Turnip Kimchi

Also known as "kkakduhi" (gak-doo-gee) or Korean radish kimchi, or cubed radish kimchi, or "mu" (moo). Call it what you'd like, this is an easy, impressive kimchi that'll make you proud.

Makes about 8 cups.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups Korean turnip, cut into cubes

• 1 cup green cabbage, chopped

• 1/4 cup kosher salt

Kimchi paste:

• 3/4 cups water

• 1/2 tbsp all purpose flour or cornstarch (any thickener)

• 3 tbsp gochugaru

Kimchi seasonings:

• 1/2 cup garlic, minced

• 1/2 cup green onion, chopped

• 1/2 cup apple, minced (sugar substitute and traditionally Korean)

• 1 inch size knob of ginger, peeled and minced

S T E P 1

Wash turnip and green cabbage. Cut turnip into cubes (I prefer half inch-ish cubes), chop green cabbage, and add both to a large bowl. Salt generously starting with 1/4 cup and adding more later if needed. Mix. Set aside for turnip and green cabbage to 'sweat' for half an hour.

S T E P 2

Mince garlic, chop green onion, mince apple, and ginger. Set aside or leave on your cutting board, aka your mise en place.

S T E P 3

In a small pot, heat water, flour (or other thickener), and gochugaru. Mix for 5 minutes to form a quick paste (see below for consistency). Turn off the heat and leave on stovetop to cool.

S T E P 4

Once your turnip and green cabbage has 'sweat' which you'll see from the liquid that came out of it while it rested, drain and pour this excess liquid out. Do not rinse your turnip and cabbage. Taste test a piece of the turnip to make sure it's salty enough (should be pretty salty but not like salty sea water - that's too much. If that's the case, you can rinse the turnip and cabbage and that will help.) Salts vary in their level of saltiness which is why 1/4 cup of salt may not be enough in your case. Taste testing will help.

S T E P 5

Add all ingredients (garlic, green onion, apple, ginger, kimchi paste) to the bowl of turnips and cabbage and mix thoroughly. You may want to wear a food-grade glove for this fun. Once mixed, transfer kimchi to a glass container and enjoy over the weeks to come.

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Storage

Keep kimchi in the fridge and enjoy it with rice, noodles (Asian or Italian) 🙂 and just about anything. Kimchi will last 3 months in the fridge.