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Fresh Kimchi (Geotjeori) is a simple, unfermented kimchi made with just 6 ingredients—Napa cabbage, fresh red chili peppers, garlic, persimmon, and fish sauce—that's ready to eat immediately after a 3-hour salt brine. It's refreshingly light yet deeply flavorful with a pleasant spicy kick.
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Cut off 1/2 inch or so of the root end or head part so the leaves separate. Repeat cutting off the head and separating the leaves until all the leaves are loose and no longer attached together.
In a large bowl, prepare to layer and stack the leaves sprinkling salt in between the leaves. I know this part is kind of hard if you have no feel for how much salt to put on each leaves but you basically want to spread out the salt evenly among the leaves. You can always go back and add more or take out some. Let it sit for 3 hrs.
Alternatively, you can make a brine by mixing 1:9 ratio of salt:water in volume. e.g. 1 cup salt + 9 cups water. But if you use a brine, it takes longer to pickle the cabbages for about 5 hrs.
Persimmon - scoop out the flesh of a very ripe fruit. The persimmon should be very soft and mushy.
Chop fresh garlic and chili pepper by knife or with a chopper.
After 3 hrs, do a test by bending the white part of the leaves to see if it's ready to be rinsed. Once it's fully pickled, rinse the salted cabbage leaves in water a couple of times and let them drain in a colander for 5 min or so.
Once the leaves are drained, rip each leaf with your hands into smaller pieces. You can cut it with a knife but traditionally Koreans always rip the leaf by hand for Geotjeori so watch my video and try to rip it if you can. To me it just doesn't feel the same if it's cut by a knife. 😝
In a bowl, mix the ripped cabbage leaves then add garlic, red chili, fish sauce, persimmon and mix well until leaves are all evenly coated.
Now it's ready to eat! As a last optional finish, you can sprinkle some sesame seeds and a swirl of sesame oil to a plated Geotjeori if you'd like.
Written automatically by CookOS, not by the creator.
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. Geotjeori is meant to be eaten fresh and does not ferment like traditional kimchi.
Written automatically by CookOS, not by the creator.
No. This recipe is designed for fresh Fresno red chili peppers, which give it a bright, fresh spice. Kimchi paste would change the flavor profile entirely and make it fermented rather than fresh.
After 3 hours, bend the white part of the leaves—it should flex easily without snapping. If still firm, let it sit longer and test again.
Yes. Mix 1 part salt to 9 parts water by volume (e.g., 1 cup salt + 9 cups water) and submerge the cabbage, but this method takes about 5 hours instead of 3.
Use Hachiya or Fuyu persimmons only if they are very ripe and soft; underripe persimmon will not blend smoothly into the seasoning paste.
Replace fish sauce with soy sauce or tamari in equal amount, though the umami depth will be slightly different.
