Yeolmu-kimchi (Young Summer Radish Kimchi)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Wide basin or very large mixing bowl
• •Colander
• •Small saucepan
• •2-liter glass jar, kimchi container, or onggi crock
• •Food-safe gloves, optional

Instructions

1. 1

   Trim gently

   Trim the fine roots from the yeolmu, leaving the small white radish attached when it is tender. Split any radish thicker than your thumb lengthwise, then cut the greens into 3-inch lengths. Rinse in a wide basin, lifting the greens out of the water instead of pouring dirt back over them. Do not scrub the leaves hard. Yeolmu bruises easily, and bruised greens ferment slippery.

2. 2

   Salt the greens

   Dissolve 1/4 cup of the coarse sea salt in 6 cups cold water. Lay the yeolmu and optional putbaechu in a wide bowl, pour the salt water over them, then scatter the remaining 1/4 cup salt mostly over the thicker radish ends. Rest 35 to 45 minutes, turning once with open hands. The stems should bend without snapping, but they should not collapse. This light salting is the difference between crisp summer kimchi and tired greens.

   Do not press a heavy plate on yeolmu the way you might with napa cabbage. Young greens need salt and time, not weight.
3. 3

   Cook the paste

   While the greens salt, whisk the sweet rice flour with 1 cup water in a small pot. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until it turns glossy and lightly thickened, about 3 to 5 minutes. Cool it completely. The paste gives the seasoning a little body and feeds fermentation, but if it goes on warm it wilts the greens before the jar has even begun its work.

4. 4

   Rinse and drain

   Rinse the salted yeolmu twice in cold water, again lifting it gently. Drain in a colander for 20 minutes. Taste one stem. It should be seasoned at the edge, not salty all the way through. If it tastes harsh, rinse once more and drain well, because excess surface water thins the kimchi and excess salt slows the clean souring you want.

5. 5

   Mix seasoning

   In a large bowl, stir together the cooled rice paste, grated onion, grated pear or apple, garlic, ginger, gochugaru, fish sauce, salted shrimp if using, and sugar. Let it stand 10 minutes so the gochugaru blooms and softens. Taste the seasoning before it touches the greens. It should be savory, lightly sweet, and a little saltier than you want the finished kimchi, because the radish will give up more water.

6. 6

   Fold by hand

   Add the drained yeolmu, scallions, and chilies to the seasoning. Fold with loose fingers from the bottom of the bowl, turning only until everything is lightly coated. Do not knead. Do not squeeze. My teacher would tap the back of my hand for this, and she was right. Yeolmu-kimchi lives or dies by how lightly you handle it.

7. 7

   Pack loosely

   Transfer the kimchi to a clean 2-liter jar or lidded container, pressing just enough to remove large air pockets but not enough to crush the greens. Leave at least 1 inch of headspace. Spoon any seasoning liquid from the bowl over the top. If the greens are not barely submerged after 30 minutes, add 1/2 cup cold water mixed with 1/2 teaspoon salt and pour it around the edge.

8. 8

   Ferment and chill

   Ferment at cool room temperature, around 68 to 72°F, for 18 to 24 hours, then refrigerate. In hotter weather, taste at 12 hours. When tiny bubbles gather at the side of the jar and the liquid smells lightly sour and clean, move it cold. Eat it from the next day onward, best between day 2 and day 7, when the greens are still crisp and the broth is bright.

Chef Tips

• •Buy yeolmu with perky leaves, thin stems, and small firm white roots. If the leaves are yellowing or the stems bend like wet string before salting, cook something else today. My teacher would have sent it back without a word.
• •Coarse Korean sea salt matters for salting greens because it dissolves slowly and seasons without striking too hard. If using fine sea salt, reduce the brining salt by about one-third, or the yeolmu will turn salty before it softens.
• •The salted shrimp is optional, not careless. Fish sauce alone gives a clean, lighter summer taste; a little saeujeot gives depth and a rounder fermentation. Use one tablespoon, not a fistful.
• •For yeolmu-bibimbap, spoon chopped yeolmu-kimchi and some broth over cold or room-temperature rice, add 1 to 2 teaspoons gochujang, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, and a fried egg if you like. The kimchi should still taste like radish greens, not only chili paste.
• •Safe corner to cut: use a clean food-safe plastic container instead of an onggi jar. Corner not to cut: rough mixing. Once the greens are bruised, no container will save the texture.

Advance Preparation

• •Yeolmu-kimchi is a make-ahead dish by nature. Start it the day before you want to eat it, ferment 18 to 24 hours at cool room temperature, then chill.
• •The rice flour paste can be cooked up to 1 day ahead and refrigerated. Bring it back to cool room temperature before mixing so it loosens into the seasoning.
• •Once refrigerated, this kimchi is best in the first week for crisp eating. After 10 to 14 days it becomes sharper and softer, better for cold noodles or mixing with rice than for serving as a neat side dish.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 220g)