30-Minute Kimchi (Quick Cabbage Kimchi Recipe)
This 30-minute kimchi recipe makes it possible to make authentic Korean cabbage kimchi quickly from scratch. It is a gluten-free and delicious.
Do you think it is possible to make a batch of cabbage kimchi within 30 minutes from start to finish? This 30-minute kimchi can prove that.
Around this time of the year, I often have a craving of freshly made kimchi. After the winter season of having many dishes made with deeply fermented kimchi, I feel like it is about the time to embrace the spring cabbage and make a batch of fresh kimchi.
Yes, it is possible to make kimchi within 30 minutes all from scratch. I will call it 30 Minute Kimchi.
30-minute Kimchi
Authentic traditional cabbage kimchi takes 2 days to make. More simplified version of easy cabbage kimchi takes about 3 hours. Then how can this labor intense kimchi making be done in 30 minutes?
Koreans call this particular type of kimchi, “Gutjeori (겉절이)”, which translates into briefly salted kimchi. However, even the traditional Gutjeori kimchi itself takes at least 1 hour alone to soak the cabbage in salt. But today I am going to share with you a unique way to speed up the soaking process.
You only need 15 minutes of soaking time. 15 minutes!!! Wonderful, isn’t it? I learned this technique from an article I read in Korean newspaper the other day and guess what? It worked! And I am so happy. (You know I am the kind of gal who gets happy with simple things in life)
How to make Kimchi in 30-Minutes.
1. Cabbage Preparation
Here are some cabbages. Koreans like to use young napa cabbages for this recipe which yield tenderer and sweeter flavor. They are more yellowish than full grown napa cabbage.
I am using local cabbages here and they seem to be more elongated than Korean origin.
Cut off the stem part of the cabbage.
I like to cut the cabbage leaves vertically this time. For smaller leaves, cut in half.
For bigger leaves, cut into 2-4 sections.
2. Salt Brine
Now, The important part! let’s soak this cabbages in express salt brine. Mix 1/2 cup of Korean sea salt with 5 cups of water.
Bring it to a full boil, stir to dissolve all the salt. Let it cool down just a little, about 5 minutes.
Pour the hot salt brine over the cabbages and stir well.
Using a hot brine will help salt to penetrate into the cabbages faster to withdraw their moisture. It won’t cook the cabbages but creates crispier texture.
Let it sit for 10 minutes!
Turn the cabbages over and let it soak 5 more minutes. That’s it!
And you will see the stem part of cabbage will bend without breaking.
Rinse once and drain thoroughly.
3. Kimchi Filling
Meanwhile let’s work on the kimchi filling.
Combine garlic, ginger, diced onion and pear (or apple) in a blender. Add anchovy sauce and puree all together until very smooth.
Pour the onion pear puree in a small mixing bowl and add Korean chili flakes and sugar.
This is plum extract for tea which is my secret ingredient in many Korean dishes, and it is home-made. You provably will have a hard time finding it outside of Korea.
Therefore, disregard this ingredient. You can omit it and your kimchi will still taste good.
Mix all together very well.
4. Assembling Kimchi
In a large shallow mixing bowl combine the cabbages and the chili filling. Add sliced fresh red chilies and green onions, too, if you are using.
Toss well with your hand. Make sure you wear a protective glove for your delicate hand.
Take a piece and taste. You can add a little more salt or anchovy sauce if needed. Mine was just perfect the way it was. Store this kimchi in the fridge all the time.
I want to mention that this type of Gutjeori kimchi is meant to be consumed soon, within 10 days if possible. They will go ferment after that but they are not ideal for a long term fermentation.
I do LOVE freshly made kimchi over freshly cooked rice. It just reminds me home of my childhood. But this type of kimchi shines the best when serve with Korean knife cupt noodle soup called Kalguksu. Such a comforting combination for me.
Well, do you think you can make this kimchi within 30 minutes or so? Would you give it a try? If you do, I would love to hear from you how it turns out.
Kimchi making is fun. Enjoying your labor of love is rewarding. Hope you enjoy this kimchi as much as I did.
More Easy Kimchi Recipes
30-Minute Kimchi (Quick Cabbage Kimchi Recipe)
Recipe Video
Ingredients
- 3 lb napa cabbage
- 2/3 cup Korean salt
- 6 cups water
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1/2 Korean pear or 1 sweet apple, peeled, cored, and diced
- 7 clove garlic
- 4 tbsp Korean fish sauce
- 1/2 cup Korean chili flakes (gochugaru)
- 2 tbsp Korean plum extract (maeshil cheong), optional
- 1 inch ginger, peeled
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 Asian leek , or 3 green onion, sliced
- 2-3 fresh red chilies, sliced, optional
Instructions
- Cut off the stem part of cabbage. Cut each cabbage leaf in half or 3-4 section (depends on the size). Place the cabbage leaves in a large mixing bowl.
- Combine salt and water and bring to a full boil and dissolve the salt; cool down for 5 minutes. Pour the salt water over cabbages in mixing bowl. Let it sit for 10 minutes, turn the cabbages over to the other side and continue to soak for 5 more minutes. Rinse once and drain thoroughly.
- Meanwhile make kimchi filling; combine garlic, ginger, onion, pear(or apple), and anchovy sauce in a blender and puree until smooth. Pour the puree in a small mixing bowl. Add Korean chili flakes, sugar, and Koran plum extract( if using); mix well.
- Place drained cabbages in a large shallow mixing bowl. Add the red chilies, green onions (if using), and the kimchi filling. Toss all together to coat evenly. Sprinkle toasted sesame seeds and toss well.
So happy to have found your recipe —- love That the regular salting and fermentation is not needed here. The taste is great, we used regular pear, garlic powder and onion powder for a really tiny batch of 1/4 of a Napa cabbage, estimated the other ingredients amounts. Will make it again using the real ingredients and amounts. Thank you!
I’ve made this recipe a few times but I feel like it was updated because the one I was using didn’t have green onion or Asian pear. I bought some to try this time, but am not seeing in the instructions on how to use them other than how to cut. Do you just add it all in at the end? Is all of the green onion used? including the white part?
Hi Sara
The Asian pear is added to update the recipe. Peel and seed the pear and dice it into chunks, then add to the blender along with onion and garlic to puree together. For the green onion, slice them any size you desire (both white and green part) and add to the brined cabbage when you toss with kimchi seasoning paste.
Hope this helps. I updated the recipe instructions. Thanks.
Thanks so much Holly! That helps a lot!
I’ve actually been making a quick kimchi for years that’s alot like your recipe, in fact I am soaking a Napa cabbage right now for kimchi. I could never wait for fermentation. My ingredients, unlike normal, is napa cabbage, red boat fish sauce, fresh ginger, garlic, sea salt, cayenne pepper (for my heat) green onion & daikon. I have even included hondashi (bonito stock) to my last batch (don’t know if that added anything to the flavor). I am going to include the sugar from your recipe & see what that adds. I have made this kimchi for 40+ years (I spent several years in Pusan, South Korea) & never, until recently used fish sauce, but I can’t believe the added flavor (great umami). Kamsahamnida!
Could you use radish (daikon) instead of cabbage for this 30 minute recipe?
Can’t wait to try this recipe! I’m far from a store that carries gochujaru, but I have gochujang! Will that work?
No, gochujang is not the same as chili flakes and it won’t work on kimchi recipe.
Hi Holly it seems delicious and I wanted to try kimchi since forever but instead of the anchovy sauce can I use soja sauce?
Thank you for the recipe~
Regular soy sauce won’t bring the right flavor of kimchi. If you want to avoid anchovy sauce, try with Thai fish sauce. That will work fine. If you want to avoid any type of fish sauce, then you can use a sauce called “Korean soy sauce for soup (gookganjang)”. It is similar to fish sauce but made with fermented soy and more pungent than regular soy sauce. Hope this helps.
I will try to make this soon -looks so good.
I made some about 15/16days ago. Do you think it is still good?
Yes, it should be alright for another week or two.
Tried your 30 min Kimchi recipe and it was yummy! Thanks for sharing!
By the way, great recipes.
I used to visit a little restaurant that had the greatest kimchi, but I don’t live in that area anymore and really don’t like store bought. It only took one phone call to find the ingredients at a nearby Asian Grocery that I cannot buy in most grocery stores, including the Koran Plum Extract for Tea. I am looking forward to trying this.
That is so great, Brad! Glad to hear that you were able to find the plum extract. Have fun making kimchi and all the culinary adventures in your kitchen!
Hi, I wanted to update my post, I purchased what I could at the Asian market and made the kimchi, minus the extra chilis and toasted sesame seeds. It tasted better than the kimchi that the market makes. My wife suggested putting in some toasted sesame seed oil, and that gave it a fuller, better taste. I am guessing once it sits in the fridge overnight, it will even be better. I don’t think the plum extract was exactly right, it is Gung Jung Plum Juice, but it worked.
Thank you for a great recipe.
I’m taking baby steps in my kimchi evolution! Just made this quick version and can’t wait to experiment with the real deal fermentation! Thank you!!
Thanks for the recipe Holly, it’s gotten me out of a bit of a pickle. I had only a few of your ingredients so I used fish sauce, probably same as anchovy, ground chilli paste(sambal Oelek) and pickled ginger, no plum so used plum sauce. Has turned out just fantastic and so quick, thanks again
Cheers
David C
Hi Holly, I am a complete dummy in the kitchen but took the plunge to try this “express” kimchi recipe… well it didn’t turn out too well i’m afraid 🙁 First of all not all the cabbage stems bended, although I left them in the brine for a longer time. The second problem was adding too much ginger I believe. Sorry but how big a piece of ginger did you use? My 10 yr old daughter, who is a big kimchi fan, was hugely disappointed. She said the ginger taste is too strong. So how do I counteract the strong ginger taste? The kimchi also tasted crunchy instead of limpy. Is sand eel sauce the same as anchovy sauce? I used sand eel sauce since that was what the lady at the mart gave me when i asked for anchovy sauce. I hope to hear back from you, so I can have the courage to try other recipes from you. Thanks!
Ling, ginger is essential ingredient in kimchi, but too much of it will overpower the taste and makes it even bitter. The good guide for the amount of ginger in kimchi recipe would be about 1/3-1/2 volume amount of garlic.
Fresh kimchi is usually slightly crunch. It gets lumpy as fermenting. Also I am not so sure what the sand eel sauce is, but it doesn’t sound right one to use in kimchi.
I am sorry to hear that your kimchi didn’t turn out well. But keep trying. You will eventually get it right. Cheers!
Hi Holly, thanks for getting back. The kimchi tasted much better today 🙂 But yes, I shall take note of what you said. And btw, you’d be pleased to know I attempted the “braised pork ribs and kimchi” recipe today for a pot luck dinner, and boy was it good! Thanks to you, I garnered a lot of praise! For a complete novice like me, it was very encouraging indeed. Thanks again for your excellent blog – very reader friendly, the step by step explanation is great, and not to mention the enticing shots of the food… I can’t wait to try the other recipes!
Holly, your recipes never fail. I’ve tried this 30 minute kimchi and I love it even though I’m a huge fan of old, sour and well fermented kimchi 🙂 Thank you! Will share this one with my readers.
That is so great. Hope your readers will like it, too.
Hi Holly,
I am from India and I love Korean food and especially “KIMCHI”. I plan to make it at home. But I am unable to find Korean Chilli Pepper Flakes( “gochugaru”) here in India.
Is it ok to use either the Sweet Thai Chilli Saise (ONG’s) or shall i take dry chillies we get here in India and use them instead.
Please advice.
Thank You
Shaz
Hi Shaz, as long as the Thai chili is not the kind that are extremely hot, you can use it. I personally recommend to look for finger long red chilies that are common in Asia. You can use fresh chilies instead of dried kind. Just process the fresh chilies until you get the finely chopped consistency. You can adjust amount depends on how much redness or spiciness you desire.
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. I have been trying to make good kimchi for the last 17 years (since I got married to my Korean husband) and this one is by far the best, easiest and most reliable recipe I have come across. All kimchi-eaters in our family simply love it.
U made it alot easier for me. Can’t wait to make it 🙂 <3