We had a Korean neighbor in our old neighborhood. She showed us how to make kimchi. I would not call it a recipe, but a technology. Though the technology itself is rather simple, it is very important to have the right ingredients.
Ingredients:
- Napa cabbage – 1 large head (or 2 small heads)
- Coarse salt
- Carrots
- Garlic
- Ginger root
- Scallions (spring onions)
- Korean dried pepper flakes (NOT powder)
You can learn a lot about kimchi traditions from the Internet. You may find out, for instance, that in Korea it is not customary to put either carrots or scallions (spring onions) in kimchi.
But carrots and scallions enrich the color spectrum of the finished product. Plus, they add a lot of vitamins and minerals. Our neighbor has always used them.
I usually buy cabbage at the farmers’ market. You can also get it from your local Asian store or a regular supermarket.
I cut my Napa cabbage lengthwise into four parts and sprinkle with coarse salt all the leaves of the cabbage (inside and outside).
Next, I place the cabbage in a container and put a smaller container or a tray on top. I put some weight onto the smaller container to help the salt do its job. I use glass baking trays as containers and discs from dumbbells as weight. Improvise!
There is another way to let the salt work with your Napa cabbage. You can make a salt bath for your cabbage. For that, you dilute some salt in water. Make sure the water is saltier than you would like your Kimchi to be. All your quartered cabbage should be underwater.
Either way, this Napa and salt interaction should last from 8 to 12 hours. I usually do it overnight.
After that, you need to wash off the extra salt from the batch with weights and squeeze all the extra liquid from them.
If you choose the salt bath, you will need to rinse them with clean water and also squeeze all the extra liquid.
Now I add the rest of the ingredients. I use a spiralizer (spiral vegetable cutter) to cut carrots. If you don’t have a spiralizer at hand, cut the carrots into thin long strips with a knife.
I cut scallions into long pieces. The photo shows how it looks.
I sprinkle every leaf of my cabbage with Korean pepper. I also rub them with a paste made of mashed garlic and fresh ginger root.
I use this specific pepper. Powdered pepper won’t give you the results you want.
I put everything in the glass jar in layers. Do not close the lid tightly. Let your Kimchi stand at room temperature for 1-3 days.
Koreans prefer well-fermented (sour) kimchi. They do not refrigerate it after the first few days of fermentation.
Ferment it to your liking. You are the chef in your own kitchen.
Healthy fermenting!