Homemade Kimchi
Original
Notes
Add fish sauce and salted baby shrimp for extra punch. Save the shiitake mushrooms from the porridge and blend it with the sauce.
Ingredients
- Base:
1 Napa cabbage head
1/2 of a Korean radish
1 Korean pear
1 carrot
1 bunch of green onions
1 cup of coarse sea salt
- Sauce:
10 cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon of ginger
1/2 onion
2 cups of Korean red pepper flakes
1 1/2 Korean pear
2 tablespoons of sugar
1 tablespoon of sea salt
- Porridge:
2 cups of water
4 tablespoons of rice flour
3 shiitake mushrooms
1/4 sheet of Kombu
3 green onion roots
Directions
- Create a crosscut on the base of the Napa cabbage, and pull it into quarters.
- Do not wash the cabbage. Sprinkle 1 cup of coarse sea salt in between each leaf, and let sit for 3 to 5 hours. This step is crucial, as it seasons the cabbage leaves and prepares them for fermentation.
- As the cabbage sits, cut 1/2 of 1 Korean radish, 1 Korean pear, and 1 carrot into matchsticks, and cut the green onions into 1-inch pieces. Set aside 3 green onion roots for the porridge.
- For the porridge, put 2 cups of water into a pot with 3 shiitake mushrooms, a 1/4 sheet of Kombu, and the green onion roots. When it comes to a boil, remove the Kombu and let it simmer for at least 20 minutes.
- Once the stock is ready, lower the heat to low and add 4 tablespoons of rice flour. Stir vigorously. Cook the porridge for 10 minutes, then set aside to cool.
- Once the porridge has cooled down a bit, you will use it to create your sauce. In a blender, add 2 tablespoons of sugar, 1 tablespoon of sea salt, 1/2 an onion, 1 tablespoon of ginger, 10 cloves of garlic, 1 1/2 Korean pears, and the rice porridge.
- You can add the 2 cups of Korean red pepper flakes now, but doing so will require 1/4 cup of water or so to help the blender run smoothly. Otherwise, blend the mix and fold the red pepper flakes into it in a separate bowl.
- Add the carrot, radish, pear, and green onions to the sauce and mix.
- The cabbage is ready once it becomes limp. It should bend from the base without snapping. If it snaps, let it rest for another 30 minutes to an hour.
- Once the cabbage is ready, thoroughly wash each leaf and squeeze it to get rid of excess water.
- Generously coat each leaf of the cabbage front and back, from the white base to the green leaf in the sauce you have made. This step is crucial — skippingg out will result in a poorly seasoned kimchi.
- Once you have seasoned each leaf, store the kimchi in airtight containers at room temperature and let it ferment. The amount of time you allow the kimchi to ferment depends on your preference. If you want a fresher, more vegetal kimchi, you can eat it immediately or let it ferment for a day before putting it in the fridge. I prefer a more sour kimchi, so I leave it out for 2 to 3 days before refrigerating it.
- After it's finished fermenting, pop it in the fridge and enjoy as a side dish or as part of a stew, stir-fry, pancake, or even pasta.
Information
- Category
- Side Dishes
- Prep Time
- 5 hours
- Cook Time
- 2 days
- Total Time
- 2 days, 4 hours, 59 minutes, 59 seconds