Dongchimi (Radish Water Kimchi / Winter Kimchi)

동치미
This variety of Kimchi can be served as a banchan dish where it’s cool, crisp, clean flavor serves as a counterbalance to fatty and spicy dishes. The liquid is often used in  cold noodle soups as a broth

Servings: 45

Ingredients

  • Day -3
    • 10 fresh green chili peppers
    • 2 tablespoons kosher or sea salt
    • 2 cups of water
  • Day -1
    • 10 small Daikon (White rat or Ponytail) radishes with greens attached
    • 1/4 cup kosher or sea salt
    • 1/2 cup coarse salt
    • 3 quarts water
  • Mixing Day
    • 1 Nashi or Asian pear
    • 1 bunch small green onions
    • 2 bunches leaf mustard
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • 1 head (10 to 12 cloves) fresh garlic, peeled
    • 4 ounces fresh ginger
    • 6 fresh red chili peppers

 

Procedure

  • Day -3
    • Make a brine by mixing salt and water in a 1-quart container.
    • Rinse the green chili peppers in cold water, remove the stems, and place the peppers in the brine.
    • Cover tightly and let sit at room temperature for 3 days.
  • Day -1
    • Make a brine by mixing coarse salt and water in a 1-gallon container. Allow to sit at room temperature for 24 hours.
    • Remove any rootlets from the Daikon radish and wash well in cold water.
    • Rub the salt into the skin and place the radishes into a large container.
    • Pour remaining salt over the radish and let sit for 24 hours.

Mixing day

  • Preparation
    • Cut the green onions where the white meets the green, set aside the white portions, and trim the top ends of the green sections. Place the greens in a bowl and lightly salt. Let stand for one hour.
    • Wash the leaf mustard in cold water and very lightly salt each leaf. Set leaves in stacks of three or four leaves to a stack.
    • Pour the brine off the green chili peppers, rinse with cold water, and pat dry.
    • Wash the pear in cold water and quarter from top to bottom, removing seed core.
    • Slice each garlic clove in half from top to bottom.
    • Wash the un-peeled ginger in cold water, then thinly slice across the grain.
    • Filter the brine (place a coffee filter in a small strainer and pour the brine through it) into a clean container.
  • Mix
    • Use either a single (2-gallon capacity) container or two one gallon containers (portion all ingredients in half)
    • Wrap the garlic, ginger, and onion whites in cheesecloth or a clean lint-free cloth. (Two wraps, each containing one half of each ingredient if using two containers)
    • Place ingredients into the container in the following order:
      • Cloth wrap
      • Radish
      • Pear
      • onion greens
      • green peppers
      • red peppers
      • leaf mustard
    • Gently pour the brine into the container, close tightly, and let stand for at least 24 hours, then refrigerate until use.
  • Serving
    • Remove one (or more) radish, a few peppers, and one pear quarter from the container. Cut the radish in half from top to bottom, then thinly slice the radish, peppers, and pear crosswise. Cut the radish green into short 3/4 to 1-inch pieces.
    • Place the sliced radish, pear, peppers, and greens into a serving bowl and spoon some of the liquid and other ingredients from the container over the radish.