I have heard that making Kimchi can be pretty daunting and I had to give it a try. Truthfully, besides salting the napa cabbage which takes some time, (You can always Netflix while waiting!) I think everything else is easy! Furthermore this Easy Kimchi Recipe makes it even quicker!
So what makes this kimchi easy?
Okay, let’s start with how the traditional kimchi involves you cooking some Thai rice flour over the stove to create a paste. This ensures that the seasoning and spices “sticks” better to the cabbage. This recipe uses blended rice instead. Smart eh? Honestly I wished I was the brainchild behind this idea, but nah. It wasn’t me.
Secondly, the cabbage is cut into pieces. Definitely easy to salt the smaller pieces of cabbage than to go in between the layers for the whole ones. Oh and it is easier to wash too.
Everything else fairly remain the same.
So you start with generously sprinkling kosher salt on the Napa cabbage and let it sit for 2 hours. Just as I said, while waiting you can just do your own thing.
Basically the salt will draw all the moisture from the cabbage. Although I added salted shrimp to give it that unique and salty flavor, this is totally optional if you don’t want it in there.
Is it usually sold in bottles/jars and this is how it looks like…↓
Kimchi needs to sit fermented for about 3-7 days. If you leave if to ferment at room temperature, it would take about 2-3 days. If you are fermenting in the fridge, it may take up to a week. I personally prefer to let it slowly ferment in the fridge.
Although this might take a week, you don’t have to wait that long to eat the kimchi! You can eat the kimchi the moment it’s made. So basically you can eat/taste the kimchi at every stage of it’s fermentation. It’s like a fresh salad when it’s new. Gradually it gets more sour.
If you are new to Kimchi making, this Easy Kimchi Recipe is definitely good for you to give it a try. Kimchi is not just served as a side to your plate of plain rice. (Having a side of bulgogi would be a bonus!) Add more veggies by the side and you will end up with a plate of bibimbap. Obviously you can add it to fried rice to make kimchi fried rice. Yup, the endless possibilities!!
- 1 head of Napa cabbage
- ½ cup of kosher salt
- 5-6 cloves of garlic
- 1 small yellow onion
- Ginger knob, 2 inches
- 2 tsp brown sugar/honey
- ¼ cup fish sauce
- ½ cup gochugaru (Korean chili pepper flakes)
- 2 tbsp cooked white rice
- 1 tbsp salted shrimp
- 1 carrot, cut into matchsticks
- 1 radish, cut into matchsticks
- ½ Asian pear, cut into cubes
- 3 stalks scallions, sliced
- 3 tbsp sesame seeds, dry roasted in a pan.
- Slice the cabbage into big chunks
- Wash the cabbage with water, drain and and salt them with the ½ cup of kosher salt
- Place cabbage in a deep bowl, and let them sit for at least 2 hours, flipping them halfway to get them evenly salted.
- By the end of the salting process, the salt will have drawn out some water from the cabbage, and the cabbage should be slightly limp.
- Wash and rinse them thoroughly with water, and squeeze out the excess water.
- Blend the pear, fish sauce, onion, rice, salted shrimps, garlic and ginger.
- Place this in a large container and mix in the gochugaru and sugar.
- Add the carrots, radishes and scallions and mix until well incorporated.
- Mix in the cabbage and top with the roasted sesame seeds.
- Once well mixed, store in an airtight mason jar/container.
- Leave in a cool, dark place to ferment for 2-3 days or in the refrigerator for 4-7 days to ferment.
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