Easy Vegan Kimchi Recipe

This easy vegan kimchi recipe features common ingredients and swaps the traditional fish sauce for flavorful alternatives. With this recipe, you can still enjoy the delicious and healthy Korean fermented vegetable dish without compromising on taste.

Vegan kimchi is a versatile option that’s not limited to vegans or vegetarians. It can also be an excellent choice of kimchi for those with food allergies or a preference for a lighter, less potent flavor, regardless of their dietary restrictions.

This vegan kimchi recipe uses common ingredients and skips fish sauce and shrimp, making it suitable for a variety of dietary needs. Whether as a healthy side dish or a flavorful addition to your meals, it’s a great choice.

Enhance Your Kimchi Game: Tips for Flavorful Vegan Kimchi

Making kimchi without fish sauce may seem like the obvious solution for vegans and those with dietary restrictions. However, simply omitting this ingredient can leave your kimchi lacking in the umami flavor that makes it truly delicious.

To make up for the missing flavor, try adding a vegetable-fruit stock and Korean soup soy sauce in place of fish sauce and shrimp.

But what is Korean soup soy sauce?

This common Korean condiment (called guk-ganjang, 국간장, in Korean) is made with fermented soybean and is typically used to flavor soups and vegetable dishes. It has a flavor profile similar to fish sauce but without the strong smell of fish sauce.

It makes kimchi tastes clean and won’t affect the vibrant scarlet red color of your kimchi.

There is no animal products used in this recipe. All is from the vegetable source. This is the sauce that Korean vegans or Buddhist temples use when they make their vegan kimchi.

Ingredients used and substitution

• Napa cabbage: Also known as Chinese cabbage, is the base for making vegan kimchi.
  • For this recipe, a large Napa cabbage weighing about 4.5 lb was used. If a smaller size (about 2.2 lb) is used, the rest of the ingredients should be halved accordingly.
  • In case Napa cabbage is not available, green cabbage can be used as a substitute.
• Salt: I recommend using Korean coarse sea salt. If that’s not available, you can use Kosher salt, but use 1/4 the amount of coarse sea salt. Do not use table salt.
• Fresh onion, garlic and ginger: Must-have ingredients for the savory flavor of the kimchi.
• Korean (Asian) Pear and apple: I use half a pear and half an apple in the kimchi paste, with the other halves going into making the vegetable-fruit stock. These natural sweeteners balances the saltiness and sourness of the kimchi, brightening its overall flavor. No need to add sugar.
  • You can substitute Asian pear with firm bosc pear.
  • If you can find persimmon, it is a great addition to the recipe replacing apple.
• Korean chili flakes: Also known as gochugaru, it’s an essential ingredient for achieving the distinct flavor of kimchi. No substitute can replicate its unique taste.
• Korean soup soy sauce (guk-ganjang): Seasons and adds umami to your kimchi
• Plain cooked potato or cooked white rice: Starch is an important ingredient in making kimchi. It feeds good bacteria and helps with fermentation.
• Green onion or scallion: optional but recommended.
• Fresh red chili: optional, but it adds flavor and a scarlet color to the kimchi.
• Vegetable-fruit stock: This is what gives the kimchi its light and refreshing taste once fermented.
  • I make it using a mixture of Korean (Asian) pear, red sweet apple, onion (or leek), radish (Korean or daikon), and dried sea kelp for a flavorful stock.

Tips for Fermenting and Storing Kimchi

With these tips, you can take your kimchi to the next level and enjoy all the savory goodness it has to offer. You will be glad that you tried this recipe.

1. To preserve the flavor of your kimchi, use an airtight container that will also minimize the odor while storing.
2. For those who enjoy plenty of kimchi brine, pour additional vegetable-fruit stock over the kimchi. However, be mindful not to add too much stock as it can dilute the flavor.
   • Remember, the cabbage will naturally yield more brine as it ferments.
3. Kimchi brine can be used to add flavor to dishes such as kimchi stew, kimchi fried rice, kimchi pancakes, and more.
4. Do not fill the container to the top, but leave at least 1/5 of the container empty to allow the kimchi to expand during fermentation.
   • As the kimchi ferments, gases are produced and it will expand.
5. Allow the kimchi to sit at room temperature for 1-2 days, depending on the temperature, and then store it in the refrigerator for an additional 5-7 days for ideal fermentation.
   • When air bubbles start forming in the brine and the taste becomes slightly sour like pickles, you can tell that your kimchi is ready.
6. If you prefer to eat freshly made kimchi, it can be consumed the day it’s made, but be sure to store it in the refrigerator at all times. This vegan kimchi should be consumed within 2 months.
7. As kimchi ferments, it creates an odor. To prevent the spread of the odor, keep 1-2 boxes of fridge baking soda in your refrigerator.

How to Make Vegan Kimchi: A Step-by-Step Guide

For salting the cabbage

Step 1. Cut the cabbage

Cut the cabbage in half lengthwise, leaving about 3-4 inches of the stem intact. Separate the halves by hand and then repeat the process to make quarters. Rinse the cabbage and chop it into 2-inch pieces.

Step 2. Salt the cabbage

Spread a small portion of cabbage in a large bowl, sprinkle 3-4 tablespoons of coarse salt (1 tablespoon for kosher salt) evenly, and repeat until all the cabbage is used. Sprinkle with water occasionally if the cabbage seems dry and push it down with your hands. Let it soak for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, turning it around halfway through.

Step 3. Rinse the cabbage

To check if the cabbage brining is done, bend the white stem piece. If it bends without breaking, it is ready. Afterward, rinse the cabbage thoroughly three times and drain it well using a large colander.

For Kimchi paste

Step 4. Make vegetable-fruit stock

While the cabbage is brining, make the vegetable-fruit stock by combining pear, apple, radish, onion, dried sea kelp, and water in a pot. Boil and then simmer over medium heat for 20 minutes, removing the sea kelp after 5 minutes. Discard the ingredients and reserve 1 1/2 cups of stock. Let it cool.

Step 5. blending the flavors

Make the kimchi paste by blending onion, garlic, ginger, pear, apple, cooked potato (or white rice), and 1/2 cup of stock until smooth. If using fresh red chili, add the slices at the end and pulse a few times.

Step 6. Make kimchi paste

Pour the puree into a mixing bowl and add Korean chili flakes, Korean soup soy sauce, and mix well. Let it sit for 5 minutes so that the chili flakes can absorb the seasoning and rehydrate.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the cabbage and sliced green onion, add the kimchi paste, and toss well to coat all the cabbage pieces.

Tip: To avoid chili stains on your hands, it is recommended to wear kitchen rubber gloves or disposable plastic gloves.

For assembling kimchi

Step 7. Add more stock for extra kimchi brine

Transfer the kimchi into a storage container. If you want extra kimchi brine, add the remaining 1 cup of stock to the mixing bowl you assembled the kimchi in. Rinse the bowl to collect all the residue of kimchi paste and pour it over the kimchi.

Remember, the cabbage will continue to yield more brine naturally as it ferments, so avoid adding too much stock.

Storage

After preparing the kimchi, let it sit at room temperature for 1-2 days (depending on the temperature) to allow the fermentation process to start. Then, transfer the kimchi to the refrigerator and store it for 5-7 days to let the flavors develop fully.

You can also enjoy the kimchi immediately after making it if you prefer a fresh taste. This vegan kimchi can maintain its texture and flavor for several weeks up to 2 months.