Chewy Homemade Pasta Salad with Radish
A Refreshing Hand-Pulled Dough (Sujebi) Salad with Sesame-Radish Dressing, Inspired by ‘Jeongjoji’
This is a unique sujebi salad, served without broth, that draws inspiration from the ‘gumyeon’ concept found in the traditional Korean culinary text ‘Jeongjoji’. By incorporating radish into the flour dough, we create a delightful texture that pairs wonderfully with a cool and savory sesame-radish dressing, making it a perfect light meal or substantial snack.
Salad Ingredients- 400g Daikon radish
- 2 cups all-purpose or bread flour
- 150g fresh lettuce
- 40g apple
- Pinch of salt
Sesame-Radish Dressing- 3 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds
- 4 Tbsp mayonnaise
- 1/2 Tbsp soy sauce
- 1/2 Tbsp sugar
- 3-4 Tbsp fresh radish juice (for consistency)
- 3 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds
- 4 Tbsp mayonnaise
- 1/2 Tbsp soy sauce
- 1/2 Tbsp sugar
- 3-4 Tbsp fresh radish juice (for consistency)
Cooking Instructions
Step 1
Let’s start by understanding the inspiration behind this dish: ‘gumyeon’. The traditional Korean cookbook ‘Jeongjoji’ mentions ‘gumyeon’ as a type of kalguksu (knife-cut noodles) made by mixing flour with the broth obtained from boiling radish. We’re adapting this concept to create our sujebi salad.
Step 2
Daikon radish is often called a natural digestive aid, known for its benefits in digestion and relieving constipation. It’s also said to have anti-cancer and antioxidant properties. Adding radish juice to flour for dough is a brilliant idea! First, wash and peel the radish, then slice it and cut it into thick shreds.
Step 3
In a deep pan, sauté the shredded radish, adding a little water occasionally to prevent sticking and stirring until tender. The original recipe mentions ‘sobun’, an ingredient not commonly used today, so we’ll substitute it with a pinch of salt for seasoning while sautéing.
Step 4
Once the radish is well-cooked and tender, transfer it to a blender and puree until smooth. This step ensures a smooth texture in the dough and enhances the radish’s flavor.
Step 5
Place the pureed radish into a fine-mesh sieve or cheesecloth and squeeze firmly to extract the juice. You’ll be surprised how much juice comes out! Set aside this fresh radish juice.
Step 6
Now, let’s make the dough. For 2 cups of flour, use about 1 cup of the reserved radish juice to knead the dough. It’s best to add the radish juice gradually, monitoring the dough’s consistency, until you achieve a soft yet chewy dough. Avoid making it too sticky.
Step 7
Once the dough is ready, you can roll it out thinly with a rolling pin to make noodle shapes, but today we’re making sujebi. Take small pieces of dough and gently stretch them with your hands to form thin, chewy sujebi pieces. Stretching them thin will help them cook faster and give a better texture than round shapes.
Step 8
Boil a generous pot of water and add the prepared sujebi. Once they float to the surface and are cooked through and chewy, remove them from the water and immediately rinse them under cold water. Rinsing in cold water helps maintain their chewy texture.
Step 9
Prepare the sesame seeds for the dressing. Grind them into a fine powder using a blender or a mortar and pestle. Using a mortar and pestle can yield a richer flavor, but a blender works just fine too.
Step 10
In a bowl, combine the ground sesame seeds with mayonnaise, sugar, and soy sauce. Gradually add 3-4 tablespoons of the fresh radish juice you extracted earlier to thin the dressing to your desired consistency and add a refreshing touch. Taste and adjust the sugar or soy sauce if needed.
Step 11
And there you have it – a perfectly creamy and pourable sesame-radish dressing! Its nutty and refreshing flavor profile is wonderfully versatile.
Step 12
Arrange the chewy sujebi, fresh lettuce, crisp apple, and any other vegetables you have on hand attractively on a plate. Generously drizzle the freshly made sesame-radish dressing over everything to complete this beautiful sujebi salad!
Step 13
The delightful combination of chewy sujebi, crisp vegetables, and the savory, refreshing sesame-radish dressing makes this salad an excellent choice for a light meal or a satisfying snack. Enjoy your delicious creation!
