Homemade Korean Kimchi Recipe

When I think about Korean cuisine, kimchi and Korean BBQ comes to mind. Kimchi is a traditional fermented dish made with mainly cabbage combined with spices and other ingredients. Sometimes radish, carrots, onions, and seafood are preserved with the cabbage. Kimchi can be served as a side dish or mixed in with other ingredients to make kimchi fried rice or other dishes. Since they are preserved, they can be kept for a while in a tight container in the fridge. You can easily find kimchi in Asian supermarkets or you can always make your own. It does take a bit of work and it can be a little messy as well but making your own kimchi means you can adjust the spiciness and if you make a big batch, you can always give some away to friends and family.

I got the kimchi recipe here. This site is my go to site for Korean recipes. Lots of wonderful recipes and very informative too. She also has a YouTube channel with tutorial videos. Very nice! For the kimchi recipe, I halved the ingredients from the original recipe coz 10lb of cabbage seems a bit much for me since I don't eat kimchi that often. I also skipped the squid.

Homemade Korean Kimchi Recipe

Ingredients:

5 lbs napa cabbage
1/2 cup salt
1/4 cup sweet rice flour
1 1/2 cup water
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 cups fish sauce
2 cups hot pepper flakes (less or more depending how spicy you want)
1/2 cup minced garlic
1 tbsp minced ginger
1/2 cup minced onion
5 stalks green onions (chopped)
1 cup chopped leeks
1 cup julienned radish
1/4 cup julienned carrots

1 large container with lid to store kimchi
1 pair of rubber gloves
1 large plastic basin to soak cabbage

Instructions:

1. Prepare the napa cabbage. Remove any bad leaves. With a knife, remove the core of the cabbage. Cut the cabbage in half lengthwise, then in quarters, and into small bite size pieces.

  2. Place the cabbage into a large plastic basin. Soak with water and 1/2 cup salt. Soak for 1 1/2 hours. Turn the cabbage over once every 1/2 hour to make sure the cabbage is evenly soaked in the basin.

3. Rinse the cabbage in clean water to remove any dirt and salt. Rinse a few times. Drain the cabbage and set aside.

4.  In a saucepan, add water and sweet rice flour. Cook in medium heat. Stir gently with a wooden spoon till the mixture becomes porridge like. Add sugar. Stir and cook for a few more minutes. Turn off the heat and set aside to cool down.

5. In a large bowl, add onions, garlic, ginger, hot pepper flakes, fish sauce, and finally the cooled down rice flour mixture. Mix well.

6. Add in julienned carrots, radish, chopped leeks, and green onions. Mix well.

7. Put on a pair of rubber gloves. Slowly add the mixture with the cabbage in small batches. Mix the entire batch thoroughly, making sure the cabbage are covered with the mixture.

8. Store the kimchi in a sealed container. Place in the fridge. Wait for a few days before serving. 

Done!