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1
Cube and salt the radish
1 hour
Room temperature, about 20°C (68°F)
Peel the radish (900 g) and cut it into even 2 cm cubes. Toss the cubes with the coarse sea salt (45 g) in a large bowl, cover, and leave for 1 hour, tossing once halfway, until the cubes have given up some water and taste pleasantly salty. The cubes should still be firm — salting seasons and firms them, it does not soften them.
Bite a cube after an hour: it should crunch and taste seasoned through, not raw and bland in the middle.
Done when: Cubes firm and crisp, seasoned through, a little liquid in the bowl.
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2
Make the rice porridge
5 minutes
Medium heat 90°C (194°F)
Whisk the glutinous rice flour (30 g) into the water (150 ml) in a small pot, then cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly, until it turns into a thick, glossy porridge. Take it off the heat and let it cool to room temperature — hot porridge would cook the garlic and dull the flavour.
Keep stirring to the end; the porridge thickens suddenly and catches on the bottom if you stop.
Done when: Thick, smooth and glossy, like a thin custard.
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3
Mix the seasoning paste
10 minutes
Room temperature, about 20°C (68°F)
Stir the cooled porridge with the gochugaru (30 g), fish sauce (45 ml), chopped saeujeot (20 g), sugar (12 g), minced garlic (18 g) and grated ginger (10 g) until it is a smooth, deep-red paste. Fold in the scallions (60 g) so every piece is coated.
Wear gloves from here on — gochugaru stains hands and stings small cuts.
Done when: Even deep-red paste, scallions coated, no dry flakes left.
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4
Rinse, drain and toss the cubes
10 minutes
Room temperature, about 20°C (68°F)
Drain the salted cubes and rinse them once briefly under cold running water to wash off the surface salt, then drain well for 5 minutes. Tip the cubes into the bowl with the paste and toss with gloved hands until every cube is coated red. Do not over-rinse — the cubes should still taste seasoned.
Taste a cube now: it should be salty, spicy and a little sweet all at once. If it is fiercely salty, rinse once more.
Done when: Every cube evenly coated red, still crisp, seasoned but not fiercely salty.
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5
Pack and ferment, then refrigerate
1–2 days
Room temperature 20°C (68°F), then fridge 4°C (40°F)
Pack the coated cubes snugly into a clean 2-litre glass jar or kimchi container, pressing down so no air pockets remain, and leave 3 cm of headroom. Close the lid loosely and leave at room temperature for 1 to 2 days until you see small bubbles and the paste smells pleasantly sour. Tighten the lid and move the jar to the fridge, where the kkakdugi keeps for 3 to 4 weeks and keeps getting tangier while staying crisp.
In a warm kitchen 1 day is enough; taste on day 1 and refrigerate when the sourness suits you.
Done when: Bubbles in the jar, sour tangy smell, cubes still crisp and juicy.
auto_awesome Finishing Touches & Plating
Serve the kkakdugi cold from the fridge in a small bowl — it is at its best after a week, when the sourness has deepened but the cubes are still crunchy and juicy.
South Korea
1h 5m
