This Korean spicy radish salad (banchan) is a simple side dish to prepare. Musaengchae is a radish strip salad that is spicy, sweet, and delicious.
Our Korean spicy radish salad recipe
Korean radishes have a crisp texture and a sweet, spicy flavor. With only a few basic ingredients, you can turn something so simple into a savory, spicy, and flavorful side dish without having to cook it.
Musaengchae is a simple side dish to prepare and healthy for you too. The most difficult and time-consuming part of this whole recipe is julienning the radish. If you like, you can use a mandolin to make it a bit easier. Once the radish is julienned, it’s a matter of mixing the ingredients for the dressing and combining it with the julienned radish.
Ingredients needed for this recipe
- Korean radish – Korean radish is a thick, stumpy, and smaller form of daikon radish.
- Korean red chili pepper powder (gochugaru) – We use gochugaru to get that trademark Korean crimson (Korean red chili pepper or chili pepper flakes). Gochugaru has a rich flavor profile with spicy, sweet, and somewhat smokey flavors, and is traditionally produced with sun-dried Korean red chili peppers (called taeyang-cho). Cheongyang chili peppers provide a finer and hotter gochugaru.
- Sugar
- White vinegar (or apple cider vinegar)
- Salt
- Fish sauce
- Mushroom umami powder
- Roasted sesame seeds
- Green onion
What does Korean radish taste like?
Korean radishes have a slight sweetness to them, and they are quite delicious when cooked or added to soup! When eaten fresh, Korean radishes have a mild, peppery, mildly sweet flavor and crunchy.
What to serve with Korean radish salad
Musaengchae, like many other Korean side dishes, is frequently eaten with rice and soups.
Recipes for leftover radish
- Korean Radish Side (Mu Bokkeum Namul)
- Korean Radish Rice
- Korean Radish Soup (Muguk)
- Spicy Braised Mackerel and Radish (Godeungeo Jorim)
- Spicy Korean Radish Kimchi
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Korean Spicy Radish Salad (Musaengchae)
This Korean spicy radish salad (banchan) is a simple side dish to prepare. Musaengchae is a radish strip salad that is spicy, sweet, and delicious.
Ingredients
- 3 cups Korean radish, julienned
- For the spicy dressing:
- 3 Tablespoons Korean red chili pepper powder (gochugaru)
- 1 ½ Tablespoons sugar
- 2 Tablespoons white vinegar (or apple cider vinegar)
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon fish sauce
- 1 teaspoon mushroom umami powder (or Dasida beef soup stock powder)
- 1 Tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
- 1 green onion (optional, garnish)
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients to make the dressing in a small bowl.
- Combine the julienned radish and the dressing in a large bowl. Let it marinate until the dressing soaks into the radish (about 15 minutes).
- Sprinkle with roasted sesame seeds and garnish with thinly sliced green onions just prior to eating. Enjoy with rice or alongside other side dishes with your main meal!
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