Chonggak kimchi (Ponytail Kimchi) Recipe!
This was one of the hight requested recipes from you all, and I’m finally sharing it!! To make this recipe happen in Maui, my journey didn’t start at the grocery store but from my garden, seeding the Chonggak moo (ponytail radish) seeds. It took about two months for them to grow fully, and it was time for me to harvest them and make the Chonggak kimchi (Ponytail Kimchi) Recipe!
For this recipe, you will need about 9 lbs of chonggak moo (ponytail radish). It’s a typical amount of kimchi Koreans make, but if this recipe is too big, you can cut it down to half.
Rinse off the dust from the radish and trim the soil between ponytail radish and radish greens with a knife, then wash it three times in running water. I wiped it off with a soft scrubber (I used luffa), just enough to remove the outer dirt.
Sprinkle 2 1/2 cups Korean coarse sea salt (or 2 cups coarse sea salt) on the radish layer by layer. Sprinkle water on top and salt for 2 hours. Turn over once halfway through to salt evenly.
The quality of sea salt of very important to make kimchi because it will decide whether the vegetable will get sweet or bitter. Obviously, good quality sea salt will bring the natural sweetness of the vegetables and enhance the great flavor.
While the radish is salting, let’s make flour porridge. Combine 2 cups water, one sheet of 5×5″ dasima (dried kelp), and 2 to 3 dried shiitake in a saucepan and sit for 30 minutes. Bring it to a boil. Right before boiling, remove the dasima. Reduce heat to medium and keep simmer for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat. Remove shiitake from the saucepan and keep it for different recipes.
Add 3 tbsp all-purpose flour and turn the heat back to medium. Whisk well until there are no lumps. Even though there are some lumps, no worries as long as they are fully cooked. When it slowly boiling, stir for another 3 to 4 minutes to thicken. Remove from the heat, and set aside.
Combine all ingredients for kimchi paste except gochugaru and green onions in a blender. Blend well until smooth. Pour into a large mixing bowl and mix with gochugaru.
The Kimchi Paste Ingredeints
- 15 cloves of garlic
- 3 to 4 slices of ginger
- 1 small apple, roughly diced
- 1/2 of large onion, roughly diced
- 1/2 cup Yondu (you can use fish sauce or/and shrimp paste)
- 1/3 cup Maesilaek, Korean green plum extract, or apple cider/juice
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp coarse salt to your taste
- 1 1/2 cups gochugaru, Korean red pepper flakes
- 2 bundles of green onions, cut into 2” long pieces
Rinse the salted radish under running water three times and put it on a colander to drain the water for 30 minutes.
Add the radish into the mixing bowl along with green onions. Mix gently with both hands so that the radish and the greens do not fall apart.
After putting them side by side in a kimchi container, let them ferment at room temperature for about two days and then place them into the refrigerator. I left it at room temperature for a couple of days and then refrigerated it.
Enjoy!
Chonggak kimchi (Ponytail Kimchi)
- Total Time: 2 hrs 30 mins
- Yield: 9 lbs 1x
Ingredients
For the Ponytail Radish
- 9 lbs Chonggak moo, Korean ponytail radish with greens
- 2 1/2 cups Korean coarse sea salt or 2 cups coarse sea salt
- 3 cups water
For the Flour Porridge
- 2 cups water
- 5x5” dasima, dried kelp
- 2 to 3 dried shiitake mushrooms
- 3 tbsp all-purpose flour or sweet rice flour (you could also use 4 tbsp cooked rice)
For the Kimchi Paste
- 15 cloves of garlic
- 3 to 4 slices of ginger
- 1 small apple, roughly diced
- 1/2 of large onion, roughly diced
- 1/2 cup Yondu (you can use fish sauce or/and shrimp paste)
- 1/3 cup Maesilaek, Korean green plum extract, or apple cider/juice
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp coarse salt to your taste
- 1 1/2 cups gochugaru, Korean red pepper flakes
- 2 bundles of green onions, cut into 2” long pieces
Instructions
- Trim the soil between ponytail radish and radish greens with a knife, then wash three times in running water. I wiped it off with a soft scrubber (I used luffa), just enough to remove the outer dirt.
- Sprinkle Korean coarse sea salt on the radish layer by layer. Sprinkle water on top and salt for 2 hours. Turn over once halfway through to salt evenly.
- While the radish is salting, let’s make flour porridge.
Combine water, dasima, and dried shiitake in a saucepan and sit for 30 minutes. Bring it to a boil. Right before boiling, remove the dasima. Reduce heat to medium and keep simmer for 10 minutes. Remove shiitake from the saucepan and keep it for different recipes. Add flour and turn the heat back to medium. Whisk well until there are no lumps. Even though there are some lumps, no worries as long as they are fully cooked. When it boils, stir for another 3 to 4 minutes to thicken. Remove from the heat, and set aside. - Combine all ingredients for kimchi paste except gochugaru and green onions in a blender. Blend well until smooth. Pour into a large mixing bowl and mix with gochugaru.
- Rinse the salted radish under running water three times and put it on a colander to drain the water for 30 minutes. Add the radish into the mixing bowl along with green onions. Mix gently with both hands so that the radish and the greens do not fall apart.
- After putting them side by side in a kimchi container, let them ferment at room temperature for about two days and then place them into the refrigerator. I left it at room temperature for a couple of days and then refrigerated it. Enjoy!
- Prep Time: 2 hrs 30 mins
