Kimchi (napa)

(from Qetesh’s recipe box)

Makes a medium hot kimchi, somewhat sweet and very garlicky. You can half the ingredients for a milder kimchi.

Fermentation is optional but really adds and changes the flavor.

For fish sauce I prefer a vietnamese type (currently use AAA brand).

Daikon can be substituted for korean radish, asian chives can be substituted by more green onions.

Oysters are completely optional and you probably won’t want to use them, especially if you want to ferment longer on the counter (>2 days). Oysters can also be substituted for korean salted shrimp (1/4 cup).

For kaktugi (radish) replace napa cabbage with 3 lbs of cubed korean radish or daikon.

Source: Taken and adapted from http://www.maangchi.com (great site! go check her out)

Categories: Pickles, Vegetables

Ingredients

  • 1 head of napa cabbage, medium
  • 3/4 cup salt, kosher
  • 6 green onions, chopped
  • 1/4 cup asian chives, sliced into strips
  • 1/2 korean radish, shredded
  • 1 asian pear
  • 2 Tbsp fish sauce
  • 1/4 cup garlic, minced
  • 1 Tbsp ginger, minced
  • 1/2 cup oysters, raw, optional
  • 3/4 cup korean red pepper flakes

Directions

  1. Quarter the napa cabbage and slice into 1 1/2 inch by 1 inch strips (or whatever sizes you like). The traditional way to make kimchi is to ferment half or quarter heads of cabbage, but this is faster and allows better fermenting.

  2. Wash the napa strips, drain well and remove as much water as possible. Toss and coat well with 3/4th cup kosher salt. Leave on a counter for 2 hours. Toss again, leave another two hours.

  3. Rinse the cabbage with a lot of water, drain, and repeat two more times. Squeeze out extra water from the wilted napa cabbage.

  4. Mix grated/minced garlic, ginger, sugar, fish sauce, and red pepper flakes in a bowl. This will make a thick paste. Some kimchi recipes use a rice flour base for the kimchi paste, but this isn’t necessary at all.

  5. Mix cabbage, green onions, chives, radish, korean pear and oysters with the kimchi paste made up. Coat everything well and put into a large glass jar. Compress the mixture as much as possible; there should be 1/4inch of liquid covering the top of the jar and there should be no air bubbles anywhere.

  6. Cover the jar with a piece of wax paper held in place over the mouth of the jar with a rubber band.

  7. Leave on a warm counter for 4-5 days. Once or twice a day take a wooden spoon and press the cabbage mixture down. After a day the mixture will rise about an inch or so from fermentation. Make sure to press the cabbage down, remove all air bubbles, and maintain a half inch or so liquid covering the top of the cabbage. Replace the wax paper piece daily or when it gets wet.

  8. Allow the mixture to ferment to taste. Some people let the kimchi ferment for 1-2 days, but 4-5 days is the time it takes for the mixture to reach true (mildly sour) fermentation. Close jar and store in the fridge for as long as you want (try to use it within 4-6 weeks, else it gets too ripe). The mixture will ferment in the fridge, so open the jar every day or so for the first few weeks to release gases.

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