Seaweed Salad, with Radish, Korean style

Korean fresh seaweed salad with radish is unfussy to make. It also makes an elegant side dish to serve with any Korean main dish.

No, this is not a Christmas tree!!!

But we love how it mimics the ‘winter wonderland’ feeling. This is an unfussy Korean style seaweed salad with radish (파래 무침, parae muchim).

There are several different types of seaweed in Korea. We think most people know of the dried form of seaweed which you can easily find in many Asian stores. However, during the wintertime you might be able to find fresh kind, if you are lucky. This particular seaweed is like threads, quite thin. In fact, the thinner the better.

They are refreshingly tasty to serve as an unfussy salad or a side dish. Usually fresh seaweed like this is most common in winter time.

So if you happened to see fresh seaweed in your Korean grocery store (in either the fresh section or in the freezer section), grab a package and a small radish (or daikon) on your way out. The rest of the ingredients for this recipe are something you might already have in your pantry.

How the dish comes together

Here is the “Before” look of our seaweed. By the way, we call this Parae (파래)! It comes as a bundle like this and might carry a little ocean smell with them.

Add a little salt and squish them here and there for a 1 minute. The salt will help eliminate the ocean smell of the seaweed.

Rinse well, and squeeze out the water.

There we go…!

Slice into 3-4 segments. Otherwise it will be nearly impossible to separate one strand of seaweed from another.

Slice your radish (daikon) as thin as your knife can handle. A good time to examine your fine motor skills…

Sprinkle with a little salt and sugar and let them soak for 10 minutes. They will become softened. Discard the excess moisture coming out of the radish.

Combine the seaweed with the radish, along with the rest of the ingredients, such as vinegar, sugar, Korean soy sauce for soup, garlic, and sesame seeds. Toss well with your truly lovely hand to incorporate all the flavor. As our mother always said, “the good flavor comes from your hand.”

That’s it! The salad of the kitchen's winter wonderland is ready to serve. You can serve cold or at room temperature. The beauty is that you can make this a few hours ahead of time.

Enjoy this “Zen” like seaweed radish salad with a bowl of rice, and find the peace in your soul to sustain your day.

The printable recipe is below! Hope you get to try this!

• Yield: 4
• Prep: 20 minutes
• Cook: 5 minutes
• Total: 25 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 bundles (200g) fresh seaweed, washed with salt and rinsed several times
• 1/4-1/2 piece Korean radish or daikon radish
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3-4 teaspoon sugar
• 2 tablespoon white or rice wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Korean soup soy sauce (gukganjang)
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
• 1 garlic, finely minced

Method

1. Cut the radish into very thin matchsticks. Place in a bowl and sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 2 teaspoon of sugar. Toss and set aside for 10 minutes. Discard the excess moisture. Set aside.
2. Squeeze out the water from washed seaweed. Cut into 3-4 segments. Combine the seaweeds with the radish, add 1-2 teaspoon of sugar, vinegar, Korean soy sauce for soup, sesame seeds, and garlic.
3. Toss together to incorporate the all the flavor together. Adjust the flavor according to your taste. Serve chilled or at room temperature with rice.