Korean Kohlrabi Fresh Salad (Saengchae)
Quick answer
- Total time
- 20 min
- Level
- Easy
- Servings
- 4 servings
- Ingredients
- 8
About this dish
It looks like radish saengchae, but kohlrabi is juicier and lightly sweet, closer to a pear, which gives the salad a noticeably different taste.
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The vegetable is the swollen base of a cabbage-family stem, and its fibrous outer layer comes off in a thick peel. Fish sauce supplies savory depth and vinegar a sour lift, both framing the mild sweetness. It turns up most in spring and autumn, when kohlrabi is in season.
Ingredients
Instructions
- 1
Trim the firm top and bottom of 450 g kohlrabi, then peel generously until the fibrous layer under the skin is gone.
Pat the surface dry so the knife does not slip while cutting.
- 2
Cut the kohlrabi into matchstick strips about 4 to 5 cm long.
Keep them a few millimeters thick, since very thin strips absorb dressing too fast and lose their crunch quickly.
- 3
Cut 40 g scallions into 3 cm lengths and keep them separate.
Add them only near the end, because early mixing bruises the pieces and dulls their fresh green aroma.
- 4
In a large bowl, mix 1.5 tbsp gochugaru, 1 tbsp fish sauce, 1.5 tbsp vinegar, 1 tbsp sugar, and 1 tsp minced garlic.
Stir until the sugar dissolves and the dressing looks evenly red.
- 5
Add the kohlrabi to the dressing and toss gently by hand for about 2 minutes.
Lift and turn the strips instead of squeezing hard, so they stay intact while the red color spreads evenly.
- 6
Add the scallions and 1 tsp sesame oil, then toss lightly just until combined.
Transfer to a serving dish and rest for 10 minutes, so the seasoning settles while the kohlrabi remains crisp.
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