Let’s make this popular Easy Korean Kimchi that is tasty and healthy. Everything you need to know to make a fail-proof kimchi is here.
If you like more kimchi recipes, be sure to check my bok choy kimchi, green onion kimchi, perilla leaves kimchi and mustard greens kimchi.
Ingredients
- Napa Cabbage – This vegetable is the most popular and most versatile to make kimchi.
- Fermented Salted Shrimp – It gives flavor and helps to ferment the kimchi properly with this salt.
- Korean chili flakes – You can find this at most Asian Supermarkets.
- Rice flour – It creates a glue-like consistency that serves as a binder and adds flavor. You can substitute this and add leftover white rice instead. The rice slurry provides sugar for fermentation.
- Apple – Give sweetness to balance the salt. It also helps in the fermentation process. You can use pear or skip this completely.
- Garlic, onion, and ginger – Adds aroma and big flavor.
- Salt – Refined salt, kosher salt, or sea salt works! Whatever salt you have on hand is completely fine.
Other add-in ingredients are daikon radish, carrots, green onions, and honey.
Helpful Tips
- Use clean utensils and containers to make and store kimchi to eliminate bad bacteria entering the kimchi.
- Make sure to spread the kimchi paste over the cabbage leaves to avoid mold and bad bacteria.
Storage Tips
Store kimchi for a very long time in the refrigerator for about a year! Once it was fermented at room temperature for 2-5 days, you can move the kimchi to the back of the refrigerator to store. It will last up to a year when stored properly.
Easy Korean Kimchi Recipe
Let's make this popular Easy Korean Kimchi that is tasty and healthy. Everything you need to know to make a fail-proof kimchi is here.
Ingredients
- 3-4 pounds napa cabbage
- ½ cup refined salt
Kimchi Paste
- 5 tablespoons fermented salted shrimp
- ⅓ cup Korean chili flakes more if needed
- ½ small apple peeled and seeded
- 1 teaspoon ginger paste
- 6 cloves garlic
- 1 medium yellow onion
- 2 tablespoon rice or glutinoud flour diluted with ¾ cup water
Instructions
- Cut the thick white part of the cabbage lengthwise in half. Then, slowly pull apart by hand to separate into two pieces. Do the same for each half to make quarters. Running the knife through all the way would unnecessarily cut off the cabbage leaves. Sprinkle salt into each cabbage leaves.
- In a large bowl, dissolve the remaining salt in 6 cups of water. Submerge all the sliced napa cabbage into the salt water. Set aside for about 6 – 8 hours, rotating the bottom ones to the top every 2 – 3 hours.
- Mix the rice powder with 3/4 cup water (or optional dashima broth) and simmer over low heat, occasionally stirring, until it thickens to a thin paste, and cool.
- In a food processor or blender, combine salted shrimp, Korean chili flakes, peeled and seeded apple, garlic, onion and ginger. Blend until it creates paste.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine rice flour paste and red chili paste until well blended.
- When the napa cabbage is ready, Spread kimchi paste on each napa cabbage leaf. (You only need to season one side of the leaf.) Repeat this step for the rest of the cabbage. Don’t pull the cabbage leaves off the stem, leave them attached so it holds together better.
- Transfer the kimchi into a kimchi container or an airtight container (and put the lid on). Leave it out at room temperature for 2 days, then move it to the refrigerator. While you can start eating this once it’s chilled, you may want to wait 3-4 more days for it to develop more flavor.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
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