, but others have. They said it turned out well. Good luck! 🙂
What happened with the garlic?
You mix all kimchi base ingredients in a bowl (Step 2).
Hello! I made this KKAKDUGI recipe yesterday and tasted it this evening….it’s DELICIOUS! Question…once made how long will this stay fresh in an airtight container?
Best wishes!!
That will depend on other storage conditions (e.g. temperature) too. If all is good, it should taste fresh for at 7-10 days.
My flavor is good but my radishes are soft. What might I have done wrong?
I have found that the kimchee is good for 2 to 3 weeks if kept in the refrigerator. It gets ripe and sour over time, but it is fine to eat. The salt keeps it from spoiling.
I’ve turned my friends into radish kimchi addicts with this recipe. It is my absolute favourite kimchi and I find myself making this every few weeks.
One small change that might be helpful for others. Where it says” Mix all the Kimchi base ingredients (*except for 2 Tbsp of Korean chili flakes) in a medium sized bowl.” Perhaps change it to something like “Add 2 tablespoons of the chili flakes while reserving the addition 2 tablespoons…” The way you wrote it is clear–but i missed the step on the first batch.
Thank you for sharing
Thankyou for saying this, I was struggling to figure out where the other 2 tblspns went 😭
Hello and thanks for this amazing recipe! Can i ask you if we can use gochujang instead of the chilli’s powder? ( i don’t have it and i have a buch of gochujang to use).
I’m afraid to say this. You don’t use gochujang when you make kimchi. Please try to source Korean chili flakes. I have plenty of other recipes if you need to use up gochujang. 🙂 Please use the search function of my website.