Napa cabbage kimchi is a fermented Korean side dish made by brining napa cabbage, then coating it with a spiced paste of gochugaru, radish, garlic, and fish sauce. The recipe takes 6 hours to pickle, then ferments for 3-4 days before reaching peak flavor.
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Cut the napa cabbage into quarters and rinse it in running water. Make sure the stem is intact.
Dissolve the coarse salt in the water (16 cups) in a large bowl. Dip the napa cabbage in the saltwater one at a time and transfer it onto a tray for further salting.Pinch some cooking salt (1/2 cup total for all pickled cabbages) and rub over the thick white part of the cabbage. Open each leaf gently and sprinkle the salt over the thick white part. Repeat this for the rest of the cabbage. Reserve the saltwater from when you soaked the cabbage for later use.
Put the salted cabbage in a large food grade plastic bag or large bucket (wedge side of the cabbage to be facing up) and pour in the reserved saltwater from step 2. Close the plastic bag. If using a bucket, get something heavy on top of the cabbage to press down (e.g heavy pot with water).Set the cabbage aside for 6 hours to pickle. Rotate the cabbage upside down every 2 hours. Using a large food grade plastic bag will make the turning process much easier than using a large bucket.
Once the soaking process is finished, rinse the cabbages in running water, especially the thick white part of the cabbage, to get rid of the salt. Place them in a colander and allow to drain for 1 hour.
While waiting, prepare the glutinous rice paste. Mix glutinous rice flour with the water (1.5 cup) in a saucepan and boil it over medium heat for 5-8 minutes, until it thickens. Once ready, transfer the rice paste to the medium-size bowl and let it cool. Add Korean chili flakes once it has cooled. Then, combine them well.
Prepare a large mixing bowl and add radish, fine sea salt, Korean fish sauce, and salted shrimp. Leave it for 10 minutes for the radish to salt down. Add Korean chives, carrots, minced garlic, minced ginger, sugar, blended onion, and the Korean chili flakes mixture from step 5. Mix them well. Now the kimchi seasoning / kimchi paste is made, ready for use.
Place a quarter of a cabbage on a tray. Spread the seasonings over each leaf. (You only need to season one side of the leaf.) 1 to 2 small fistfuls of seasoning is enough per quarter of cabbage. Repeat this step for the rest of the cabbage. Don’t pull the cabbage leaves off the stem, leave them attached so it holds together better.
Transfer the kimchi into a kimchi container or an airtight container (and put the lid on). Leave it out at room temperature for 24 hours, then move it to the refrigerator. While you can start eating it once it’s chilled, you may want to wait 3-4 more days for it to develop more flavor.
Once the kimchi is ready to eat, chop a small portion and store it in a smaller glass container. This makes it more convenient to serve with your meal. Keep the other batches intact in the large kimchi container. This way, you only cut it up as needed, which helps keep the remaining kimchi fresh longer.
Store finished kimchi in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 months. Transfer only what you need to a smaller glass jar for serving to keep the main batch fresh longer.
Large food-grade plastic bag or bucket · Colander · Stick blender or vegetable chopper (for blending onion) · Airtight kimchi container or glass container with lid
Preparation takes about 1 hour. The cabbage pickles for 6 hours, then ferments at room temperature for 24 hours before moving to the refrigerator. Full flavor develops in 3-4 additional days.
Yes, use natural rock salt or sea salt as a substitute. Avoid iodized table salt, which can affect fermentation and flavor.
Rotating every 2 hours ensures even salt distribution throughout all the cabbage leaves, preventing over-salting in some areas and under-salting in others.
Fish sauce and salted shrimp provide umami depth. For vegetarian kimchi, omit both or replace with additional salt and soy sauce, though flavor will differ from traditional recipes.
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 months. Keep only a portion in a smaller glass container for serving to minimize air exposure to the main batch.
