Radish alone can make a satisfying side dish, but simmering it with canned tuna takes things up a notch, adding a rich, savory depth that makes it hard to stop eating.
This time I made chamchi mu-jorim, radish braised in a spicy, slightly sweet sauce with canned tuna stirred right in.
It’s about as low-effort as cooking gets, since everything just goes into one pot and simmers until tender.
As the radish cooks down, it soaks up the sauce and the tuna’s savoriness, turning into one of those side dishes that disappears fast at the dinner table.
Ingredients
- Radish – 700g (about 1.5 lbs)
- Onion – 1
- Green onion – 1 stalk
- Minced garlic – 1 T
- Canned tuna – 180g x 2 cans (about 6.3 oz each)
(1 T = 15 ml / 0.5 fl oz, 1 t = 5 ml / 0.17 fl oz)
Sauce
- Gochugaru – 5 T (Korean red chili pepper flakes)
- Jin-ganjang – 4 T (Korean soy sauce used for soups and stews; can substitute with regular soy sauce)
- Sugar – 1 T
- Anchovy fish sauce – 1 T (myeolchi-aekjeot; can substitute with regular fish sauce)
- Seasoned salt – 0.3 T (can substitute with regular salt to taste)
- Pepper – 0.2 T
(1 T = 15 ml / 0.5 fl oz, 1 t = 5 ml / 0.17 fl oz)
How to Make It
1Mix the gochugaru, jin-ganjang, sugar, anchovy fish sauce, seasoned salt, and pepper together to make the sauce ahead of time.
2Slice the radish into pieces about 0.5 cm thick.
3Finely chop the onion and green onion as well.
4Layer the radish at the bottom of the pot, then add the canned tuna, onion, green onion, minced garlic, and the sauce you made earlier.TipAdding the oil from the canned tuna helps bring out more of its flavor, but feel free to cut back on the amount if it feels too greasy for your taste.
5Pour in enough water to just cover the radish and simmer over medium-low heat for about 30 minutes.TipTry to keep the radish settled at the bottom of the pot as it cooks, and stir gently when mixing in the sauce so the pieces don’t break apart.
6After about 30 minutes, the radish should be tender and the sauce nicely reduced.
Check that the radish is fully cooked through, and if there’s still a lot of liquid, keep simmering until the sauce reaches the thickness you like.
7Finish with a scatter of sliced green onion and sesame seeds on top, and it’s ready to serve.
Tuna braised radish tastes best once the radish has fully softened and soaked up all that seasoning.
If you slice the radish too thick, it’ll take longer to cook through, so aim for an even, moderate thickness.
It’s great straight off the stove, but letting it cool and reheating it later actually deepens the flavor even more, since the radish has more time to absorb the sauce.
All you really need is radish and a couple cans of tuna, and you end up with a side dish that empties a bowl of rice in no time.
If you’ve got radish and canned tuna sitting in the fridge, this is a simple way to turn them into dinner.
Ingredients
- Radish – 700g (about 1.5 lbs)
- Onion – 1
- Green onion – 1 stalk
- Minced garlic – 1 T
- Canned tuna – 180g x 2 cans (about 6.3 oz each)
- (1 T = 15 ml / 0.5 fl oz, 1 t = 5 ml / 0.17 fl oz)
Sauce
- Gochugaru – 5 T (Korean red chili pepper flakes)
- Jin-ganjang – 4 T (Korean soy sauce used for soups and stews; can substitute with regular soy sauce)
- Sugar – 1 T
- Anchovy fish sauce – 1 T (myeolchi-aekjeot; can substitute with regular fish sauce)
- Seasoned salt – 0.3 T (can substitute with regular salt to taste)
- Pepper – 0.2 T
- (1 T = 15 ml / 0.5 fl oz, 1 t = 5 ml / 0.17 fl oz)
How to Make It
- Mix the gochugaru, jin-ganjang, sugar, anchovy fish sauce, seasoned salt, and pepper together to make the sauce ahead of time.
- Slice the radish into pieces about 0.5 cm thick.
- Finely chop the onion and green onion as well.
- Layer the radish at the bottom of the pot, then add the canned tuna, onion, green onion, minced garlic, and the sauce you made earlier.
Tip.Adding the oil from the canned tuna helps bring out more of its flavor, but feel free to cut back on the amount if it feels too greasy for your taste. - Pour in enough water to just cover the radish and simmer over medium-low heat for about 30 minutes.
Tip.Try to keep the radish settled at the bottom of the pot as it cooks, and stir gently when mixing in the sauce so the pieces don't break apart. - After about 30 minutes, the radish should be tender and the sauce nicely reduced. Check that the radish is fully cooked through, and if there's still a lot of liquid, keep simmering until the sauce reaches the thickness you like.
- Finish with a scatter of sliced green onion and sesame seeds on top, and it's ready to serve.
