Musaengchae (무생채, Spicy Radish Salad)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Sharp chef's knife or mandoline with hand guard
• •Large mixing bowl
• •Colander

Instructions

1. 1

   Cut the radish

   Peel the radish if the skin is tough, or scrub it well if it is young and clean. Cut it into 3-inch lengths, slice those into 3mm planks, stack the planks, and cut them into even matchsticks. This knife work is not decoration. Even pieces salt at the same speed and keep the salad crisp instead of half-wilted and half-raw.

   A mandoline is a safe corner to cut if you use the hand guard. A box grater is not. It bruises the radish and makes it weep before the seasoning even touches it.
2. 2

   Salt and drain

   Put the radish in a large bowl and toss it with 1 teaspoon fine sea salt and 1 teaspoon sugar. Let it stand 15 minutes, turning once halfway through, until the radish bends slightly but still snaps when you bite it. Drain off the liquid in the bottom of the bowl. Do not rinse. Rinsing washes away the radish flavor you just concentrated.

   If your radish is especially watery, let it sit 5 minutes longer after salting. Press it once with your hands, gently. Do not wring it like laundry.
3. 3

   Stain with chili

   Sprinkle the gochugaru over the drained radish and rub it through with your hand until every matchstick is evenly stained red. Wait 2 minutes before adding the wet seasonings. Dry chili first gives a cleaner color and keeps the pepper from floating away in the dressing.

4. 4

   Season by hand

   Add the fish sauce, rice vinegar, 1 teaspoon sugar, minced garlic, and scallions. If you are using soup soy sauce instead of fish sauce, add the soup soy and only then decide whether the extra 1/4 teaspoon salt is needed. Toss lightly by hand, lifting from the bottom of the bowl so the radish keeps its shape. Taste one piece. It should be crisp, lightly sweet, lightly tart, and red with chili, but it should still taste like radish.

5. 5

   Rest and serve

   Let the musaengchae rest 10 minutes, then taste again. The salt will have moved deeper into the radish and a little red juice will gather at the bottom. Fold in the toasted sesame seeds. Add the sesame oil only if you are serving it now, because sesame oil turns heavy in the refrigerator. Serve as banchan with rice, or spoon it into bibimbap where its crunch can do proper work.

Chef Tips

• •Buy Korean radish in late autumn or winter when it feels heavy and the shoulder is pale green. A good one tastes sweet and peppery raw. If it is hollow, woody, or harsh, cook a different banchan tonight.
• •Do not bury this under sugar or gochujang. Musaengchae is seasoned with gochugaru, not made into a paste. The radish should stay crisp and bright, with the seasoning clinging to each cut surface.
• •For a vegetarian table, use soup soy sauce instead of fish sauce. It will lose the fermented seafood depth, but it keeps the dish honest. If you are cooking in temple style, leave out the garlic too and lean on good radish, vinegar, salt, and sesame.

Advance Preparation

• •You can cut the radish up to 6 hours ahead and keep it covered in the refrigerator, but do not salt it until 25 minutes before serving. Once salted, the clock has started.
• •Finished musaengchae is best the day it is made. It will keep 1 day refrigerated, but drain off extra liquid and refresh with a small pinch of gochugaru and sesame seeds before serving.
• •If making it for bibimbap, leave out the sesame oil until the bowl is assembled so the radish stays clean and sharp against the rice.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 135g)