Authentic Korean Kimchi
Kimchi is one of the tastiest side dishes I have ever tried. Kimchi is tangy, spicy, and umami. It is a staple in Korean cuisine and is not only delicious, but also full of probiotics and health benefits. This recipe gives the full break down of how it is made.
Video
Equipment
- Food safe gloves
- food processor
Ingredients
- 2 large Napa Cabbage
- 5-7 green onions
- 1 large white onion
- 3 tbsp fresh ginger peeled
- 3 medium carrots peeled
- 1 medium Korean or daikon radish
- 1 large bulb of garlic
- 1 Asian or Anjou pear
- 2 cups water
- 4 tbsp mochiko sweet rice flour
- ½ cup fish sauce
- 1 ½ cup Gochugaru/Korean Hot Pepper flacks
- Kosher or other non-iodized salt
Instructions
Prepare Cabbage and Veggies
- Cut napa at the butt ends and pull the rest of the way apart. Continue until you have 8 equal pieces. The inside leaves should be yellow with no browning. (Note: If you see browning cabbage is old and should not be used for fermenting)
- Cut the brown end off the cabbage pieces making sure to not cut so deep that the leaves disconnect from each other.
- Wash the cabbage pieces thoroughly in cold water. Pour off water. Take a piece of cabbage. Sprinkle salt between each of the leaves, working from outside to the inner most leaves. Make sure to get the salt down to the stem of the cabbage. Repeat for each cabbage piece.
- Allow cabbage to salt for 1-2 hours. Turn cabbage every 30mins. Cabbage is ready when stem is very soft and cabbage can be rolled without breaking. Once done, rinse between leaves thoroughly to remove excess salt.
- Cut the greens onion diagonally into bite-sized pieces. For carrots, cut into 3rds, then julienne into match sticks. For the radish, slice it thinly, then julienne into match sticks.
Porridge/Kimchi Paste
- To a medium sauce pan, pour in the water. Add in the sweet rice flour. Whisk until well combined. Whisk over medium heat until paste has thickens slightly. Paste is ready when it coats the back of a spoon. Put aside to cool.
Puree
- Peel the garlic. Dice white onion roughly. Peel, core, and dice pear roughly.
- To a food processor, add the garlic, ginger, pear, and white onion. Blend into an even puree.
Making the Kimchi
- To a large bowl, pour in the paste, puree, fish sauce, and gochugaru. Stir ingredients until combined.
- Add in green onions, carrots, and radish. Stir until combined.
- Put on gloves to avoid skin irritation. Place your containers in arms reach.
- Take a piece of cabbage, starting from the outer-most leaf, rub the veggie-pepper mixture onto each of the leaves. Once coated, roll the cabbage piece up and place into your sterile container. Press down to push out air. Repeat with the rest of the cabbage.
- Once containers are full, add on lids. Take a sticky and note the date the kimchi was made and the date 3 days forward. Place the kimchi containers onto a cookie sheet lined with paper towel. Place the kimchi on your counter to ferment at room temperature. Cover it with a dark towel to prevent exposure to light if your containers are clear.
- On day 3, open the container. You should not see any mold or discoloration. Kimchi should look like how you put it in aside from having a fermenting smell (It should not look or smell bad). Use a spoon to press down. If you see bubbles, this is a good sign that kimchi is fermenting and is ready to eat. From now on, keep the kimchi refrigerated.
- Enjoy!! 😊
Notes
Food Safety Note: Since this is fermenting, it is important to treat this like canning. All containers that you are using for fermentation must be cleaned thoroughly and boiled to sterilize them.
Nutrition
Serving: 8ozCalories: 65kcalCarbohydrates: 13gProtein: 3gFat: 2gSodium: 1008mgPotassium: 528mgFiber: 6gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 4572IUVitamin C: 21mgCalcium: 128mgIron: 2mg
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