Korean Pickled Garlic (Manul Changachi)
This is the ultimate treat for all the garlic amateurs and also one of the most amazing pickling experiments I have ever made. Submerged for two months in a brine made of soy sauce, rice wine and honey, garlic cloves darken, acquiring a different, deeper pungency and complex flavours. Whether you like Korean cuisine or not, as long as you love garlic, you will find these pickles as addictive as I did.
I have never had a chance to taste Korean pickled garlic, but as soon as I heard about it, I decided to make it and chose once more Hi Soo Shin Hepinstall’s Growing Up in a Korean Kitchen as the recipe source. The process is very easy, the only tiresome part being the garlic peeling. It certainly requires some patience, but it’s not something I would describe as a difficulty. To be frank, I am astonished such an easy process yields such extraordinary results.
Hi Soo Shin Hepinstall’s recipe called for whole young garlic bulbs, available only in spring. I didn’t want to wait until spring, so I decided to try my luck with old autumn peeled garlic cloves. (For the whole garlic bulb version and other Korean recipes, I encourage you to buy the wonderful Growing Up in a Korean Kitchen.) Luckily my change worked, but the older garlic needed more time. According to the author garlic can be eaten after ten days of pickling, but I found the taste too harsh and “raw”. It has largely improved and mellowed after two months. In short, I’m very happy with the results and intend to pickle another batch soon since the jar gets empty very very quickly…
If you wonder what you might do with this garlic (apart from eating it straight from the jar every time you open it,) you might like it chopped and served as rice or noodle topping, as a sandwich enhancer (think of a gherkin replacement here) or as one of side-dishes served with both Asian and Western meals. The brine can be used as a dressing for raw vegetables, a salad or a sauce for grilled meats or rice. The brine is delicious too.
TIPS: Don’t worry if some bubbles appear during the first stage (called the “maturing” process). It is normal. The only thing you should worry about is mould (luckily I didn’t have any).
Apparently some versions of these pickles are very sweet. I must say I didn’t even need to cut down on honey because Hi Soo Shin Hepinstall’s recipe doesn’t call for much honey. For me the result was perfect.
I have used here low-sodium soy sauce and my pickled garlic is not particularly salty, but I have no idea how salty it will be when pickled in standard soy sauce.
Preparation: about 3 months (with “old” garlic) or about one month if using young spring garlic
Ingredients:
50 rather big garlic cloves, peeled (fI have used 10 bulbs)
500ml/about 1 pint rice vinegar or white wine vinegar (I think you might also use apple vinegar here)
500 ml soy sauce (I have used low-sodium soy sauce)
4 tablespoons honey (I have used chestnut honey but frankly the taste/aroma of honey disappears after some time)
2 tablespoons rice wine (I have used sake, but Korean wine would of course be more genuine here)
Wash the garlic cloves and dry them.
Put them into a jar and cover with vinegar. Pack the garlic tightly so that the cloves are completely immersed (you might need a bit more of vinegar but leave at least 3 cm (a bit more than 1 inch) of space between the lid and the liquid).
Close the jar and leave at room temperature for two weeks.
(You will see some bubbles on top, the garlic will change the colour to blue or green… but don’t worry).
After the two weeks discard the vinegar and put back the garlic cloves into the jar.
Combine the honey, the soy sauce and the rice wine and pour over the garlic, again making sure the garlic is immersed and leaving a space under the lid.
Leave at room temperature for at least ten days, but I do recommend two months. (Taste the garlic every week and you will see how the taste evolves). Of course, if you do this in the summer or if you leave in a hot region, pickle the garlic in the fridge (the warmest places will be enough).
No matter how much time you pickle at room temperature, according to the author these pickles forever, once they are put into the fridge.
It’s hard to believe those plump little items are cloves of garlic. The whole family of pickled items are new to me but I know they have fans out there who would gobble them up.
Thank you so much, A_Boleyn. They are much darker inside… I should have taken a different photograph…
You might like these pickles since they are neither too fermented nor vinegared, but you must be a big garlic fan (the smell and taste, though mellowed and not the same as raw garlic has) are very garlicky!
This sounds absolutely delicious, other the fact that it takes a while. Can you prepare and i come and try. For me its easier and less work:)
Thank you so much, Mr. Three-Cookies. When do you come to visit your friend who lives in Switzerland?
Submerging the garlic in brine for two months must truly bring out the best of these gorgeous flavors. This is precisely the kind of delicacy I need to start making time for. It sounds utterly delicious and I know how much we would love this – so simple too! It takes time yes, but the process could not be easier. Lovely idea Sissi (just hope I can wait two months to allow the flavors to develop 😉 ). By the way, I like the look of the black slab in your photo – lovely color and also the texture of the grain is eye catching and appealing.
Thank you so much, Kelly. This is really something that takes no time at all (count only the garlic peeling process) and if you hide it in a cupboard and set the alarm in several weeks’ time, it’ll be perfect (this is what I did). Thank you so much for the compliment! I brought this presentation board from Japan : my dear Japanese friend offered me two of those, so they’ll probably appear often here because I truly love them! (She was really thoughtful with this present, she knows my taste so well… because they are totally MY kind of plates!). They are also very high quality from what I see… (I was offered also tons of food from her and her parents… I feel so lucky and spoilt!).
Unless being warned in advance, garlic turning green or blue might to worrisome. This is something that I think my husband would enjoy.
Hi, Karen. It wasn’t the first time I pickled garlic, so I already knew it, but I still remember how strange it felt the first time I saw garlic turn blue… I was sure it was from pesticides maybe (even though the garlic I buy is organic…).
Yeah gherkin replacement, that was my first thought! Maybe I could use it too as a topping with cut spring onion on the chowmein. I have never seen pickled garlic or heard of it before but it sounds fairly simple and it’s more waiting time. I like delicacies such as your pickled garlic!!
Did you use a very dark thick soy sauce?
Thanks a lot, Hélène. I used Japanese low-sodium soy sauce (light). Dark soy sauce is only Chinese, I think and I think it would be too strong here.
Sissy you have tempted me to try it. I love garlic but it has a weird impact in my stomach, but just looking at these garlic cloves made me want to try the recipe!
Thank you, Katerina. I have never had big problems with garlic (apart from this year’s dinner in a Korean restaurant in Tokyo where I devoured tons of raw garlic and couldn’t sleep at night…), so I don’t know if the pickling process reduces the characteristics that make your stomach ache… but the taste is fantastic.
Minced pickled garlic on the hot rice sounds really great though, I’m afraid I will over indulge and can’t stop eating! You’re amazing!
Thank you so much, Nipponnin. If you like garlic, you would love it! (Do you like rakkyo? I have had it first time this year… and it was a huge discovery…anyway, if you don’t find it too harsh, you would love this garlic too, even though it’s a bit different of course).
What an interesting condiment, Sissi. I suspect I would like this too because we do like the sweet and sour combination. I have a very handy tool that is a silicon tube, you just put the garlic clove into the tube and gently rub it turning it within the tube and miraculously the skins fall off. It makes peeling a lot of garlic a snap! http://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-The-Garlic-Peeler/dp/B00466RHPA
Hi, Eva. Thanks a lot. Actually I do have this tube, but when I peel so many cloves, I still find my own hands quicker…This garlic is really amazing. I can see myself making it in ten years’ time too…
What an interesting recipe! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Thank you so much, Mila. It was all new to me too, but so delicious!
You know how much I love pickles Sissi! I jumped at this when it appeared in my feed, but have been away past week so couldn’t leave a comment. I love garlic- raw, fried, toasted, etc. My mum cooks with whole heads, not cloves of garlic 😉 Soy pickled garlic is one I have yet to try and I want to. Have done cucumber and chilli pickles in a similar brine, but not garlic- I like the idea of garlic as the garlic lends its flavour to the brine too so it’s sweet salty sour and pungent all at once. Nice one Sissi x
Thank you so much, Shu. I am 200% – what do I say! 500% – percent sure you would love this pickled garlic. You make a big jar and keep on emptying it day by day… then you prepare a new one… and the life goes on 😉
Just eating right out of the jar would be my method of enjoying these! This recipe is a garlic lovers dream. Love the slightly sweet and salty marinade, and from the look of the recipe, the final result shouldn’t be too vinegary. Is that true? Are they still crispy or just firm? Do they soften in texture over time? Sorry for all of the questions, but this recipe has really caught my interest. In addition to just eating, I can see using these in all sorts of rice and pasta dishes, added to a simple mushrooms dish as well as green beans. What a great condiment!
Thank you so much, MJ. You are one of the rare people I have no doubts about recommending these garlic pickles. The garlic is hardly “vinegary” because the vinegar is discarded and it spends more time in soy sauce brine (which is not sour at all). The taste is so difficult to describe… it’s still crispy, still garlicky, strong, but the flavours are deeper, without this “raw garlic” taste (thanks to the soy sauce). It’s not sweet really, but I saw some very sweet recipes online too, so I guess one can adjust it over the years… I slice it finely and put on my rice all the time.
I must say that when I open the jar, I feel like devouring the whole lot 😉 I’m sure you would love it.