Korean Radishes Are The Most Underrated…

… vegetable I can think of for those with digestive issues like me. The reason why Chonggak mu / 총각무 (also called Altari mu) is SO good for your gut health boil down to the following:

1. The radish contains amylase, amidase, and glycosidase, enzymes that are great for digestion

2. The ponytail portion of the radish, or the green part, is PACKED in Vitamin C (10x that of some apples), and an appropriate amount of Vitamin C aids in digestion, gut-health, and immunity.

3. It’s packed in fiber which helps with peristalsis, which is basically the automatic movement and contraction of the muscles in your digestive system.

My mom came to visit me and taught me how to make it into a kimchi. Koreans have basically fermented any vegetable throughout our history, and ponytail radish is one of them. The best part about kimchi in general for me is that you can store it in your fridge for a long time, and since I live alone at this stage in my life, it’s super convenient. The fermentation process is also what makes it so gut-friendly, but that’s for any kimchi!

Ingredients:

• 18 ponytail radishes

• 1/2 Fuji apple

• 1/2 Korean pear

• 1/4 of a Korean Radish

• 1 bunch of Korean mustard leaf (optional)

• 2 bunches of scallions (14 scallions)

• 15 cloves of garlic

• 1/4 of one ginger root

• 1 cup of rice (optional) — if you don’t have this, you can make rice porridge with 1/4 cup of glutinous rice flour and 3 cups of water

• another cup of water to help dissolve the salt)

• 1-2 cups of Korean red pepper flake (gochu garu) (2 cups if you like it spicy)

• 1/4 cup of salted shrimp (salted and fermented shrimp)

• 3/4 cup of anchovy fish sauce

• 1/4 cup of plum extract (optional — gives it a more umami flavor)

• 1 1/3 cup of coarse salt (needs to be coarse)

Materials:

• 2 large basins and 1 large strainer (to wash and drain the ponytail radish)

• Blender

• Large glass or plastic container to store and ferment kimchi

Recipe:

Radish Prep

1. Peel the ponytail radish. I use a knife to graze it because it gives a closer peel, but you can use a potato peeler since the technique can be quite challenging (as you see in the video)

2. Cut the ponytail radish in half length-wise. TIP: Cut from the greens side so you don’t end up with a half with no greens attached (you’ll see what I mean)

3. Place the Korean mustard leaves on the bottom of a basin. Not everyone adds this, but this is what helps with fermentation and provides more of an umami flavor. Place the radishes on top of the mustard leaves. Then, add cold water to the basin and drain. Move the radish and mustard leaves to a strainer and wash out the basin. You will see all of the dirt at the bottom of the basin come out.

4. Then, place the mustard leaves down first, sprinkle a layer of the salt over. Then place a layer of the ponytail radish across the basin and sprinkle a layer of the salt over again. Repeat this step until you’re out of the radish and salt. (1 1/3 cup of the salt should be distributed across the layers, but honestly, you can just use a small fistful amount each layer. My mom and I measured each fistful amount and it came out to 1/3 cup, multiplied by 4 layers, comes out to 1 1/3 ).

5. Pour a cup of water across the basin to help the salt dissolve into the radish.

6. Cover with the other basin and let it sit in the salt for 30 minutes. While you’re waiting for it to salt, move on to making the kimchi paste (down below). After 30 minutes is up, flip the ponytail radish in the basin and wait another 30 minutes (Total salting time = 1 hour).

7. Wash 3 more times or until all of the dirt and salt is off. Drain in the strainer.

Rice Porridge (Optional or if you’re using pre-made cup of rice, then skip this step)

1. Set 3 cups of water in a pot on medium heat

2. Add 1/4 cup of glutinous rice powder.

3. Stir frequently and occasionally to ensure it doesn’t burn on the bottom

4. Take off heat after 10 minutes or until it bubbles at the bottom if left un-stirred for 5 seconds.

Making Kimchi Paste

1. Peel the Korean radish and cut roughly 1/4 of it off. Cut into smaller pieces and set aside.

2. Cut 1/2 of Korean pear into bite-sized pieces and set aside.

3. Cut 1/2 of Fuji apple into bite-sized pieces and set aside.

4. Cut 1/4 of a ginger root, peel, and set aside.

5. Place Korean radish, Korean pear, apple, ginger root, 14 garlic cloves, and 1 cup of rice into the blender.

   1. TIP: You may have to split these ingredients into two parts if your blender isn’t big enough. Blend until one unified-color / porridge-like consistency.

   2. NOTE: If you’re going to add the glutinous rice porridge instead of the cup of rice, then add in the next step

6. Pour out into one of the basins. Add the red pepper flakes (gochu-garu), 1/4 cup of fermented shrimp, 3/4 cup of anchovy fish sauce, 1/4 cup of plum extract. Mix with a large spoon or with your hand after putting on a glove until one even, red color.

Mix and Make Kimchi

1. Cut the scallions in the middle.

2. When the hour of salting is up, add the ponytail radishes and scallions into the basin and mix with your hands (wearing gloves). Try to wrap each radish with the greens attached to it, add a piece of scallion and mustard leaf to each wrap to give it a refreshing taste, and add it to your plastic or glass container.

Fermenting

• To get it to ferment quickly, leave the container full of ponytail radish kimchi at room temperature for a few days. When the color of the radish leaves are a dark green or the kimchi smells more sour, you know it’s fermented. You can place it in your fridge after a few days.

• TIP: If you have extra kimchi paste at the end, put it in a baggie and store in your freezer to save for a spicy stew another time!