The Most Popular Cabbage Kimchi in Korea
Making authentic cabbage kimchi takes time, but it's worth every effort. This authentic recipe rewards you with light and refreshing flavor.
Ingredients
- 2 heads napa cabbage about 5 lb each
- 1 1/2 cup Korean coarse sea salt divided
- 15 cups water
- 1/2 apple cored and peeled
- 1/2 onion diced
- 1 head garlic peeled
- 1- inch ginger peeled
- 1/2 medium Korea radish sliced into very thin matchsticks
- 1 bunch green onion siced
- 1-1/2 cup Korean chili flakes (gochugaru)
- 1/2 cup Korean fish sauce
- 1/2 cup Korean shrimp sauce
For fruit stock
- 10 cups water
- 2 small sweet apples sliced
- 1 onion cut into wedge
- 1 Asian leek diced
- 2 tbsp goji berries (gugija) Chinese dried matrimony vine berries
- 5 piece dried sea kelp (dashima)
For rice paste
- 1 cup fruit stock
- 1 tbsp sweet rice flour (chapssal-garu)
Instructions
- Cut the cabbage in half and give 2-inch slit on the stem part of each half. Rinse the cabbage.
- Using 1/2 cup of salt, sprinkle into white stem parts of cabbage toward the stem. Place the cabbage in a large container or in the sink.
- Dissolve 1 cup of salt with 15 cups of water and pour over the cabbage. Press the cabbage to let the salt solution to sip through. Place a heavy object such as bricks or heavy cast iron skillet on top of cabbage. Let them soak for 8-12 hours turnign them to the other side during the soaking time. When the stem part of cabbage is bending without breaking, they are ready. Separate the split cabbage half completely.
- Rinse the cabbage 2-3 times in the water and place them in a large colander to drain. Press gently to remove excess water.
- To make the fruit stock; combine all the ingredients and bring them to boil. Turn the heat to low, and simmer for 50 minutes. Reserve the stock and discard the rest.
- To make the rice paste; whisk together 1 cup of the fruit stock and 1 tablespoon of sweet rice flour. Cook over medium heat until it gets bubbly and thicken whisking constantly, about 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat and let it cool.
- To make kimchi seasoning paste; put apple slices, onion, garlic, ginger with fish sauce in a blender and process until smooth. You can add a few tablespoons of gruit stock to help the blender blade to run better. Transfer the puree into a large mixing bowl and add radish, green onion, shrimp sauce, and the rice paste. Mix well with a wooden spoon and set aside for 10 minutes.
- To assemble; Line your container with a clean plastic bag and set aside.
- Place each cabbage onto a shallow mixing bowl, spread a little amount of seasoning paste onto the outer leaf of the cabbage first, then moving onto the next layer one leaf at a time. Spread just enough to cover entire leaf. When all the leaves are covered, gather up the leafy part of the cabbage toward the stem and wrap the whole thing with the most outer large leaf to make a bundle to secure everything inside.
- Place the kimchi in side of the plastic bag and stack them tightly together. When finished, tie the bag tightly to keep the air out. Cover with a lid and let the whole thing sit on the room temperature for 1-2 days depends on the weather.
- Store the kimchi in the refridgerator after the fermentation. Your kimchi should be ready to serve in next 3-5 days. This kimchi can last months stored in the refrigerator and it will continue to ferment slowly developing more sour flavor as time goes.