Doganji-jangajji

Crispy kohlrabi pickled in soy sauce, vinegar, and sugar for a bright, tangy banchan.

Jangajji — Korean soy-pickled vegetables — is one of the country's oldest preservation traditions, and the use of kohlrabi (doganji) as a pickling vegetable represents a regional adaptation that is especially associated with North Korean cuisine and has spread widely through the Korean diaspora. The kohlrabi is cut into cubes or slices, then steeped in a brine of soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, garlic, and chili peppers for several days to several weeks, during which time it absorbs the brine deeply and develops a crunch that is almost explosive — a sharp, clean snap unlike the softer give of fresh vegetables. The resulting banchan is intensely flavored, salty, tangy, and spicy in small doses, meant to be eaten in small amounts as a palate-stimulating accent rather than a main component. Jangajji of all types — garlic, perilla leaves, green chili, radish — serve as long-keeping, intensely flavored additions to the Korean banchan spread, and their ability to last months without refrigeration historically made them essential pantry staples for winter months when fresh vegetables were scarce.