To make kimchi, you will need korean chilli pepper powder (gochugaru) available in Korean grocery store. I could not find it in the Asian supermarkets in Glasgow several years and would buy it when I was back here during the summer holidays. My friends managed to buy it in Manchester or in London China town.
I started off making mak kimchi (easy kimchi) using Maanchi’s recipe which consisted of chopped up slices of napa cabbage. The duration for salting, mixing in sauce and fermenting is reduced.
Once I was confident in making it, I started making napa cabbage kimchi. I usually make it to taste and estimate the quantities. Sometimes it is saltier, sometimes sweeter and sometimes spicier.
I also make radish kimchi too when I do this. Might as well.
Napa Cabbage Kimchi Recipe
Ingredients
Salting
- 1.8kg Napa Cabbage
- 50g Salt
Kimchi vege to mix in sauce
- 9 spring onions
- 50g matchstick carrot
- 50g matchstick radish
- 1/2 sliced medium sized onion
Kimchi sauce
- 1/2 medium sized onion
- 1-2 bulb of garlic
- 1cm ginger
- Fish sauce to taste
- Gochugaru (korean chilli pepper flakes)
Glutinous rice paste
- 100g Glutinous rice paste
- 250-500ml water
Method
a. Salt Napa Cabbage
1.Wet napa cabbage, cut it into quarter or half, spread salt into leaves & stem
2. Salt napa cabbage for minimum 3 hours and turn it occasionally (every 30-45 minutes)
b. Make Glutinous Rice Paste
3. Boil glutinous rice flour and water to make into a paste and let it cool .
4. After 3 hours of salting, wash away the salt and rinse napa cabbage about 3X. Rinse further if it taste too salty. Squeeze it to remove excess water.
c. Make Kimchi Sauce
5. Put glutinous rice paste into blender and add some garlic, ginger and onion. Blend it and taste. Add more garlic, ginger and onion accordingly.
6. Pour the garlicky glutinous rice paste out into a mixing bowl. Add fish sauce
7. Add gochugaru (korean chilli pepper flakes) and adjust spiciness accordingly.
8. If you are making radish kimchi, scoop out about 100ml and leave aside.
d. Vege kimchi sauce mix
9. Add in kimchi vege to mix into sauce and stir.
e. Make Kimchi
10. Use gloves to spread and rub in vege kimchi sauce mix into each leaves and put into a container.
11. Cover lid of container and leave it at room temperature. Check it every 8 hours and use a spoon to press down the vegetable to ensure kimchi liquid covers the vegetable. Put it in the fridge when it is sour enough for you.
It takes about 16hour-48hours at 29-31C (room temperature) and about 48hours-96hours at 17-21C (room temperature).
Can eat it straight away or after it ferments.
Note: The last round I fermented it for 24 hours room temperature but this time I used a new package of gochugaru, was slightly generous with the quantity and it turned out spicier. So I left it to ferment for 48 hours to balance the spiciness. And it turned out fine
Or try other recipes: kimchi soup, kimchi fried rice, kimchi pancake, Kimchi Bibim Guksu, kimchi Sujebi
Radish Kimchi
I usually cut the remaining radish into cubes and mix it with 1 tbs salt for an hour. Then, drain off the liquid and mix it with chopped carrots, spring onion, onions and 100ml kimchi sauce.
Can store it in the fridge or leave it at room temperature to ferment.
Note: I left the radish kimchi to ferment at room temperature for 16 hours. I like it just slightly sour.
I love kimchi so much. I eat it everyday.