How to Make Kimchi

4.8

(59)

www.feastingathome.com
Your recipes

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 96 hours

Total: 72 hours, 30 minutes

Servings: 8

How to Make Kimchi

Ingredients

Remove All · Remove Spices · Remove Staples

Export 9 ingredients for grocery delivery

Instructions

Helping creators monetize
Show ad-free recipes at the top of any site

Step 1

SALT THE CABBAGE (6-8 hours): Reserve 1-2 outer leaves of the napa cabbage and refrigerate for later use (wrap in plastic). Cut the remaining cabbage and place it in a large bowl with the salt and toss. Add enough cool water to cover the cabbage and stir until salt is dissolved. Keep the cabbage submerged with a plate over the bowl and let stand at room temperature 6-8 hours (giving a stir midway through if possible) or overnight.

Step 2

Drain the cabbage, saving the brine. Rinse the cabbage (not excessively, just a little quick rinse), drain, squeeze out any excess water, or blot with paper towels, and place it back in the bowl,  adding the daikon radish and scallions.

Step 3

Make the PASTE: Place the ginger, garlic, shallot, red pepper flakes, fish sauce (or alternatives) and sugar in your food processor. Add optional rice powder (see notes!) Process until well combined, pulsing, until it becomes a thick paste.

Step 4

MASSAGE: Scoop the paste over the cabbage and using tongs or gloves, mix and massage the vegetables and the red pepper mixture together really well, until well coated.

Step 5

PACK the cabbage into a large, two-quart jar (or two, quart jars)  or a crock, leaving 1-2 inches room at the top for juices to release. Add a little of the reserved brine to just cover the vegetables, pressing them down a bit ( so they are submerged) Place the whole cabbage leaf over top, pressing down- this should help keep the kimchi submerged under the brine. You can also use a fermentation weight placed over top of the whole leaf to keep it submerged. Or a small zip lock filled with water.  Basically anything that touches air may mold – but no worries if this happens (see notes) it is not ruined.

Step 6

FERMENT (3-4 days) Cover loosely with a lid (allowing air to escape) and place the jar in a baking dish (or big bowl) to collect any juices that may escape. (The idea though, is to keep as much of the flavorful juice in the jar, so don’t overfill.) Leave this somewhere dark and cool (55F-65F is ideal) for 3 days. A basement or lower cooler cabinet in the pantry or kitchen away from appliances works best.

Step 7

EVENING OF DAY 3: Check for fermentation action or bubbles. Tap the jar and see if tiny bubbles rise to the top. Check for overflow (which also indicates fermentation).  If you see bubbles, it is ready to store in the refrigerator where it will continue to ferment and develop more flavor slowly. For a softer tangier kimchi, you can continue to ferment for 3 more days or longer.  If no action, give it another day or two. If you don’t see bubbles when tapping the jar, it just may need a couple more days- especially in cooler climates. Be patient. See the troubleshooting section below.

Step 8

REFRIGERATE: After you see bubbles (usually 3-5 days) the kimchi is ready, but it won’t achieve its full flavor and complexity, until about 2 weeks (in the fridge) slowly fermenting. The longer you ferment, the more complex and tangy the taste.  If you like a fizzy brine, tighten the lid, burping every week or so. If you don’t want to think about it, give the lid one loose twist, so it’s on there, but gases can escape.

Step 9

Maintenance: This will keep for months on end in the fridge (as long as it is submerged in the brine)  and will continue to ferment very slowly, getting more and more flavorful. Feel free to remove the cabbage leaf and just press kimchi down under the brine, after each use. ( See notes for adding more brine.)

Step 10

Serve it as side dish: scoop it out using a slotted spoon, place in a small bowl, drizzle with sesame oil , toasted sesame seeds, and fresh scallions. Or Use it in Kimchi Fried Rice, Kimchi Burritos, Seoul Bowls, Kimchi Soup!

Top similar recipes

How to Make Kimchi-image
trending193 views

How to Make Kimchi

fountainavenuekitchen.com

5.0

(4)

How to Make Kimchi-image
trending275 views

How to Make Kimchi

feastingathome.com

4.9

(94)

96 hours

How to Make Kimchi-image
trending159 views

How to Make Kimchi

liveeatlearn.com

4.9

(25)

How to Make Cabbage Kimchi-image
trending659 views

How to Make Cabbage Kimchi

thekitchn.com

4.4

(33)

How to Make Kimchi Bokkeumbap-image
trending173 views

How to Make Kimchi Bokkeumbap

jeccachantilly.com

10 minutes

How To Make Kimchi Rice and Beans | Assuaged-image
trending131 views

How To Make Kimchi Rice and Beans |...

assuaged.com

50

Making Kimchi: How Long to Ferment Kimchi-image
trending171 views

Making Kimchi: How Long to Ferment ...

fearlessfresh.com

How to make Fresh Sweet Kimchi - for those who don't like sour kimchi-image
trending137 views

How to make Fresh Sweet Kimchi - fo...

nomadette.com

Easy-to-make kimchiMak-kimchi 막김치-image
trending182 views

Easy-to-make kimchiMak-kimchi 막김치

maangchi.com

How to make buttermilkHow to make buttermilk-image
trending234 views

How to make buttermilkHow to make b...

thekitchenmagpie.com

How to Make GlueHow to Make Glue-image
trending148 views

How to Make GlueHow to Make Glue

onecrazymom.com

How to make tahini-image
trending252 views

How to make tahini

bbc.co.uk

10 minutes

How to Make Buttermilk-image
trending347 views

How to Make Buttermilk

cookieandkate.com

4.7

(6)

How to make bouillabaisse-image
trending295 views

How to make bouillabaisse

gourmettraveller.com.au

1 hours, 30 minutes

How To Make Calzones -image
trending194 views

How To Make Calzones

thekitchn.com

4.0

(3)

How to Make Nougat-image
trending241 views

How to Make Nougat

wikihow.com

96.0

(14)

How to Make Falafel-image
trending306 views

How to Make Falafel

themediterraneandish.com

4.8

(245)

20 minutes

How to Make Youtiao-image
trending210 views

How to Make Youtiao

seriouseats.com

How to Make Buttermilk-image
trending376 views

How to Make Buttermilk

cookieandkate.com

4.7

(7)