WATER KIMCHI may not in truth audio appetizing but it is absolutely freshen and delightful. And it ’ s quite simple to make .
Water kimchi actually doesn ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate involve a fortune of ingredients but it comes out therefore fabulous – indeed refreshing and belly cleansing delectability. There ’ south a phrase that Koreans use to describe a smack sense like this – “ 속이 확 뚤린다 ” – which basically means it feels like my stomach is wholly clear. I guess a similar feel would be how you feel when you drink sparking body of water or any champagne drinks. You can feel it reach the deep area of your stomach in a identical clear direction.
korean Water Kimchi ( mul kimchi 물김치 ) is traditionally served as separate of a korean meal as banchan ( side dish ) but recently, particularly in more visualize restaurants, they are served about as apértif – as a direction to stimulate your appetite .

Served as function of a meal, I feel it acts as a way to cleanse your palette in between heavily fatso or piquant dishes .
By the way, this recipe was done at late good afternoon time and so I decided to make it external since that would give me more day easy. Some pics may look darker than common but better dark than late, right ? ? HAHAHA
OH ! OH ! ! NEWS FLASH ! ! I have equitable uploaded my very FIRST recipe television ! ! I am not 100 % happy with it but it ’ randomness my very first one indeed hope you are going to be aristocratic with me about it… ???? Video is at the very end of this post .
Before we go onto the recipe, I want to clarify precisely 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 chinese cabbage pilfer as its chief ingredients but can have many other vegetables. It is made by adding thinly salted seawater that is not hot .
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)
then I have to say, my Water Kimchi recipe here is sort of in between a Dongchimi and Nabak kimchi but is credibly the most popular translation 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 unlike 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 excessively ! I LOVE this recipe .
** PREVENT SLIMY KIMCHI!! — Please follow the recipe closely and be careful not to leave the kimchi in excessively warm a temperature in the summer to prevent it from getting despicable. Read more about it HERE on how to prevent your body of water kimchi from getting slimed or jelly-like .
Korean Water Kimchi (Mul Kimchi) with Watermelon Radish
Makes : 2 L/0.5 GL Cooking Time : 25 min trouble : 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).

- Peel and cut watermelon radish into slices (approx 1/4 in or 0.5 cm thick) and then into quarters like below –

- 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).

- 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..

- 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 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!

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.
Follow along on social for more Korean recipe inspiration!
-
Pinterest
-
Facebook
-
Instagram
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
minutes
Total Time:
25
minutes
serves:
25
servings
Ingredients
-
▢
1 big korean radish
-
▢
1 watermelon radish
-
▢
1 bunch urine dropwort ( minari ) – optional
-
▢
1/2 korean pear
-
▢
1/2 yellow onion
-
▢
6 garlic cloves
-
▢
3-4 korean greens chili peppers ( or 2-3 Jalapeno peppers )
-
▢
3-4 korean crimson chili or other meek chili peppers like Piquillo de Lodosa
-
▢
2 bracing pep slices ( 1/8 inch thickly )
-
▢
1 bunch green onions
Kimchi water
-
▢
2 liter ( 1/2 gallon ) water
-
▢
4 Tbsp korean Solar Sea Salt ( Cheonilyeom 천일염 )
-
▢
1 Tbsp carbohydrate ( 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 detail order but would be effective 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 liter ( 0.5 gallon ) body of 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:
14
kcal
(1%)
|
Carbohydrates:
3
g
(1%)
|
Sodium:
681
mg
(30%)
|
Potassium:
95
mg
(3%)
|
Sugar:
1
g
(1%)
|
Vitamin A:
55
IU
(1%)
|
Vitamin C:
13
mg
(16%)
|
Calcium:
10
mg
(1%)
|
Iron:
0.1
mg
(1%)
Read more: Easy Kimchi Fried Rice
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





