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Sides · 2 hr 50 min

Napa cabbage kimchi

Maangchi's traditional kimchi. Salted napa cabbage coated in a paste of chili, garlic and fish sauce bound with a sweet rice porridge.

Adapted from Maangchi

Prep
2 hr 20 min
Cook
30 min
Total
2 hr 50 min
Difficulty
medium

Ingredients

Makes 3.6 kg of kimchi

For salting the cabbage

  • 2.7 kg napa cabbage
  • 72 g kosher salt

For the porridge

  • 470 mL water
  • 2 tbsp sweet rice flour
  • 2 tbsp turbinado sugar

Vegetables

  • 470 mL Korean radish, matchsticks
  • 7 scallions, or 8, chopped

Seasonings and spices

  • 24 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 tsp ginger, minced
  • 120 mL fish sauce
  • 470 mL red pepper flakes (gochugaru)

Optional

  • 240 mL carrot matchsticks
  • 240 mL Asian chives (buchu)
  • 240 mL water dropwort (minari)
  • 1 onion, medium, minced
  • 60 mL fermented shrimp (saeujeot)

Steps

  1. If the cabbage cores stick out too much, trim them with a knife over your cutting board.
  2. To split a cabbage in half without tearing the tightly packed leaves inside, cut a short slit in the base, just enough to get a grip on each half. Then gently pull the halves apart so the cabbage splits open.
  3. Cut a slit through the core of each half, 5 cm above the stem. The leaves should come loose but stay attached to the core.
  4. Dunk the halves in a large basin of water to wet them. Sprinkle salt between the leaves, lifting each one. Use more salt near the stems, where the leaves are thicker.
  5. Let the cabbages rest for 2 hours, turning them over every 30 minutes so they get well salted. From time to time, you can ladle the salty water from the bottom of the basin over them.
  6. After 2 hours, rinse the cabbage halves a few times under cold running water to remove the salt and any dirt. As you wash them, split the halves into quarters along the slits. Cut off the cores, give them a final rinse and let them drain well in a strainer set over a basin.
  7. While the cabbage is salting for 2 hours, in between turning it over, make the porridge. In a small pot, mix the water and sweet rice flour well with a wooden spoon. Cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes, until it starts to bubble. Add the sugar (turbinado, brown or white) and cook 1 more minute, stirring. Remove from the heat and let it cool completely.
  8. Pour the cooled porridge into a large mixing bowl. Add the garlic, ginger, fish sauce and red pepper flakes, plus the onion and the fermented salted shrimp, chopped with their salty brine, if you are using them. Mix well with the wooden spoon until it turns into a thin paste.
  9. Add the radish (or daikon) and scallions, plus the carrot, the chopped Asian chives (or 3 more chopped scallions) and the water dropwort if you are using them. Mix well.
  10. In a large bowl, spread some kimchi paste on each cabbage leaf. When every leaf of a quarter is coated, wrap it around itself into a small packet and put it in your jar, plastic container or onggi.
  11. Eat right away, or let it sit for a few days to ferment.

Tips

Fermentation

  • The kimchi starts fermenting in a day or two at room temperature. The warmer and more humid the room, the faster it ferments.
  • Once it ferments, it smells and tastes sour, and pressing on the top with a spoon releases bubbles from beneath.
  • In a sealed jar with a lid, open it once in a while to let it breathe, and press down on the top of the kimchi.
  • Once it starts fermenting, keep it in the fridge to use as needed. This slows the fermentation, and the kimchi gets more and more sour over time.