Kkakdugi (Cubed Radish Kimchi)

Ingredients

• 1 kg daikon radish, peeled and cut into 2 cm cubes
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 tbsp white sugar
• 3 tbsp gochugaru
• 5 garlic, finely grated
• 15 g fresh ginger, finely grated
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 4 spring onion, cut into 3 cm lengths

Method

1. 1.

   Salt the radish cubes — Toss the radish cubes with the salt and sugar in a large bowl and leave them for 40 minutes, turning once halfway. They should give up a good pool of brine and bend slightly instead of snapping.

2. 2.

   Bloom the gochugaru — Drain the radish, keeping 4 tbsp of the brine. Stir that brine into the gochugaru in a small bowl and leave it for 10 minutes, until the flakes swell into a thick scarlet paste.

3. 3.

   Season the chilli paste — Beat the garlic, ginger and fish sauce into the chilli paste, then fold in the spring onion. Taste it: it should be aggressively salty and savoury on its own, because the radish will dilute it.

4. 4.

   Coat every cube — Wearing gloves, rub the paste over the drained radish until every cube is evenly stained red and nothing pale is left in the bottom of the bowl.

5. 5.

   Ferment at room temperature — Pack it into a clean jar, pressing down hard so the brine rises over the radish, and leave 3 cm of headspace. Close the lid loosely and leave it at room temperature for 24-48 hours, until it smells sour and fizzes when you press it.

6. 6.

   Chill before eating — Move the jar to the fridge, where it keeps for a month and only gets better. Serve the cubes cold with rice, grilled meat or stews — the juice at the bottom is the best part.