Dongchimi: Winter Water Kimchi

Dongchimi is documented in the Eumsik dimibang (1670) and is considered the oldest continuous form of kimchi in Korea, predating gochugaru kimchi by over a century

Dongchimi — literally 'winter water kimchi' — is the ancestral form of kimchi, predating the introduction of chilli by nearly a thousand years. It is kimchi in its most elemental form: radish submerged in a seasoned, lightly salted brine that slowly ferments over winter weeks into a clear, crystal-bright liquid with a gentle effervescence and a clean, complex sourness. Small to medium Korean radishes are salted whole for 2-3 days, then packed into large earthenware crocks with ginger, garlic, green onion, and dried red chilli (for colour and a whisper of heat, not aggressive spice). Enough brine to submerge everything is added, and the crock is placed in a cold environment at 4-8 C to ferment slowly over 3-4 weeks.

• In structure, dongchimi is closer to Russian kvass or naturally fermented pickled vegetables of Northern Europe than to modern red kimchi — a whole-vegetable lacto-ferment in a light brine

Dongchimi brine is the broth in mul-naengmyeon. The cold, effervescent, lactic sourness of the brine supports the buckwheat noodles — the dish would taste flat and one-dimensional with any other liquid