DongchimiRadish Water Kimchi — Korea’s Winter Kimchi
Crunchy radish in a clear, tangy, lightly sweet brine that you can eat with a spoon or drink. Dongchimi is the mild counterpart to red kimchi, and it is easy to make at home. Here is what it is, how it is served, and a simple quick recipe.
What Is Dongchimi?
In one sentence: Dongchimi is a mild Korean water kimchi of salted radish fermented in a seasoned brine and served cold, radish and brine together.
Dongchimi (동치미) roughly means “winter water kimchi.” Traditionally it is made in late fall, during kimjang season, from small, firm, sweet Korean radishes, and eaten through the winter. Radish is salted, then submerged in a brine flavored with garlic, ginger, scallions and often Korean pear, and left to ferment until tangy. There is no chili paste, so it is mild and refreshing rather than hot. The brine is part of the dish: it is served in the bowl with the radish, and is commonly used as the base for cold noodle soup. Whole-radish versions take weeks to mature, while the quick version below uses cut radish and is ready in a few days.
How Dongchimi Is Served
The brine is not leftover liquid. It is half the point.
Ingredients
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How Dongchimi Is Made
Salt the radish, pack the jar, add the brine, then let it ferment.
Toss the radish with 3 tbsp coarse salt and rest 30 to 60 minutes, until it softens slightly and releases liquid. There is no need to rinse; the salt seasons the radish and the liquid it releases goes into the jar.
Put the radish and its liquid in a clean jar with the pear, garlic, ginger, green onions and chilies if using. Leave room at the top, because the brine will rise as it ferments.
Stir the water, salt and sugar until fully dissolved, then pour it over the radish so everything is submerged. Taste it: it should seem a little too salty, since the radish will keep releasing liquid and dilute it.
Leave the jar at room temperature for 1 to 2 days. Bubbles rising through the brine and a gentle tang mean fermentation is active; in cooler rooms it may take longer. Then refrigerate and serve cold, radish sliced, with plenty of brine.
Tools Used in This Recipe
Nothing specialized. These just make the job easier.
Dongchimi
Quick radish water kimchi · No chili paste · ready in 2–3 days
- 1 kg Korean radish, cut into 2 cm half-moons
- 3 tbsp coarse sea salt (for the radish)
- 1/2 Asian pear, thinly sliced
- 6 cloves garlic + 1 inch ginger, sliced
- 4 green onions, cut into 5 cm pieces
- 1–2 green chilies (optional)
- 8 cups cold water + 2 tbsp salt + 1 tbsp sugar (brine)
- 1Salt radish 30–60 min; do not rinse.
- 2Pack radish, pear, garlic, ginger, scallions and chilies in a jar.
- 3Dissolve brine (should taste slightly too salty), pour over, keep submerged.
- 4Ferment 1–2 days at room temp until bubbly and tangy.
- 5Refrigerate; serve cold with plenty of brine.
Fully submerge the radish at all times and discard the batch if you see fuzzy mold or smell anything off.
Dongchimi FAQ
Dongchimi (동치미) is a mild, non-spicy Korean water kimchi. Korean radish is salted, then submerged in a seasoned brine with aromatics such as garlic, ginger, scallions and often pear, and fermented until tangy. It is served cold, radish and brine together.
The name means roughly “winter water kimchi.” Traditionally it is made in late fall, during kimjang season, from firm, sweet radishes harvested at that time, and eaten through the winter.
The radish keeps releasing liquid as it ferments, which dilutes the brine. Starting a little saltier than you would drink means it settles to a pleasant level after a day or two.
Yes. This quick version cuts the radish into pieces so it salts and matures faster. At warm room temperature you may see bubbles within two days, which signals active fermentation. Summer radish can taste slightly bitter, so a little sugar helps balance it.
This recipe is, since it uses no fish sauce or salted shrimp. Some home versions differ, so check any recipe you follow.
Slice the radish into bite-size pieces or matchsticks and serve in a bowl with plenty of brine, as a side for rice or rich, starchy food. The brine is also commonly used as the base for cold noodle soup (dongchimi guksu) or drunk on its own.
It is KimchiGuide’s own kitchen-tested quick version, based on standard dongchimi technique described across Korean food sources. Traditional whole-radish dongchimi takes weeks to mature and is made differently from home to home.