Title: Radish Water Kimchi
Categories: Korean
Yield: 2 Cups, with
2 lb Korean radishes; washed,
-peeled, cut into 1/8" or
-less slices
13 1/2 c Water
2 Gala, Fuji, or other sweet
-apples; cored and thinly
-sliced
1 md Onion (1 c); thinly sliced
1 ts All-purpose flour
5 cl Garlic; minced
2 Green Korean chiles; stemmed
-and chopped
1 Red Korean chile; stemmed
-and chopped
2 Scallions
Combine the radishes with 3 tb salt in a bowl and mix well. Put the
salted radishes in a 1-gallon glass jar or other airtight container,
cover, and let stand at room temperature for 24 hours, stirring once
or twice to distribute the salt evenly.
Pour 13 cups of the water into a large pot, add the apples and onion,
cover, and cook over medium heat until the apples and onion are
transluscent and the broth tastes sweet, about 1 hour.
Mix the flour and the remaining 1/4 cup cold water in a small bowl
until completely smooth. Pour it into the boiling broth, stirring to
dissolve. The broth will turn a little milky. Add 2 tb salt and mix
well. Remove from the heat and let cool completely.
Tie the garlic and chili peppers up tightly in a piece of
cheesecloth. Add the seasoning pouch and the scallions to the jar
with the radishes. Strain the cooled broth into the jar. Cover and
let stand until the brine is a little sour with a good flavor, about
2 days.
Remove the seasoning pouch and scallions and discard. Cover and
refrigerate until you are ready to make cold noodle soup, or for
about 1 month.
Tips:
Cold noodle soup is a hugely popular dish in Korea and one of my
favorites. There's a spicy version without a lot of broth, and a
nonspicy version that does have a lot. The best noodle soup broth is
made with a mix of brine from radish-water kimchi and chicken or beef
stock.
I developed this recipe specifically to get a high yield of brine for
the soup. It's made with much more water than is usual. After just a
few minutes of work and then a few days of waiting as it ferments,
you will have a perfect brine: subtly sour, salty, and tangy. It's
wonderfully thirst quenching when chilled.
To use this kimchi as a side dish for rice, ladle the cold broth into
serving bowls, along with several radish disks; cut the disks in half
if they are large. You can also use some of the radishes as an
ingredient in your cold noodle soup.
Recipe by Maangchi's Real Korean Cooking by Emily Kim, 2015
