Kkakdugi is a type of kimchi made from diced radish. It’s a very common kind of kimchi and often used in Korean everyday meals along with baechu kimchi (napa cabbage kimchi). It’s spicy, salty, delicious, and is incredibly crunchy. Best of all, you can make perfect kkakdugi in an hour!
I posted a video about how to make kimchi in 2007, when I had just started using YouTube. I showed how to make both baechu kimchi and kkakdugi in a single video, but I didn’t provide exact measurements as I wasn’t accustomed to measuring things out at that time. I mentioned things like “you need 2 medium sized napa cabbages…” But I soon realized that it would be diffcult for people to make their own kimchi without knowing the exact pounds, kilos, cups and spoons etc. Also, 2 major recipes in one video is a lot for people to learn!
So last year I posted an easy kimchi recipe that calls for 10 pounds of napa cabbage, and I tried to do my best to provide accurate measurements so that my viewers and readers could make delicious kimchi. Now I’m posting a more detailed kkakdugi recipe today, a recipe I have developed over years and years and is the best I have made so far.
I hope you enjoy it! Good luck in your kimchi-making!
Ingredients
- 4 pounds Korean radish (or daikon)
- 2 tbs kosher salt
- 2 tbs sugar
- ¼ cup fish sauce
- ⅔ cup Korean hot pepper flakes (gochugaru)
- 4 stalks of green onions, chopped
- 2 tbs minced garlic (about 5 or 6 cloves garlic)
- 1 ts minced ginger
Directions
- Peel Korean radish, rinse in cold water and pat dry.
- Cut it into ¾ to 1 inch cubes. Put into a large bowl.
- Add kosher salt and sugar, and mix well.
*tip: If you like your kkakdugi sweeter, add 1 or more extra tbs of sugar. - Set aside for 30 minutes.
- Drain the juice from the radish into a small bowl.
- Add minced garlic, minced ginger, green onions, fish sauce, hot pepper flakes, and ⅓ cup of the juice from the radish.
*tip: The amount of hot pepper flakes you use depends on your taste; use ¼ cup hot pepper flakes for a mild version. For a vegetarian version, replace fish sauce with soy sauce.
- Mix it up well until the seasonings coat the radish cubes evenly, and the radish looks juicy.
- Put the kkakdugi into a glass jar and press down on the top of it to remove any air from between the radish cubes.
- You can eat it right away, and then store it in the refrigerator. Or you can let it ferment by keeping it outside of the refrigerator for a few days. When it starts fermenting, little bubbles may appear on top of the kkakdugi and it’ll smell strong & sour. Then put it in the refrigerator.
Kkakdugi goes well with many Korean soups, including kongnamulguk (soybean sprout soup) and ox bone soup.
Buy this recipe's ingredients online
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Hi Maangchi!!!
I am your biggest fan! You and your recipes/videos have turned an Italian boy into a Korean food maniac! I am just obsessed with the flavours, textures and smells of Korean food. I have been slowly introducing your recipes at my Italian family get-togethers and so far the beef bulgogi (and a spicy pork bulgogi I tried all on my own with added gojuchang), and gamja jorim are a huge success.
I have right now just finished making Kkakdugi and it looks and tastes awesome. I can’t wait for it to ferment a little bit because I love the sour flavour. I’m so thankful to have a wonderful East Asian grocer and Korean market right near my home in London, Ontario.
I will be posting on your website more and more as I try your many recipes.
THANK YOU!
P.S.- Please let me know if you ever visit Canada :)
Hello Italian boy! : )
London, Ontario! I have been there. My 2 best friends’ hometown is London Ontario.
It sounds like you are really getting into Korean cooking these days. Great!
If you want to be featured on my Korean food fan page, fill out the interview questions and upload the photos. I want to see the photos of your food that you made. https://www.maangchi.com/korean-food-fan-interview
Keep in contact! Cheers!
Really? London, Ontario? What a small world!!
I certainly will upload my photos, can’t wait to be an official Korean food fan of ‘the one and only’ Maangchi.
Thanks :)
Hi again Maangchi,
Made kakdukki again, this time I actually found Korean radish in Adelaide! But the strangest thing is: I didn’t get as much juice as i did with daikon radish.
It’s winter here now, does kimchi take longer to ferment on the kitchen counter in cold weather? Because i became concerned when I didn’t get the sour scent even after 4 days of being left out.
Also, will different types of chilli powder give a different colour? My baechu kimchi always comes out darkish maroon, not bright red like yours or commercially made kimchi does.
What are your thoughts on this?Thank you :)
The radish must be a little dry. Good radish for kkakdugi should be juicy, firm, and sweet. Add some salt to your kkakdugi now. Then it may draw some water from the radish so that it’ll turn more juicy.
“My baechu kimchi always comes out darkish maroon, not bright red..”
Find bright red, good quality hot pepper flakes. https://www.maangchi.com/ingredients/hot-pepper-flakes
Anyonghashimnika,
I really love your recepice and I love korean food.
I would like to prepare kkakdugi but in Austria is not possible to get korean radish or daikon even not in the korean shops. A friend of mine from korea told me I could use kohlrabi insted and it would be the same taste because our radish is very different she told me. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kohlrabi do you think I could use kohlrabi or what else should I use. I can buy kkakdugi from korea in the shops but I would prefer to prepare my own.
Thanks for your advise in advance.
Best regards from Austria (Europe) ^.^
kohlrabi is German turnip, right? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kohlrabi
If I were you, I woud try it out. Your Korean friend probably knows how to make kkadugi with the turnip. Good luck!
Maangchi,
I”m so glad that I found you! I went looking for a Korean cooking class and was disappointed that you didn’t have any going now. I went to Youtube and found all your great videos…I’m hooked!
I was born in Korea and was adopted when I was seven. I’ve never been back to visit but feel my tummy calling me. I lost the language completely-even studied it in college and had to study like everyone else in the class. What I didn’t lose were my tastebuds! I absolutely love kimchi and anything Korean.
After watching several videos, I made a Korean feast for my family and they loved it! Thank you so much for your lessons in the kitchen. You are so adorable to watch. If you ever want to hold a cooking class in NYC, please let me know-I’ll bring all my friends!
What a touching story it is! Thank you for sharing your personal story with us. I totally understand why you have been so interested in Korean cooking and culture. Since you left Korea at the age of 7, your taste buds had already developed! Do I sound like Dr.Maangchi? lol Nice meeting you through my website. You are one of the many awesome Korean adoptees who are trying to reconnect to the Korean heritage!
HI Maangchi,
My kaktugi turned out well, thanks to your recipe!
I was wondering if you could give us more kinds of kimchi recipes – I had some bean sprout/ soybean sprout kimchi as an appetiser at a Korean restaurant once(was yummy, crunchy, sweet/sour, not spicy) and the waitress wasnt helpful in telling me what it was called.
ANother video idea, maybe?
Check this out. I have posted 8 different kinds of kimchi so far. More kimchi recipes are coming. https://www.maangchi.com/recipes/kimchi
Hey, Maangchi. I really love your website and I really like Korean food as well :D
So today I decided to make my own homemade kimchi with the recipe from your website. I can’t find the fish sauce, sweet rice flour, and Korean radish that you suggested, so I just used local product instead. But it actually turn out pretty well. The kimchi tastes delicious! :D
Making kimchi was actually a very nice experience except that I found a caterpillar inside my cabbage. I’m extremely terrified… TT^TT
Anyway, because I think it’s a pretty succesful attempt (considering it’s my first try), I try to make kkakdugi as well. But it turns out too salty. What should I do, Maangchi? The liquid isn’t that much, so I think adding more radish wouldn’t do it. I really appreciate your reply, and maybe I’ll post the picture of my kimchi later.
Thank you so much… >.<
“I found a caterpillar inside my cabbage…” oops! I will be terrified, too!
Please follow the recipe tightly. It’s not very salty.
“The liquid isn’t that much,” I think your radish must be dry. Choose more juicy radish next time you make it.
I made a variation of this today, adding some tiny Chantenay carrots and half a bunch of garlic scapes. It is DELICIOUS. A real delicacy.
What I have learned from you, and what’s impossible to have unless you’re making kimchi at home, is the beauty of freshly made kimchi. Yes – I love fermented kimchi. But when something like this has just been made, crunchy and fresh, it is irresistible!
Thank you for another great recipe.
I agree with you~!
Hello Maangchi,
I made this yesterday, put it in the plastic box and let it ferment under the room temperature. But today I found there were lots more water came from my radish kimchi and looked like it didn’t fermented at all. I follow your recipe exactly, I don’t know why this happened……
Don’t worry much about it. The radishes you bought must be juicier than usual ones. Wait until it ferments. It may bubble and smells sour when it starts fermenting. Then keep it in the fridge. Kkakdugi with lots of juice is delicious. Add it to your kimchi jjigae, kimchi stir-fried rice, or make bibimguksu. yummy!
Hi Maangchi, I need HELP!! My family love kimchi especially kakktugi! I have made my first trial batch last 2 weeks and it taste great!! It was finished within a week! So im making another batch now, but a BIGGER one! The last batch seems a little salty at the end but it is acceptable, so i reduces the juice to be poured in. But now it is LACKING of saltyness or rather sweetness, how should i do? It has been fermented for 2 days now.. and im starting to panic because this batch is BIG! and it matters when my family only learn to eat it raw!
Can i do anything like adding more flavors now?? Will it eventually taste better in a longer time?? Can I add juice from the last batch to the new batch??
“Can I add juice from the last batch to the new batch?” I wouldn’t do that. Leftover kimchi juice can be used in kimchi stew, soup, or kimchi bibimguksu (spicy mixed noodles).
” im starting to panic” Don’t panic, add more salt and sugar to your taste. Mix is well and keep it in the fridge. Bland kimchi can be fixed easily by adding more seasonings.
Thank you so much Maangchi~ I am so relieve to hear that it can be fixed. It taste delicious now! ^^
awesome!
Hello Maagnchi
I really love your recipes!
Can I make this radish kimchi without ginger? I am not exactly a fan of ginger. Thank you :D
yes, skip ginger, it will still be delicious. : )
yay-eee Maangchi.. i did it. i made my first batch of oh so yummy kkakdugi… i have to tell you, we’re a latin american household over here and every time i say 깍두기 out loud my 9yr old little girl can’t help but giggle :P lol. thanks for your treasure trove of korean recipes. i could not have done it w/out you :D take a look
Latin American makes Korean kkatdugi on regular basis! It sounds terrific! “my 9yr old little girl can’t help but giggle..” haha!
I just done my 깍두기. easy and fun
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=2608637854473&set=a.2608630214282.2119567.1210743279&type=3&theater
yes, cooking is fun! I can’t see the photo. If you want, please upload it directly on my website. https://www.maangchi.com/photos/upload
Hello there Maangchi,
Just finished making radish kimchi using your recipe. I tasted it and it was so, so good. In the past, I used hot pepper paste using your recipe for baek kimchi. The taste is also good but I find this one better especially when eating it unfermented. Thank you again for sharing your recipe.
Hi Maangchi,
So sorry for my previous message. I did not mean beak kimchi. That should have been whole cabbage kimchi.
yay, it sounds like you are going to make your delicious homemade kimchi on a regular basis! Cheers!
Oh yummmm!! Can’t wait to try this. My favourite kimchi dish and not always available in my local hood – usually a trip uptown is neccesary. Thanks so much for sharing!
I was given fresh Korean radish from a garden in my town and using green onions and garlic from my own garden made this in the late summer.
I think the key is to use the freshest vegetables. Followed your recipe exactly, Maangchi : ) My son’s wife and family who are Korean thought it was quite good.
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150282617953813.339878.583383812&type=1&l=3a64e9c194
yes, your kkakdugi (cubed radish kimchi) looks delicious! Juicy and crispy! Congratulations!
I really wanna make 깍두기 but it’s so hard to find a good radish for some reason! The daikons from the organic market here almost always look great on the outside but are spongy on the inside. Once again, for all the great recipes 망치 씨 정말 감사합니다! 하나님은 축복합니다 :-)
Listen, I don’t know if you are willing to take the trip to Portland but H-mart and Uwajimaya both have great Korean radishes. I love both stores- of course H- Mart is korean specific- oh the glorious samples they put out on the weekends- yum! Boiled octupus with gochu jang dip, all sorts of kimchi, veggies, etc. When I go, it is like a 3 hour event to get all the essentials. Plus the fresh fish!
Anyway, thought you might like to know….
Thanks for the advice! I know there are some good Korean markets in Portland, but I don’t drive, so it’s rare that I get a chance to go to one. I do most of my shopping at Whole Foods down the street here in Vancouver, or at New Seasons. Those samples might just be worth the trip, though! :-)
You should really try and make a day of it on the weekend if you can! Tons of yummy samples! I just bring my list and I can find anything- it’s great. Sometimes I find fresher ingredients at Uwajimaya, which is Japanese but they have all the fresh produce that we need for Korean cooking. For example, garlic chives or chinese chives seem better at Uwajimaya.
Have fun and good luck!
this looks great! Can I leave out the sugar or will it affect the fermenting process?
As far as I know, leaving out the sugar would be completely fine, as long as you like it spicier :-)
Maangchi,
After the radish sits in the salt and sugar, can we rinse it? Will this effect how if ferments? Sometimes it seems to salty if I don’t rinse it. Can I just use less salt?
Thanks,
lisa
I don’t believe it would affect the fermentation process… With normal baechu kimchi, you rinse the excess salt away and it ferments just fine. I would give it a try and see what happens. I’m pretty sure you won’t ruin it. :-)
Update: I made some tonight and rinsed it after the salting, and it still tastes too salty. I think there was too much salt in the radish juice that I put in afterward. So next time, I’m planning on just using less salt altogether and rinsing it. Just experiment until you get it how you like it.
Hey, neighbor! Thanks for the info- I always found the radish kim chi recipes I’ve come across just too salty. I will try the recipe exactly minus the radish juice! I love the sweet salty taste though. But since I am prone to eating the radish right out of the jar in a fit of kim chi craving, I need to rinse the extra salt off. Thanks so much for your post!
Oh, by the way, if I were to make it vegan without fish sauce, do you think the soy sauce is superfluous what with all the salt anyway? I am thinking the fish sauce is for a little flavor but verrrry salty so I don’t think soy sauce would add any flavor just salt. Whaddya think??
thanks!
When I make vegan kimchi, I usually use soy sauce. As long as you have a good brand, it does add a nice flavor. It’s definitely different from fish sauce, I think it makes it taste a little less like authentic, but it’s still good. Plus, soy sauce has less sodium than fish sauce does, I believe. I would use a little soy sauce, but that’s just me. :-)
Thanks! I’ll give it a try. Nothing worse than bland kim chi- I need to make a trip out to H-Mart. Right now I am skimming all of Maangchi’s recipes and salivating of course. I really need Korean Food fix!!!
You can buy vegetarian and vegan “fish” sauce, Peonygirl. Not sure how you’ll go in a Korean-specific store, but general Asian markets have it, along with vegetarian and vegan versions of oyster sauce and all other kinds of meat and fish-based goodies.
I going to try this recipe and will let you know how it turns out. I have a question for you…does it have to be stored in glass containers or can it be stored in plastic containers. I’m most curious as plastic containers are readily available.
Storing it in glass jar is better.
Hi maangchi…
I love your food and already try some recipes here is my Kkakdugi :D http://cookingnotes.blogsome.com/2011/09/03/maangchis-kkakdugi-kimchi-lobak/
Hope you don’t mind that I posted your recipe on my blog (in Indonesian) and I also put the link to your website…
I think Indonesian will love korean food, because we love spicy food too :D
Great! I love your blog! Your seasoned fried shrimp also looks delicious! I will twit about your blog. Happy cooking!
Maangchi I love you!
I made this style of Kimchi and our son ate 1/2 of the jar!!!
it really is super delicious.
You are an inspiration and so much fun!
I have cooked a lot of your recipes, your bibimbap is outstanding! My husband’s favorite Korean dish and sooooo much fun to make. I went out and purchased 2 dolsots specially for Bibimbap and the gas hotplate to heat them :)
Love ya,
Cupidus
” our son ate 1/2 of the jar..” ah, so cu~te! ” I went out and purchased 2 dolsots specially for Bibimbap” I know how you feel! I’m excited for you!
Hi, Maangchi,,
I’m Qinant from Indonesia,,,
I’ve tried your recipe yesterday,,
I was wearing Daikon, coz I can’t find korean radish here,,
but, it tastes a bit bitter and so with my baechu kimchi..it’s my first time making kimchi..is it normal? if not what should I do to make it better…should I let fermented? cause I just put them in the refrigerator…
Thanks Maangchi..[^-^]
The daikon must be a little bitter. Check this out please, https://www.maangchi.com/talk/topic/slightly-bitter-kimchi
Yes, when it ferments, the taste may get better.
oh,,I got it..
thanks Maangchi…
Can you cook with these radish kimchi like you would with regular baechu kimchi?
Baechu kimchi is better but of course you can cook radish kimchi, too.
Thank you Maangchi for reposting this recipe. Beautiful pictures, beautiful kkakdugi, beautiful smiles! I love this kim chi!
Hi Maangchi,
I love your every korea recipe and I tried to make kimchi (only napa cabbage) last week, my family really like it. So I try to make kkakdugi today. But I have a question wanna ask you that is if I put more than 1 tbs minced ginger,it will be changed the taste or not? thanks!
It’s up to you, but for this amount of kkakdugi, I wouldn’t use more than 1 tbs of minced ginger because it may overpower the kimchi taste.
Hi Maangchi-ssi!
I discovered your site last week trying to improve my yubuchobap-making skills and boy am I glad to have found you! =) I’m totally not a chef in any shape or form but your recipes are easy for me to follow (thank you)! I have a Korean boyfriend who cooks very well and I will try to impress him and his mother) with your recipes (wish me luck!). ^.^”
I need some clarification for this recipe about the red pepper flakes. Do I need to buy it from a Korean grocery store or will American pepper flakes suffice (I noticed the flakes you used here are more fine than American flakes)? Would it make a difference if I use American flakes?
Kamsahamnida!
“Do I need to buy it from a Korean grocery store..” Yes, get it at a Korean grocery store. Happy cooking!
I LOVE your site and your recipes! I just started a week ago and have been making 1 of your recipes each night, taking pictures and then sharing with my co-workers! So far, every recipe is excellent! I made the vegetable/seafood pancake last night and it was wonderful – I just had a little trouble flipping it – I know I need a bigger spatula! I love Korean food – even though I’m Japanese and German, Korean food is my favorite Asian food and I’m so glad that I’m learning how to make it! Thank you so much! Oh – and so far, my Korean friends have been totally impressed with what I’ve been making! I’m going to continue to make more and more of your recipes after I get more groceries from the Korean market. I’m seeing my niece in college this weekend and I’m going to show her how to make the tuna pancakes. Thanks – you’re the best!
awesome! “I’m going to show her how to make the tuna pancakes..” great choice! That’s so easy and delicious recipe!
You are awesome! She loved it!
I’m in Los Angeles! Come cook with me for your show!!
It looks so juicy made this way! The first shot in your video of the juice being poured over the radish made me smack my lips. Yum!
“… made me smack my lips” You are definitely a foodie! : )
Dear Maangchi – It is great to see your standalone Kkaktugi recipe. It is just published at the right timing – I was supposed to make one this weekend but was struggling to measure the exact portions for each.
I have one question – As I prefer cleaner taste, want to put fermented shrimp sauce( saewoo jeot)instead of the fish sauce. Would 1 spoon of saewoo jeot be enough?
Thanks for your advice. Cheers, JY
This recipe calls for 1/4 cup fish sauce, so start with 2 tbs salty shrimp and add more if needed.
I was suprised to see your kkaktugi recipe again, i made it with the 2007 recipe many times and i see the difference now, this recipe makes it more juicier. The old recipe creates less juice, also you don’t use kimchi paste and don’t rinse the salt off after salting… I must try this and taste the difference.
I always wondered in restaurants why their kkatkugi was so much more juicier… now i know!
All the time i make this with daikon because korean radish is not available here, and it tastes great with daikon!
Thank you Maangchi!!!
oh, I didn’t know Korean radishes are not available there!
Yes, when I make baechu kimchi (napa cabbage kimchi), I always add porridge to kimchi paste so that the seasonings will coat the cabbage nicely. But when I make kkakdugi by itself, I use this method because I use the juice from the marinated radish.
You can add fresh raw oysters to your kkakdugi, too. It’s called gul kkakdugi (“gul” means oysters). : )
Gul is pronounced “gool” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kkakdugi
Maangchi ssi,
I’m in the process of making a new batch of kaktugi (i’m running out of the previous batch with only some pieces of it left not enough to eat with my new batch of seollongtang).
I want to add some small oysters into my kaktugi. My question is how much oyster should I put in for 1 radish kaktugi? Do I need to salt it first like the squid or not?
Thanks,
Ima
You don’t have to salt oysters before adding them to your kkakdugi.
During summer time, chinese radish (looks like japanese daikon) is not as good as it is in during the winter when there is lots of water content in it and is really plump & juicy. It doesn’t taste as good too, unfortunately. I am wondering if there is a difference for Korean radish. If anyone knows, pls enlighten me. I am missing anything radish during the hot summer months and watching this video is making me drool all over the keyboard! Tks!
yes, Korean radish is usually more delicious, juicy, and sweeter in the fall. But you still can make delicious kkakdugi all year round.
Yay! Kkaktugi is my favorite kind of kimchi! I can’t wait to make this!
Kerri
Thats so awersome i was waiting for this <3 Thanks alot :D
oh yeah> Great!
Can’t wait to make this!!!! My mouth is watering!
yes, I will make kongnamulguk again soon to enjoy my kkakdugi! : )
I am definitely making this today! The recipe is so different from the first one so I can’t wait to taste it. Your videos are getting better every time Maangchi :)
Thank you, Jamie. I’m doing my best to make a better quality video for my readers. One of my FB friends made kkakdugi right after I posted the recipe a few hours ago today. Amazing! I’m interested in seeing your kkdkdugi photo, too.