a color story: the yellow pickled radish

The Korean pickled radish side dish, “danmuji” complemented “jjajangmyeon”, a black bean noodle dish. I saw it made from scratch on the kitchen table. The master demonstrated the ease of execution with the back thought of an unthankful task — the face told half of that story. I felt compelled to see it through her lens.

Starting with the radish, thin long strips were peeled and then pickled with a sweet vinaigrette base. The home version didn’t require a yellow dye. Something, however, clicked when I saw the goji berry in water mixed into the pickling liquid. The yellow hue was an aesthetic choice.

From my visits to Galleria, a Korean grocery store, I assumed the vast selection of yellow pickled radish to be the natural form compared to the white alternatives. I recalled my perception of the white pickled radish in the grocery shelves as a premium item. But that doesn’t seem to be the case; there was no such thing as yellow radishes after all. The yellow hue was an aesthetic choice.

Usually, the pickled long white strips were used as a topping for the cold buckwheat noodle dish, “mool nangmyun” — which we were fed a couple of meals ago. I agreed with the white minimal color choice as the broth’s packaging alluded to the minimal color requirement. But with the “master chef” wits, she transformed the side dish into something I was more accustomed to in the shape of half-moons. Adding the yellow dye added a whole new life with minimal effort. The long white strips transformed into a derivative of the yellow half-moons “danmuji”. The yellow hue was an aesthetic choice.

My awareness of the transformation seemed like an exaggeration. But tainting the yellow pickled radish in a rich dark black bean sauce doesn’t seem to bother me compared to the white original alternative. To no surprise, the rest of the yellow stripped radish disappeared into our bellies within the hour. Yellow provided permission for a “messier” eat. The yellow hue was an aesthetic choice.

I felt compelled to see it through her lens.