Manul Changachi: Korean Pickled Garlic

By
Naomi Imatome-Yun
Naomi Imatome-Yun
Asian food expert Naomi Imatome-Yun is a freelance writer and the author of four Asian food cookbooks.
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Updated on 08/20/21
Manul Changachi: Korean Pickled Garlic

The Spruce / Preethi Venkatram
Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 12 mins
Curing Time: 504 hrs
Total: 504 hrs 22 mins
Servings: 4 servings
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
270 Calories
1g Fat
57g Carbs
12g Protein
Show Full Nutrition Label Hide Full Nutrition Label
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories 270
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 1g 1%
Saturated Fat 0g 1%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 3522mg 153%
Total Carbohydrate 57g 21%
Dietary Fiber 3g 10%
Total Sugars 18g
Protein 12g
Vitamin C 35mg 177%
Calcium 228mg 18%
Iron 3mg 16%
Potassium 733mg 16%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

Manul changachi—Korean pickled garlic—is crunchy, salty, and a little bit spicy, as well as slightly addictive. It's not the flashiest banchan (side dish), but it's almost universally loved among Koreans. You can also slice the cloves into thin discs and use them as a way to flavor rice and noodle dishes.

The general rule when making manul changachi is that you need 3 parts soy sauce to 1 part vinegar and 1 part sugar. You calculate this by pouring out and measuring the water you added to cover all of the garlic cloves and using the same amount of soy sauce. The ingredient list here uses 1 cup soy sauce.

Ingredients

  • 1 pound garlic, about 8 to 9 whole heads, cloves peeled and washed

  • 1 cup soy sauce

  • 1/3 cup rice wine vinegar

  • 1/3 cup sugar

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Manul Changachi: Korean Pickled Garlic ingredients

    The Spruce / Preethi Venkatram

  2. Place the garlic cloves in a glass jar.

    Place the garlic cloves in a glass jar

    The Spruce / Preethi Venkatram

  3. Fill the jar with water until the water covers about 2/3 of the garlic cloves.

    garlic and water in a jar

    The Spruce / Preethi Venkatram

  4. Pour out the water and measure it. That's the amount of soy sauce you need.

    measure the soy sauce to match the water in the glass

    The Spruce / Preethi Venkatram

  5. Use 3 parts soy sauce to 1 part vinegar and 1 part sugar. (So if you need 1 cup of soy sauce, then you need 1/3 cup of vinegar and 1/3 cup of sugar).

    soy sauce, vinegar, and sugar in bowls

    The Spruce / Preethi Venkatram

  6. Pour soy sauce, vinegar, and sugar in a small pan and bring mixture to a boil; simmer for about 10 minutes and remove from the heat to cool.

    add soy sauce, vinegar and sugar to the saucepan

    The Spruce / Preethi Venkatram

  7. When the sauce has cooled, pour over the garlic in the glass jar. Make sure the garlic cloves are completely covered and tightly seal the jar.

    add soy sauce mixture to the garlic in the jar

    The Spruce / Preethi Venkatram

  8. Store the jar at room temperature for at least three weeks before opening.

    jar of garlic with soy sauce mixture

    The Spruce / Preethi Venkatram

  9. After opening, store the pickled garlic in the refrigerator.

    Manul Changachi: Korean Pickled Garlic in the refrigerator

    The Spruce / Preethi Venkatram

Tips

  • There actually are numerous varieties of garlic, ranging from the plain white "softneck" garlic most commonly seen at your local grocery store to more colorful types, such as pink-purple Creole garlic and charcoal-colored black garlic.
  • For this Korean pickled garlic recipe, your best bet is to use either so-called "hardneck" garlic (the type of white garlic that carries a hard stalk above the globe of cloves) or the softneck garlic (the type you're likely most familiar with). These varieties of garlic will meld nicely with the sugar, rice wine vinegar, and soy sauce you'll be using to pickle the cloves.
  • If you are new to popping whole cloves of garlic in your mouth, then it's best to start with the youngest, meaning the smallest, garlic cloves.
  • This recipe is not for those in a rush to enjoy their pickled garlic, so if you can't wait three weeks (ideally, even longer), you'll need to find this Korean specialty at a store where the cloves are sold in small packages containing only about 10 cloves each.

How to Store

  • Store fresh and pickled garlic away from sunlight; a kitchen cabinet is a good spot.
  • Once you've opened the jar, place your pickled garlic in the refrigerator—it will keep for a few months.