WATER KIMCHI may not really sound appetizing but it is absolutely refreshing and delicious. And it’s quite simple to make.
Water kimchi really doesn’t involve a lot of ingredients but it comes out so fabulous – so refreshing and belly cleansing deliciousness. There’s a phrase that Koreans use to describe a taste sensation like this – “속이 확 뚤린다” – which basically means it feels like my stomach is totally clearing. I guess a similar feeling would be how you feel when you drink sparking water or any bubbly drinks. You can feel it reach the deep area of your stomach in a very clearing way.
Korean Water Kimchi (mul kimchi 물김치) is traditionally served as part of a Korean meal as banchan (side dish) but recently, especially in more fancy restaurants, they are served almost as apértif – as a way to stimulate your appetite.
Served as part of a meal, I feel it acts as a way to cleanse your palette in between heavily fatty or spicy dishes.
By the way, this recipe was done at late afternoon time and so I decided to make it outside since that would give me more day light. Some pics may look darker than usual but better dark than later, right?? HAHAHA
OH! OH!! NEWS FLASH!! I have just uploaded my very FIRST recipe video!! I am not 100% happy with it but it’s my very first one so hope you are going to be gentle with me about it… 😍 Video is at the very end of this post.
Before we go onto the recipe, I want to clarify exactly what Mul Kimchi is. Because it’s actually a very general term and that includes many different kinds. First, “mul” literally means “water”. And according to the Korean Food Science and Technology Dictionary, Mul kimchi has radish and Korean napa cabbage as its main ingredients but can have many other vegetables. It is made by adding lightly salted brine that is not spicy.
Here are some common kinds of water kimchi (mul kimchi) :
- Dongchimi (동치미) – made from whole radishes (winter)
- Nabak Kimchi (나박김치) – made from cut radish and napa cabbage. Lightly colored with fine red chili powder (spring, summer)
- Jang Kimchi (장김치) – different vegetables seasoned with soy sauce (jang) only (summer)
- Yeolmu Mul kimchi (열무물김치) – made with young radish greens (summer)
- Sangchoo Mul Kimchi (상추물김치) – made with lettuce (summer)
- Oi Mul Kimchi (오이 물김치) – made with cucumbers (summer)
So I have to say, my Water Kimchi recipe here is sort of in between a Dongchimi and Nabak kimchi but is probably the most popular version in modern Korean cuisine because it is simple to make and yet captures the best flavors of Mul Kimchi. Now, normally, the liquid of Korean water kimchi made with radish is colorless but I decided to go a little different and added watermelon radish for some pretty color. And boy, was I glad I did!! The color came out such a pretty pink and the watermelon radish tasted quite crunchy and delicious too! I LOVE this recipe.
** PREVENT SLIMY KIMCHI!! — Please follow the recipe closely and be careful not to leave the kimchi in too warm a temperature in the summer to prevent it from getting slimy. Read more about it HERE on how to prevent your water kimchi from getting slimy or jelly-like.
Korean Water Kimchi (Mul Kimchi) with Watermelon Radish
Makes: 2 L/0.5 GL Cooking Time: 25 min Difficulty: EASY
Ingredients
- 1 large Korean radish (2 lbs)
- 1 watermelon radish (substitute red radish for color)
- 1 bunch water dropwort (minari) – optional
- 1/2 Korean pear
- 1/2 yellow onion
- 6 garlic cloves
- 3-4 Korean green chili peppers (or 2-3 Jalapeno peppers)
- 3-4 Korean red chilis or other mild chili peppers like Piquillo de Lodosa
- 2 fresh ginger slices (1/8 inch thick)
- 1 bunch green onions
- 2 liter (1/2 gallon) water
- 4 Tbsp Korean Solar Sea Salt (Cheonilyeom 천일염)
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- 1 large plastic container (4 liter/1 gallon size)
- Peel and cut Korean radish into 1.5 in (1.75 cm) thick chunks –> cut each thick round chunk vertically (left in pic) into 0.5 in (1.2 cm) thick slices –> and then each slice into 0.5 in (1.2 cm) thick batons (right top).
Cutting Radish for Water Kimchi - Peel and cut watermelon radish into slices (approx 1/4 in or 0.5 cm thick) and then into quarters like below –
Cutting Watermelon Radish Water Kimchi - Core 1/2 of a Korean pear and peel and cut 1/2 yellow onion.
- Wash and cut water dropwort into 2 in (5cm) lengths. Discard the very leafy parts on top and also the bottom thick stems that are too fibrous (like cutting off the thick stems off of asparagus).
Water dropwort minari – discard the thick fibrous bottom parts - Wash and take off stems from green and red chili peppers. If you cannot get Korean chili peppers, you can substitute them with other mild chilis such as the red Piquillo de Lodosa peppers I used here. Jalapeno peppers can also be substituted but since it is a bit spicier than Korean ones, you may want to use a little less.
- Prepare 2 thick fresh ginger slices and 6 cloves of fresh garlic. Cut green onions into 1/2 lengths. And here’s all the ingredients you need to put in your Water Kimchi (Mul Kimchi). Oops – forgot to take the stems off of the chili peppers in this picture…sshhh..
Water Kimchi (Mul Kimchi) ingredients - Place all of the ingredients in container in no particular order but would be good to have the bigger items like pear and onion at the bottom.
Water Kimchi ingredients in container - Mix 3 Tbsp + 1 tsp Korean solar seal salt (Cheonilyeom) and 2 Tbsp sugar in 2 litre (0.5 gallon) water. Stir until everything is well dissolved.
- Pour salt sugar water on top of the Kimchi ingredients prepared in 7.
- That’s it!! Our water kimchi is now ready for fermentation. LEAVE at room temperature for 1 day. On a HOT summer day, you may want to put in the fridge sooner. Refrigerate for 2-3 days and it will be fabulous!! As it ferments, you will taste somewhat of a fizzy taste which is just so awesomely refreshing.
- This is water kimchi on day 4 – straight from the fridge. SEE THE PRETTY COLOR!
Water Kimchi fermented 4 days Serving Tips (Added 9/7/17)
- At time of serving, add 1/2 tsp sugar or more to taste per 1 cup of water mul kimchi.
Water Kimchi (Mul Kimchi)
Korean water kimchi really doesn’t involve a lot of ingredients but it comes out so fabulous – so refreshing and belly cleansing deliciousness.Prep: 25 minutesTotal Time: 25 minutesserves: 25 servingsIngredients
- 1 large Korean radish
- 1 watermelon radish
- 1 bunch water dropwort (minari) – optional
- 1/2 Korean pear
- 1/2 yellow onion
- 6 garlic cloves
- 3-4 Korean green chili peppers (or 2-3 Jalapeno peppers)
- 3-4 Korean red chilis or other mild chili peppers like Piquillo de Lodosa
- 2 fresh ginger slices (1/8 inch thick)
- 1 bunch green onions
Kimchi water
- 2 liter (1/2 gallon) water
- 4 Tbsp Korean Solar Sea Salt (Cheonilyeom 천일염)
- 1 Tbsp sugar (for now)
- 1 large plastic container (4 liter / 1 gallon size)
Instructions
- Peel and cut Korean radish into 1.5 in (1.75 cm) thick chunks –> cut each thick round chunk vertically into 0.5 in (1.2 cm) thick slices –> and then each slice into 0.5 in (1.2 cm) thick batons
- Peel and cut watermelon radish into slices (approx 1/4 in or 0.5 cm thick) and then into quarters.
- Core 1/2 of a Korean pear and peel and cut 1/2 yellow onion.
- Wash and cut water dropwort into 2 in (5cm) lengths. Discard leafy parts on top and also bottom thick stems that are too fibrous. Wash and take off stems from green and red chili peppers.
- Prepare 2 thick fresh ginger slices and 6 cloves of fresh garlic. Cut green onions into 1/2 lengths.
- Place all of the ingredients in container in no particular order but would be good to have the bigger items like pear and onion at the bottom.
- Mix 3 Tbsp + 1 tsp Korean solar seal salt (Cheonilyeom) and 2 Tbsp sugar in 2 litre (0.5 gallon) water. Stir until everything is well dissolved.
- Pour salt sugar water on top of the Kimchi ingredients prepared in container.
- Water kimchi is now ready for fermentation. LEAVE at room temperature for 1 day. On a HOT summer day, you may want to put in the fridge sooner. Refrigerate for 2-3 days and it will be fabulous!! As it ferments, you will taste somewhat of a fizzy taste which is just so awesomely refreshing.
Tips & Notes:
- At time of serving, add about 1/2 tsp sugar (adjust to taste) per 1 cup of water kimchi
- Weight of my radishes (both regular and watermelon radish) was about 1 kg.
- Water or Mul Kimchi is best served COLD straight from the fridge. You can also add 1-2 ice cubes right before serving.
- If you like things sweeter, you can add a little more sugar (1/2 tsp per 1 cup) right before serving. I made the recipe on the less sweet side so that you can adjust to your liking.
- Use leftover water kimchi liquid to make the most delicious cold soup for noodles. You can make naengmyeon noodle soup with it. Just add some beef or chicken broth to it.
Nutrition Information:
Calories: 14kcal (1%)| Carbohydrates: 3g (1%)| Sodium: 681mg (30%)| Potassium: 95mg (3%)| Sugar: 1g (1%)| Vitamin A: 55IU (1%)| Vitamin C: 13mg (16%)| Calcium: 10mg (1%)| Iron: 0.1mg (1%)
Radish Water Kimchi – Mul Kimchi with Minari and Watermelon Radish
Notes
- PLEASE use Korean Cheonilyeom Solar Sea Salt for Kimchi. If you don’t have a Korean grocery nearby, you can find it online or find under Basic Korean Seasonings category in my Amazon store. If you are going to use other sea salt, please add to taste as they tend to make things more salty than Korean salt.
- Total weight of my radishes (regular and watermelon radish) was about 1 kg or 2.2 lbs.
- Water or Mul Kimchi is best served COLD straight from the fridge. You can also add 1-2 ice cubes right before serving.
- If you like things sweeter, you can add a little more sugar (1/2 tsp per 1 cup) right before serving. I made the recipe on the less sweet side so that you can adjust to your liking.
- Use leftover water kimchi liquid to make the most delicious cold soup for noodles. You can make naengmyeon noodle soup with it. Just add some beef or chicken broth to it and season with vinegar, sugar and soy sauce.
- To add extra fizziness, sometimes my mom adds sprite or 7 up before servings. Probably 1-2 Tbs or so to each serving.
- This kimchi should last up to a month or so in the fridge – especially if you put it in the fridge a little early (leave at room temp only for 1/2 day instead of 1 day).
*** RECIPE has been updated on 9/7/17 *****
- Korean Cheonilyeom 3 Tbs + 1 tsp => 4 Tbs
- Sugar 2 Tbs => 1 Tbs
- And then, at time of serving, add about 1/2 tsp sugar (adjust to taste) per 1 cup of water kimchi
Hi, I’m an adopted Korean who was raised by a southern American family (Dad was in the army married a Korean woman, they got divorced, I stayed with him and he remarried an American woman later.) I am doing my best to learn as much as possible about Korea, the language, the people and esp the food. I have quite a bit of knowledge from helping my Godmother Sonny (Son Im) at the Asian Imports store in Havelock, NC located right outside of the USMC air base Cherry Point I was stationed at but still have way more to learn. Upon searching the internet for the correct name of water kimchee, I came across your recipe and I love your rendition of nabak kimchee. I have it saved to the home page of my phone and will make it one of these days. Thank you for your share. I will continue to refer to your blog on how to make Kdishes. Much love. 💗 ‘Su Jung’ Crystal Lee Jones
Hi Su Jung! I am so so happy that you found my blog helpful. Good for you for trying to learn about Korean culture, people and food. You know that I am mostly doing the blog because I wanted to pass down my knowledge to my daughter and other Korean American like her (which would be you too!) because right now she is really not interested in Korean cooking but I know and also hope someday she may want to learn it. I try to include much about the culture, story behind the food, health benefits, etc so hopefully you can get more than just recipes from my blog. Please know that I am here to answer any questions you may have. I love helping and sharing about Korean food because it is just simply so wonderful.. so much wisdom behind food that has been passed down for thousands of years..Take care and thank you ❤️
Looks so pretty!
Thank you Kirsty!
During this hot spell, I have been thinking about this non-stop! The hardest ingredient to get will be the peppers, since they always come packaged as “way too many for one person.” also, it’s not clear to me – “Weight of my radishes (both regular and watermelon radish) was about 1 kg.” – each or together?
I know what you mean.. I still have leftover peppers from making this. haha. And yes, I was not very clear – thank you for pointing it out. I meant, “together” in total, they weighed about 950g to be exact. Regular radish can be around a little less than 2 lbs or 900g or so and then the watermelon radish. Hope you get to make it soon!
Hi JinJoo.. this looks very interesting, am going to try. Congrats on your video ☺️
Thank you so much Sally! Let me know how it turns out for you!
How long will this keep in the fridge? I’m trying to figure out if I should make a half recipe…
So it should still be good for up to a month as long as you put in the kimchi earlier in the fridge (like 1/2 day instead of 1 day) and let it ferment slowly in the fridge (so maybe 4-5 days instead of 2-3 days). I made my last batch about 3 weeks ago and it is a little on the sour side now but still good! Thanks so much for asking!