Why Korean Radish Is "Winter Ginseng" & Perfect Match for Rice

The table of Koreans who eat rice as their staple food always has a side dish made with radish. The taste that goes well with rice has been widely loved. In the days when winter vegetables were scarce, radish was also a major source of vitamin C. Nowadays, it's grown all year round, but the 'winter radish' grown in the warm island's winter field is the most delicious.

What is Korean radish? Radish (무) is one of the vegetables that Koreans are closest to, besides herbs. In Europe, red radish is used for salad, and in Japan, white radish called daikon is used as an ingredient for fish stew, buckwheat soba, soybean paste soup, pickles, etc. But in Korea, it's used as an ingredient for kimchi, soup, stew, and also for making broth.  

Korean radish vs daikon? Compared to the daikon, which has a long and slender shape and a mild taste, the Korean radish is more round and short, has a green part near the stem, and has a firmer texture and a stronger flavor.

If you include preserved foods such as dried radish leaves (시래기) and dried radish slices (무말랭이), Koreans wouldn't have a day without eating radish. The reason why Koreans who eat rice as their staple food eat a lot of radish is also that radish has a lot of enzymes that break down starch, called amylase.

The Treasure of Vitamin that was Called 'Winter Ginseng' (‘겨울 인삼’이라 불렸던 비타민의 보고)

Until the 1970s, when greenhouse farming wasn't developed and winter vegetables were scarce, radish harvested in autumn was buried deep in the ground to prevent freezing and eaten as a side dish all winter. It was also eaten raw. It was sweet and refreshing, and a delicacy on winter nights. This way, radish that was eaten raw as a snack in winter was also called dong-sam (winter ginseng). There was a reason why cheap radish was compared to expensive and precious ginseng. Although it didn't have the medicinal effects of ginseng, radish was a major source of vitamin C, which was easy to lack in winter.

Korean radish is the most produced vegetable among the vegetables and is grown all year round. Among them, the most delicious one is the 'winter radish' that endured the cold in the winter field. The southern regions of Korea don't have temperatures below zero even on winter nights. The lower the temperature drops to 0℃ or higher and 10℃ or lower at night, the sweeter the radish becomes. 

During the day, it makes starch by photosynthesis, and at night, it quickly converts starch to sugar to cope with the cold. This survival instinct of radish increases the sweetness. Winter radish has been mass-produced and urbanized since the mid-1990s and Jeju Island's winter radish is the most famous.​

It's been over 10 years since it was exported to the U.S. in a vinyl bag after being washed clean. On the other hand, in summer, radish is grown in the highlands over 600m above sea level in Gangwon-do. If the temperature of the plain exceeds 30℃, the vegetables stop growing or the radish becomes dry and the sweetness decreases, so they grow in the highlands where the night temperature drops.

Yeolmu Guksu: Summer Delicacy (여름 별미 열무국수)

Summer is the season of young radish, yeolmu (열무). Yeolmu, which has a shorter growing period than other radishes, has a crunchy taste that is second to none. Yeolmu kimchi broth with anchovy stock and ice is frozen enough to make ice, and then eaten with somyeon (thin wheat noodles). It's a summer delicacy that can be enjoyed cheaply at street snack bars. The sour broth with yeolmu kimchi and somyeon blends together and makes you forget the heat for a moment when you put it in your mouth and chew.

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Naengmyeon (Source)

If you associate summer noodles and Korean radish, you can't miss naengmyeon (cold noodles). Naengmyeon is a traditional dish that eats noodles made with buckwheat in a broth made with beef, pork, chicken, etc. Radish pickles are toppings that mustn't be missed with cucumber, meat, egg, and naengmyeon. Radish is thinly sliced to 2-3mm and seasoned with salt, red pepper powder, vinegar, sugar, etc. 

There is a reason for the tradition of eating buckwheat with radish. The radish enzyme neutralizes the toxic components of salicylamine and benzylamine in the buckwheat peel. This is the same reason why Japan serves grated radish with buckwheat soba.

Easy-to-Make Kkakdugi (담기 쉬운 깍두기 )

Kkakdugi (Cubed Radish Kimchi)

Radish is the main ingredient of kkakdugi, which is the easiest to make among the many kinds of kimchi. I can't even think of making cabbage kimchi because I have to buy a lot of ingredients and the process is complicated, but when my 13-year-old daughter asks for kkakdugi at the table, I make time to make kkakdugi.

I go to the supermarket in front of my house and buy a radish, cut it into 2-3cm cubes, and sprinkle salt on it for about two hours. Then the salt melts into the radish and the water comes out of the radish, making it crunchy. All I have to do is mix it with anchovy fish sauce, shrimp sauce, red pepper powder, and glutinous rice paste (you can skip this if you don't have time). If you add chopped green onions, the taste of kkakdugi becomes deeper. You can eat it after two days of pickling.

For meat dishes with broth, such as chicken soup (baeksuk), rib soup (galbitang), or beef soup (seolleongtang), cabbage kimchi is good, but well-ripened kkakdugi is perfect. Radish helps digest greasy food, so it is a food combination that gives you both taste and practicality.

A unique radish kimchi is often pickled and eaten in the southern coastal regions, including Tongyeong. They put a whole sea fish, bolak (Sebastes inermis), in radish kimchi. At first, it smells fishy, but after two months of fermentation, the fishy smell disappears and the unique aroma of matured fish protein stimulates the appetite.

When Korean radish and bolak are served on a plate, it feels unfamiliar at first, but when you taste it, the awkwardness turns into curiosity. The bones of the thick fish become soft during the fermentation process, and the flesh is firm, so it feels like eating a flavorful fish dish rather than kimchi. If you eat it with warm rice, you will experience the disappearance of a bowl of rice in an instant. In Seoul, you can taste it in spring at Chungmu-jip, a Tongyeong food specialty restaurant in Euljiro.

(Source / 김진영 / ’여행자의 식탁(Traveler’s Kitchen)’ 대표 - Kim Jin-young / Representative of 'Traveler's Kitchen')