Danmuji Is A Sweet Radish Pickle Sure To Add A Colorful Crunch To Your Dishes

If you often find yourself enjoying Korean food, you've probably tried danmuji at some point. Danmuji is a dish of pickled daikon, which is a variety of radish, flavored with a few different ingredients. The dish has a sweet-and-sour flavor, and it also absorbs the flavors of the other ingredients used in the pickling liquid.

The color of the radishes is what makes the dish distinct from other pickled radishes. The yellow hue is thanks to the addition of a few different ingredients used in the pickling process. Persimmon skins, dried gardenia flowers, rice bran, and turmeric all lend their own hues to the pickled radishes. Some pre-packaged danmuji is also colored with food coloring, giving it a slightly brighter shade than what the natural ingredients provide.

Danmuji can be found in Asian grocery stores, like H Mart, prepackaged in the refrigerated section. If you want a little more involvement in the pickling process, however, it's also easy to make at home.

Danmuji is enjoyed most often alongside a variety of Asian dishes. The side dish was actually first created in Japan, where it is called takuan. The origin story goes that a priest by the name of Soho Takuan invented the dish sometime during Japan's Edo period. When the Shogun Iemitsu Tokugawa visited the priest, he praised the taste of the pickled radishes and decided that the dish should be named after the person who invented it.

The original method involved allowing the daikon to dry out in the sun for a few weeks before being flavored with other ingredients. Modern methods dehydrate the radish more quickly for faster, easier production.

Though it may have originated in Japan, the recipe for the pickled daikon dish quickly spread and found popularity in other countries. Today, it's an essential part of making Korean gimbap, and it's also a pretty popular banchan (or side dish often served with rice). If you're a fan of Asian cuisine, you may want to try making your own danmuji to add to your home-cooked dishes.

To make danmuji in your own kitchen, you'll want to cut up some slices of daikon, and then make the pickling liquid. The daikon can be sliced into rounds or spears. Then, coat the daikon with salt and turmeric to draw out some liquid, and allow the radishes to dry out.

While the daikon dries, you can make a pickling liquid with vinegar, water, and your chosen flavorings. Salt, sugar, peppercorns, and ginger (either peeled or unpeeled) are the most common. Allow the mixture to boil in a saucepan, and then pour it over the dried daikon. Once the liquid has cooled to room temperature, move it into an airtight container.

The radishes can be pickled quickly overnight in the fridge. However, some recipes recommend a minimum of three days of pickling at room temperature and one more day in the fridge for the maximum amount of flavor. Once your danmuji have been pickled, they should have a slight pepper flavor from the daikon, warmth from the ginger, and a little bit of sweetness from the sugar.