Notes — Makes about 1-2 gallons of kimchi and will take four hours for salting the cabbage then about an hour for prep and packing. When serving top with a little sesame oil or sesame seeds. Realistically you can mix and spices with any cabbage as long as you properly pickle it but if you do that it will be very different from “Kimchi,” You might get weird spicy sauerkraut for all you know. (700 kcal/recipe)
Ingredients
- 1 cup sea salt, kosher salt or pickling salt (no iodinized salt)
- water
- 2 heads nappa cabbage
- 1 bulb garlic
- 1 (2-inch) piece of ginger root
- 1/2 cup korean salted shrimp
- 1 daikon radish
- 2 bunch of green onions
- 1/2 cup Korean chili powder or 1/2 cup sambal oelek
- 8-16 pickling jars, depending on size
Instructions (Cabbage Prep)
- Chop the nappa cabbage in half and remove the woody center at the bottom. Then chop the nappa into as big of pieces as you like. I usually quarter each cabbage then slice it into 1/2 inch pieces then rinse it.
- Pack the cabbage into a large bowl or stock pot. Add salt and cover with water and mix until salt disolves.
- Cover and let rest for four hours.
Instructions (Sauce/Spice Prep)
- Peel the garlic and finely mince it in a food processor.
- Peel the ginger and add to processor, pulse until finely minced.
- Add salted shimp and chili powder/sambal oelek and pulse until mixed.
- Swap out the mincing blade on the foor processor with a shredding blade use it to shred in the daikon radish.
- Cut the green onions into 1 inch lengths and add to the sauce mix.
- Stir until combined and store in fridge covered until cabbage is ready.
Instructions (Packing and Fermenting)
- After 4 hours of resting in the salt bath rinse your cabbage. It should be about as salty as pickles after rinsing.
- Prep and sterilize your containers.
- Mix sauce and cabbage making sure all ofthe cabbage is well coated.
- Pack jars to the top with fresh kimchi mix and seal them.
- You can eat the kimchi right away, but it takes 2-3 days at room temp or about a week in the fridge to properly ferment. Once fermented the kimchi will last in your fridge for up to a year if its well sealed.