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    Home » Kimchi dishes

    Yeolmu Kimchi (Young Summer Radish Kimchi)

    Published 07/30/2017. Updated 08/07/2019

    Jump to Recipe

    DSC 1948 e1501472636772 - Yeolmu Kimchi (Young Summer Radish Kimchi)

    You already know a Korean table (bapsang, 밥상) isn’t complete without kimchi. In summer, that kimchi is most likely this yeolmu kimchi (열무 김치) both at home and restaurants. Yeolmu is young summer radish greens. It’s a variety of white radishes with tender, long greens, and a thin, small root. It’s not the top leafy part of mature white radishes or chonggak mu (young radish), which is much tougher.

    Very commonly, young napa cabbage, called putbaechu (풋배추) or eolgari (얼가리), is also added to yeolmu kimchi, giving it a different texture and flavor. I like the ratio of radish greens to young cabbage to be 2:1. You can use only the radish greens without any young cabbage, if you want.

    This recipe also works with putbaechu(without any yeolmu), but then the kimchi is called putbaechu (or eolgari) kimchi, not yeolmu kimchi.

    DSC 1936 e1501472463202 - Yeolmu Kimchi (Young Summer Radish Kimchi)

    Look for the radish greens that have slightly plump stems, not too thin and not too thick, with dark green leaves. You can cut off the root part if it’s too thin and tiny, or use it if it’s big enough.

    It’s important to handle these vegetables with gentle care. If bruised, they will develop a grassy taste (called putnae, 풋내) which will linger in kimchi.

    These vegetables reduce in volume significantly once salted. This recipe yields about 1 gallon of kimchi. If that’s too much for you, the recipe can easily be cut in half.

    For cooler weather kimchi, we generally use sweet rice flour paste, but here I used all purpose wheat flour for a lighter tasting kimchi. The flour paste helps reduce the grassy taste and feeds healthy bacteria during fermentation.

    Another ingredient that makes this summer kimchi tastes nice and refreshing is fresh red chili peppers. You can find them in Korean markets, and use them by blending with other seasoning ingredients. If you can’t find them, use gochugaru (Korean red chili pepper flakes) instead.

    We Koreans love to use this crunchy and refreshing yeolmu kimchi in bibimbap, bibim guksu, or in naengmyeon. I hope you try making it while summer is still here!

    DSC 1938 e1501472678543 - Yeolmu Kimchi (Young Summer Radish Kimchi)

    For more Korean cooking inspirations, follow  along on YouTube, Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

    DSC 1938 150x150 1 - Yeolmu Kimchi (Young Summer Radish Kimchi)

    Yeolmu Kimchi (Young Summer Radish Kimchi)

    5 from 6 votes
    Side Dish
    Servings: 40
    Print Recipe

    Ingredients

    Young radish greens and cabbages

    • 4 pounds yeolmu 열무 (young radish greens)
    • 6 tablespoons Korean coarse sea salt use less if using finer salt
    • 4 cups of water
    • 2 pounds putbaechu 풋배추 (young napa cabbages)
    • 3 tablespoons Korean coarse sea salt use less if using finer salt
    • 2 cups water

    Seasoning Ingredients

    • 6 fresh red chili peppers roughly chopped
    • 10 plump garlic cloves
    • 2 inch-long, about 1 inch-round ginger roughly chopped
    • 1/4 cup salted shrimp saewujeot 새우젓
    • 1/4 cup fish sauce myulchiaekjeot, 멸치액젓
    • 3 to 4 tablespoons gochugaru Korean chili pepper flakes - use 1/2 cup or more if not using fresh peppers
    • 1 tablespoon sugar

    Flour Paste

    • 2 tablespoons flour
    • 2 cups of water

    Other vegetables

    • 5 or 6 thin scallions cut into 1-inch long pieces
    • 1/2 large onion thinly sliced

    Instructions

    • Cut off the root end of each radish if the root is thin and not usable. Otherwise, cut the thin end of the root and scrape off the impurities with a small knife. Trim off any bad leafy stems, and cut the greens into about 3-inch long pieces. Transfer to a large bowl.
      DSC 1813 e1501473469537 - Yeolmu Kimchi (Young Summer Radish Kimchi)
    • Trim off the root from each young cabbage. Cut the cabbages into about 3-inch long pieces, and transfer to another large bowl.
      DSC 1823 e1501473528461 - Yeolmu Kimchi (Young Summer Radish Kimchi)
    • Fill the bowl of greens with water. Let them sit in the water for about 10 minutes for the greens to release any dirt. Then, wash the greens a couple of times by gently shaking with your hands in the water. Drain. Do the same with the young cabbages.
      DSC 1834 e1501473599150 - Yeolmu Kimchi (Young Summer Radish Kimchi)
    • Dissolve 6 tablespoons of salt in 4 cups of water in a small bowl. Placing a handful of the greens back in the large bowl, sprinkle with some salt water. Repeat the process until all the radish greens are placed in the bowl. If you run out of salt water, pour some back out of the bowl with the greens and use again. Repeat the process for the young cabbages in another bowl with 3 tablespoons of salt and 2 cups of water.
      DSC 1855 e1501473646761 - Yeolmu Kimchi (Young Summer Radish Kimchi)
    • Let the vegetables sit for 40 minutes to an hour until they become slightly flexible. Flip them over once or twice while salting.
    • Meanwhile, mix the flour well with water, and boil over medium heat, stirring, to make the flour paste. Cool.
      DSC 1887 e1501473797205 - Yeolmu Kimchi (Young Summer Radish Kimchi)
    • Coarsely blend the chili peppers, garlic, ginger and saewujeot together with 1/2 cup of water in a blender. Combine with the fish sauce, gochugaru, sugar and flour paste.
    • Gently rinse the salted radish greens and cabbages separately in cold water, and drain well.
      DSC 1891 e1501473832677 - Yeolmu Kimchi (Young Summer Radish Kimchi)
    • Place the radish greens and cabbages in 3 to 4 batches in the same large bowl, pouring in some seasoning mix each time. Add the scallions and onions. Toss everything very lightly by hand (use kitchen gloves), until everything is evenly coated with the seasoning.
      DSC 1904 e1501473881780 - Yeolmu Kimchi (Young Summer Radish Kimchi)
    • Store in an airtight container or jar (about 1 gallon size). Leave it out at room temperature for a few hours before storing in the fridge. You can start eating kimchi any time, but it will taste best after a few days in the fridge.
    Tried this recipe?Mention @koreanbapsang or tag #koreanbapsang!

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    Comments

    1. Anna Fenton says

      November 22, 2024 at 2:28 pm

      How long does it last? Mine is very fizzy after a week in the fridge…

      Reply
    2. Deshi says

      June 11, 2020 at 10:22 am

      I accidentally grew these in our garden thinking we picked up Korean Spinach. (The packet was in Korean so we just went by the picture) Didn’t know what to do with these when they sprouted up and obviously looked like radish instead of Spinach, I love Kimchi, so now I have something to try them on 🙂

      Reply
    3. Judith says

      May 06, 2018 at 3:04 pm

      Because I wasn’t sure of how the germination would be, I sowed radish and cabbage very thickly. I was just about to thin the plants and compost the extras when I remembered this kimchi! i’ll let them grow a few more days, and then I’ll be ready to make a small batch of yeolmu kimchi! Thanks for the recipe!

      Reply
    4. Barbara says

      January 12, 2018 at 3:03 pm

      Yeolmu kimchi is a favorite in our house, but we’ve only had store-bought. I’d like to try making some, but personally don’t care for the fishy taste in some kimchis. Would it be possible to omit the salted shrimp and the fish sauce? Would I need to add more salt to adjust the flavor?
      Thanks!

      Reply
      • a.bel renee says

        July 14, 2018 at 6:09 pm

        the recipe does not change, i recommend substitute miso paste for the flavors. i sell vegan kimchi professionally, it’s very tasty.

        Reply
    5. josh says

      August 06, 2017 at 5:22 pm

      Yeolmu kimchi might be my favorite kimchi, but I can only purchase store bought, I can’t purchase radish greens anywhere. What greens do you think I could use as a substitute? Thanks!

      Reply
      • Sarah says

        January 01, 2022 at 8:51 pm

        I’d recommend substituting yeolmu with baby Napa cabbage if you can find it (Hyosun mentions this briefly in the description). Turnip greens— the more tender, center leaves— and young mustard greens might work as well. Farmers markets sometimes carry Asian greens. Good luck!

        Reply
    5 from 6 votes (6 ratings without comment)

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    Hi! I'm Hyosun, and I am a Korean-American mom of two wonderful grown-up children. Here, you will learn how to cook Korean dishes the way we Koreans traditionally eat at home. Read More...

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