Over the years, my mom would make us kimchi whenever she visited, and at some point I started paying attention to try to learn how to do it myself. It always seemed like an overwhelming and daunting process (I have memories of my grandmother making such large batches of it that she brined the cabbage in the bathtub...!). Even when I did started watching and asking questions, it wasn't until after several sessions, writing down notes, and asking more questions, that I felt ready to try it on my own. The recipe that I translated is below.
A few notes:
- Ideally, you get the best ingredients. My mom is a stickler for this. Best ingredients make the best kimchi. Obviously, the best and ideal ingredients are sourced in Korea, but without that option, just do the best you can.
- When it says "tablespoons" below, it is actually referring to a Korean rice spoon, which is similar to a tablespoon, but a is a little bit less than a tablespoon. So when measuring it out, pour a little shy of a full tablespoon.
- This whole process usually takes almost all day because after you prep the cabbage, you have to let it soak for hours (I think my mom usually does 5-6 hours) before you add the spicy mixture in.
Ingredients:
- 2 medium sized Napa cabbage
- 15 green onion stalks
- about 2.5 cups high quality sea salt
- 3/4 cup of cooked rice or sweet rice flour mixture (my mom always uses the sweet rice flour - it's about 1.5 cups of water with 5 Tablespoons of sweet rice flour over medium heat until it becomes a paste)
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 10 cloves of garlic
- 2 inches of ginger
- 1/2 asian pear
- 1.75 cups Korean pepper flakes
- 1 leek (or the white part of 1 giant green onion)
- 2 tablespoons of sugar
- 1 radish
- 1/3 cup fish sauce
1. Remove outer yellow leaves of the cabbage and quarter each of the cabbage (from the root, lengthwise).
2. Pour about 11-12 cups of water into a large basin, add 1.25 cups of sea salt, and mix to dissolve the salt.
3. Add in the quartered cabbage pieces into the basin and soak for about 5 minutes, making sure each get a good wash.
4. Take cabbage out of salt water, and take about 1.5 cups of the salt to spread it in between all the leaves (about every 2-3 leaves). Pour the salt water over all the cabbage and leave it submerged for about 4 hours. (After 2 hours, flip the cabbage so they get equal time submerged in the liquid.) In the fall, that time should be about 5 hours, in the winter, the time is about 8 hours.
5. In a blender, add the chopped onion, radish, pear, leek, garlic, ginger, and bowl of rice (or sweet rice flour mixture) together. Add the fish sauce and 1/3 cup of water and finish blending.
6. Pour the blended mixture into a bowl and add the red pepper powder, sugar, about 2.5 Tablespoon of salt. Mix together.
7. After the cabbage has been well-marinated, wash it three times in cold water and put in a colander to drain the water (about 30 minutes).
8. Cut the green onions to 3 inch pieces.
9. At this point, you could cut up the cabbage to smaller sizes (I do this) because it is much easier to manage that way. Traditionally, the cabbage is left as a large piece and then is cut every time it's taken it out to eat.
10. Mix the cabbage, the green onions and the spicy paste mixture all together. Make sure it is thoroughly mixed. Using plastic kitchen gloves is recommended.
11. Put it into a container (preferably glass or sturdy kimchi container) and store it at room temperature for about a day or two. Then put it in the fridge.
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