Kimchi is a classic Korean dish of cabbage and other flavorful veggies. Learn how to make this easy fermented recipe at home.
My husband fell in love with kimchi when he was in the army and got stationed in Korea for a year.
That was before the days of internet and cheap phone calls. It was letters and one call a month. Definitely nothing like the young whippersnappers have it in the military nowadays.
But I digress.
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What is Kimchi?
The name “kimchi” actually comes from the Korean word chimchae, which means “vegetables soaked in brine.” Pretty straightforward, right?
Kimchi is made through a process called lacto-fermentation, just like sauerkraut and traditional dill pickle varieties. Like most fermented foods, kimchi is naturally rich in probiotics.
Fermenting foods is an old skill that is making a swift comeback. Being able to prepare foods for the pantry that do not require canning or dehydrating and are incredibly good for your gut is priceless.
When Mr. Smith learned that we could make kimchi at home, he couldn’t wait for me to start a batch.
To Make Homemade Kimchi You Will Need:
- head of Napa cabbage
- sea salt (I use Redmond’s real salt)
- large mixing bowl
- dechlorinated water
- carrots
- scallions (green onions)
- radishes (red or daikon)
- fresh ginger
- small apple
- garlic
- red pepper flakes
- food processor or small blender
- sterile mason jars
- fermenting lid
- fermenting weight
You can see me starting homemade kimchi in the video below:
Reminder: When fermenting, all utensils, dishes, hands, etc. should be VERY clean and sterile.
To begin, remove the whole outer leaves of a head of Napa cabbage. Set them aside for now.
Slice the rest of the head of cabbage, and discard the stem.
Place the sliced cabbage in a large bowl and sprinkle in the sea salt. Using your hands, massage the salt into the leaves until fully incorporated. The cabbage will begin to soften and release its juices.
Add enough dechlorinated water to just barely cover the cabbage.
Place another bowl (the same size) on top of the cabbage. Fill a large jar or bowl with water and set it in the top bowl to weigh it down and keep the cabbage submerged. Allow this to soak 4 – 12 hours.
Drain the brine from the cabbage with a colander, reserving the brine. Rinse the cabbage with cold water and let it drain well.
You’ll cut up radishes and carrots into match sticks and scallions/green onions into 1 inch pieces.
Aren’t these looking cheerful already?
Combine fresh ginger, garlic, apple, red pepper flakes, and fish sauce in a small blender or food processor. Blend until the ingredients form a paste.
In a large bowl, combine the cabbage, radishes, carrots, and scallions. Toss them together with your hands.
Add the seasoning paste to the cabbage mixture. Using gloved hands, massage the paste into the vegetable mixture until everything is well combined.
Begin packing your mixture into a 1/2 gallon mason jar. Use the “pickle packer” to very firmly press it down as you go.
Fill the jar until it there is a 2-inch space to the top of the jar. (Use additional jars if you need to.) The kimchi mixture will begin releasing juices. If you fill the jar and don’t have much there, add some of the reserved brine to just cover the vegetables.
Take the whole leaves that you had saved, and cut them into large circles, the size of the opening of your jar. Take the circles (3 or 4 of them) and place them inside the jar, covering the top of the kimchi mixture.
Place a fermenting weight on top of the cabbage leaf circles, pressing the cabbage into the liquid. Top the jar with a fermentation lid.
Place the jar in small dish and put it in a cool, dark location.
In about 3 days, you should begin to see bubbling happening in the jar.
Once you see the bubbling, allow it to continue to ferment for at least 2 weeks. At that time, give it a taste and see if it tastes “done” to you. If not, let it go longer.
Once it has reached the level of fermentation that suits you, place a standard lid on the jar and store it in your refrigerator.
Enjoy!
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How to Make Homemade Kimchi
Ingredients
- 1 head Napa cabbage, large head
- 1/4 c sea salt
- water, dechlorinated, as needed (See note)
- 3 carrots, peeled and cut into small matchsticks
- 10 radishes, cut into small matchsticks (traditional or Daikon radishes)
- 6 scallions (green onions), root ends discarded, cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 inch piece fresh ginger, sliced
- 1 small apple, peeled, cored, and cut into pieces
- 6 cloves garlic, peeled and rough chopped
- 2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 Tb fish sauce
Instructions
- Reminder: When fermenting, all utensils, dishes, hands, etc. should be VERY clean and sterile.
- To begin, remove the whole outer leaves of the cabbage. Set them aside for now.
- Thinly slice the rest of the head of cabbage and discard the stem.
- Place the sliced cabbage in a large bowl and sprinkle in the sea salt. Using your hands, massage the salt into the leaves until fully incorporated. The cabbage will begin to soften and release its juices.
- Add enough dechlorinated water to just barely cover the cabbage.
- Place another bowl (the same size) on top of the cabbage. Fill a large jar of water and set it in the tope bowl to weigh it down and keep the cabbage submerged. Allow this to soak 4 – 12 hours.
- Drain the brine from the cabbage with a colander, reserving the brine. Rinse the cabbage with cold water and let it drain well.
- Combine the ginger, garlic, apple, red pepper flakes, and fish sauce in a small blender or food processor. Blend until the ingredients form a paste.
- In a large bowl, combine the cabbage, radishes, carrots, and scallions. Toss them together with your hands.
- Add the seasoning paste to the cabbage mixture. Using gloved hands, massage the paste into the vegetable mixture until everything is well combined.
- Begin packing your mixture into a 1/2 gallon mason jar. Use the "pickle packer" to very firmly press it down as you go. Fill the jar until it there is a 2-inch space to the top of the jar. (Use additional jars if you need to.) The kimchi mixture will begin releasing juices. If you fill the jar and don't have much there, add some of the reserved brine to just cover the vegetables.
- Take the whole leaves that you had saved and cut them into large circles, the size of the opening of your jar. Place the circles (3 or 4 of them) and place them inside the jar, covering the top of the kimchi mixture.
- Place a fermenting weight on top of the cabbage leaf circles, pressing the cabbage into the liquid. Top the jar with a fermentation lid.
- Place the jar in small dish and put it in a cool, dark location.
- In about 3 days, you should begin to see bubbling happening in the jar.
- Once you see the bubbling, allow it to continue to ferment for at least 2 weeks. At that time, give it a taste and see if it tastes "done" to you. If not, let it go longer.
- Once it has reached the level of fermentation that suits you, place a standard lid on the jar and store it in your refrigerator.
- Enjoy!
Equipment Used
- 2 large bowls that are the same size
- large jar of water
- food processor or blender
- rubber or latex gloves
- 1/2 gallon mason jar or 2 quarts
Notes
Nutrition
If nutritional values are provided for this recipe, they are an estimate and will vary depending on the brands of ingredients you use. The values do not include optional ingredients or when ingredients are added to taste or for serving. If nutritional values are very important to you, I suggest using your favorite nutritional calculating tool with the brands you use.
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