Ponytail Kimchi (총각김치)
chonggak kimchi making (Maangchi recipe)Ponytail kimchi is called chonggak kimchi (총각김치) in Korean and it is my favorite type of kimchi! Chonggak in Korean means bachelor and it is in reference to the long ponytails that young men/boys used to have in the old days in Korea. That’s why this kimchi is usually called ponytail kimchi in English! Don’t the long leafy stems resemble ponytails? Haha.
This radish kimchi is made with a specific radish called altari mu. This radish variety is usually found at any korean grocery store but I never saw it at any other kind of grocery store. So if you don’t have a korean grocery store near you, I wouldn’t recommend making this since it will be hard to find the exact radish.
I use Maangchi’s recipe here but added a few tiny things: ginger and fermented salted shrimp! These are optional but I feel they add a nice subtle difference.
Ingredients
I used Maangchi’s recipe and doubled it but added a few additional ingredients. You can find her recipe here: https://www.maangchi.com/recipe/chonggak-kimchi
9-10 pounds chonggak mu (ponytail reddish)
~1 cup coarse sea salt
1/2 cup flour
4 cups water
4 tablespoons sugar
24 cloves garlic
1 onion
2 teaspoons ginger
2 cups gochugaru (Korean red chili pepper flakes)
1/2 cup anchovy fish sauce
2 tablespoons saeujot (salted shrimp)
10 stalks green onion
Directions
Start by washing and scrubbing your radishes thoroughly with water. Use the back of a knife to scrape off any roots. Peel off any dark spots. You also want to shave off around the part where the radish meets the stem as dirt tends to cling to there. Cut the radishes lengthwise and pull apart the stems. Place them in a large bowl or the bottom of a plugged and clean sink. Generously sprinkle coarse salt over the radishes and sprinkle some water on top. Let sit for an hour, flipping them over at the 30 minute mark.
Add 1/2 cup flour and 4 cups water to a pot. Heat over medium heat until it thickens and bubbles start to form. Then add 4 tbs sugar and cook for a minute more. Remove from heat and let it cool down.
Roughly chop 1 whole onion and add it to a food processor along with 2 tsp ginger and 24 cloves garlic. Blend it to a mince.
Chop 10 stalks green onions at an angle. Set aside.
Now thoroughly wash off the salt from the radishes, given them a nice rinse.
Add your cooled rice porridge to a large bowl. Along with the onion mixture, chopped green onions, 2 cups gochugaru, 2 tablespoons saeujeot, and 1/2 cup fish sauce. Give it all a nice mix. Then add the radishes into the pepper paste and mix it all together.
Grab two radishes of similar sizes and wrap them around with their stems. Place them into a container and repeat with all of the radishes. Cover the radishes with any leftover red pepper paste and cover and seal the container. Let this sit at room temperature for 2-3 days then transfer it to the refrigerator to complete the rest of its fermentation. I feel like it tastes best at around the 2 week mark in the fridge. Enjoy!
What’s your favorite type of kimchi?
