Korean Radish Salad (Musaengchae 무생채) – Spicy White Radish Banchan

Of all the Korean side dishes (banchan) that I have tried (trust me, there have been a lot), this spicy Korean radish salad is my absolute favourite.

I have made and tried both the vegan and pescatarian versions, and I have to say I love the vegan version more. Hence I am showing you how to make it without the fish sauce or the pungent salted shrimp.

Korean radishes are crunchy, sweet and peppery. It’s amazing how you can transform something so simple, without putting it through a cooking process, into a side dish that is so savoury, spicy and flavoursome with just a few basic ingredients.

This is so easy to make. No cooking required. You’re just slicing the Korean radish, mixing ingredients and giving them a good toss.

What Is Musaengchae?

“Mu” is the Korean word for radish (daikon). “Saengchae” is a generic term for salad or raw vegetables.

Like most recipes, over time, we create many different versions of the same dish. As mentioned above, this version is vegan.

For a pescatarian version, you can add fish sauce or salted shrimp. If you can’t handle the spice, make it a sweet and sour version of musaengchae by adding more sugar and vinegar.

Musaengchae is the closest Korean banchan in flavour to kimchi without the fermentation process, so it’s a great alternative if you need one. They both have this signature Korean red but musaengchae, unlike kimchi, is not fermented.

Recipe Overview

Flavour/Texture: This Korean radish is crunchy in texture and spicy in flavour. The garlic and ginger provide quintessential Asian flavours, while the sugar helps to balance it all out.

Ease: The trickiest part of this whole recipe is cutting the Korean radish into matchsticks. If you have a mandoline, however, it will make your life a lot easier.

First, slice them thinly and then cut them into thin strips. Otherwise, the rest of the recipe is just mix and toss. No cooking required!

Time: The recipe calls for about 40 minutes, but 30 minutes is actually idle. We need to add salt to the Korean radish strips to draw out as much moisture as possible so that it is crunchy and doesn’t turn the radish salad wet.

Ingredients You’ll Need for Korean Radish Salad

Korean radish: Korean radish is a smaller, stout and stumpy version of normal daikon radish. If you can find Korean radish, a regular daikon radish will suffice, except that they are always so big!

So, either you make an extra spicy radish salad, or you can use the extra daikon to make Korean radish soup or Korean pickled radish banchan called Korean Pickled Radish – Chicken-mu (치킨무).

Salt: Required to draw out the water from the Korean radish to become crunchier and not become too wet later on.

Scallion or green onion: Korean’s love adding scallions or green onion to their Korean side dishes. I like to make a batch of them at once so that I can use up all the ingredients.

Always hard to finish an entire bunch at one go. By making several Korean side dish recipes, I tend to put them to good use!

Minced garlic: I can’t live without my garlic press when a recipe calls for minced garlic.

Important that it is minced as it needs to have an even and subtle spread across the spicy radish salad. We don’t want rogue chunks of garlic that can be quite overpowering.

Grated ginger: Love the smells of grated ginger. It starts when you’re scraping the skin off with a teaspoon. Adds so much depth of flavour to any recipe.

Gochugaru: To create that signature Korean red, we use gochugaru (Korean red chili pepper or chili pepper flakes). Gochugaru is sun-dried red peppers that have consistency between flakes and finely ground powder.

Sesame seeds: Just get the toasted sesame seeds from the Korean supermarket. It will save you from having to toast it yourself. Very handy to have in your pantry for so many other recipes.

Variations and Substitutions

Pescatarian version: This is a vegan version of the musaengchae. If you prefer, you can create a pescatarian version by adding 1 tbsp of Korean fish sauce (myulchi aekjeot) or Korean salted shrimp (saeujeot).

Korean radish replacement: You will be able to find Korean radish in the Korean supermarket. If not, you can just get a regular white radish (daikon).

However, they are always really big, so by gauging the size you’re able to get compared to the size of a Korean radish, adjust the servings accordingly.

Scallions or green onions? You can use either scallion or green onions. Korean love to use green onions but try selecting ones with a small bulb so as not to make the salad overly pungent.

Pre-packed garlic: You can mince your own garlic or get the Korean minced garlic from the Korean supermarket or the Asian aisle of your supermarket. Really useful if you’re intending on making a big batch of Korean side dishes.

Gochugaru substitute: If you can’t find gochugaru to give the radish salad that quintessential Korean red, you can mix some familiar ingredients together, although it won’t really be the same.

If you wish to try, I recommended 2 parts cayenne pepper to 1 part smoky paprika. If not spicy enough, add some chili flakes to the mix.

How to Make Musaengchae

Peel the Korean radish.

Using a mandoline, slice 2cm thick and then cut them into matchsticks.

Add ½ tsp of salt to the Korean radish coat well. This will help draw out the water. Place in a colander or sieve and place over a prep bowl to allow the water to drip through for 30 minutes.

Chop the whole scallion or green onion.

Mince the garlic finely, or you can use the Korean minced garlic in a jar.

Grate the ginger to yield ½ tsp.

Place all the ingredients in a mixing bowl and toss well.

Serve.

How To Make This Salad Perfectly [Expert Tips]

Use Korean radish, not daikon if possible: It’s firmer, crunchier, and slightly sweeter.

Don’t skip the salting step: This step is key to removing excess moisture for the perfect texture.

Grate ginger finely: This should blend into the seasoning, not overpower it.

Mix gently: Gently but thoroughly so every piece of radish is evenly coated.

Rest: Let it rest 10 minutes before serving to allow flavours to develop.

Store in an airtight container: it keeps for up to 4 days in the fridge.

Avoid over-salting: Korean radish will release water as it sits, intensifying the saltiness.

Frequently Asked Questions