Homemade Kimchi

Kimchi, the classic Korean side-dish composed of salted and spicy, fermented vegetables. Most commonly found in Canada with Nappa Cabbage, we have tested this recipe a couple of times with both Nappa and Green Cabbages, but if you want to use radishes, cucumbers, carrots, green beans or any other crunchy vegetable, just follow the same recipe and make sure they are cut in thinner slices. The recipe is really easy and simple but, like anything fermented, it takes some time for you to be able to eat it, even though you`re only working on it for 15 minutes or so.

As easy as it is, make sure you have a few things ready before you start:

1 Large Bowl

2 Medium Jars with lids

2 Mason Jar Fermenting Weights

Or

2 Glass Cups that fit through the mouth of the mason jar

1 Pair of Latex Gloves (optional)

1 Large Pot of Boiling Water

Any time you decide to ferment food, you`re trying to control the growth of a bacterial colony in a controlled environment; This goes for yogurt, kombucha, sourdough, beer, kimchi and all others. We all have good bacteria in our bodies that aid digestion and boost our immune system, so the key to make a proper fermented dish, is to make sure that only the good bacteria is growing in your closed or open environment. For that, the sanitation of all parts of contact during the fermentation time is extremely important.

Sanitize the glass parts and the weights fully before starting, otherwise your kimchi might have some harmful bacteria along with the good ones we`re looking for. Scrub the mason jars and glasses thoroughly with soap and water and rinse well. Place them in the pot of boiling water, including the lid, and make sure it boils for 5 minutes. Carefully remove them with a set of tongs and place them on a clean towel to fully dry. Make sure to place them on the towel upside down and keep them in a clean place for when you are ready to put the kimchi inside.

Once that is done, we can move on to the actual recipe.

Clean the cabbage and remove any parts of the leaves that don`t look great, such as bruised or wilted bits. Cut the cabbage in the middle lengthwise, you`ll only use one half for this recipe, so you can have both the ends in one batch of kimchi.

Cut into 1-2 inch slices and then in half for each slice as well. This should give you large squares for each leaf. Soak the cut pieces in a large bowl with enough cold water to submerge all of the cabbage and 2 ½ tablespoons of fine salt for 1-2 hours, until they`re just a little bit more tender.

Make the sauce by mixing 4 chopped scallions (greens only), 2 minced garlic cloves, 1 tablespoon of grated fresh ginger, 1 tablespoon of gochujang (Korean red chili paste), 1 and ½ tablespoon of fish sauce, 2 teaspoons of rice wine vinegar, 1 tablespoon of caster sugar and 1 teaspoon of red chili flakes, or more if you want to make it really spicy. 2 tablespoons of the chili flakes will make it very, very spicy.

Rinse the cabbage with cold water twice and drain fairly well. Add it back to the large bowl and mix the cabbage with the sauce. If you don`t want to have spicy red fingers for the rest of the day, we recommend wearing disposable latex gloves to mix it, just make sure you get the sauce to cover all the cabbage surfaces.

Push the cabbage into each sanitized jar and only fill it up to 2/3 of the jar. Add the weights (or glass cup weights) into the jar and apply as much pressure as you can until the kimchi is dense and concentrated at the bottom of the jar. Close with the lid if you are using the proper weights or tighten large pieces of cling wrap around the whole cup, both to seal all entrances and to keep the cup with pressure pushing it into the jar.

Place it in the fridge and let it ferment for 2 weeks for better flavour. It will be good for 2-4 weeks after that if kept in the fridge and clean.

Homemade Kimchi

Servings: About 1 Liter

Time: 1h15 to make, 2 weeks in the fridge to ferment.

Ingredients

½ Head Nappa Cabbage, Green Cabbage is crunchier

2 ½ Tbsp Fine Sea Salt

4 Scallions, chopped

2 Garlic Cloves, minced

1 Tbsp Ginger, minced

1 Tbsp Gochujang, your favourite variety

1 ½ Tbsp Fish Sauce

2 tsp Rice Wine Vinegar

1 Tbsp Caster Sugar

1+ tsp Red Chili Flakes, up to 2 Tbsp for very spicy kimchi

Step-by-Step

1.       Sanitize the jars (Instructions above).

2.       Clean the cabbage and remove any parts of the leaves that don`t look great. Cut the cabbage in the middle lengthwise, so you can have both the ends in one batch of kimchi. Then cut into 1-2 inch slices and then in half for each slice as well. This should give you large squares for each leaf.

3.       Place the cut cabbage in a large bowl of cold water with all the salt and let it rest for 1 hour, salting and cleaning the cabbage. Rinse twice and drain.

4.       Make a sauce with all the remaining ingredients and mix them into the cabbage with your hands, latex gloves are recommended. Make sure that the sauce is covering all the cabbage pieces.

5.       Place the kimchi and sauce in the sanitized jar and fill up to 2/3 of it. Place the weights or cups on to of it and press the kimchi down as much as you can. If using the weights, simply close the lid, if using the cups, wrap the whole thing tightly with cling wrap.

6.       Let it ferment in the fridge for 2 weeks and then enjoy for 2-4 weeks after that.