Kimchi
- Total Time
- 2½ hours, plus 2 days’ fermenting
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:½ gallon
- 1medium head napa cabbage (2 to 2½ pounds), any dirty outer leaves removed
- 3tablespoons coarse kosher salt or 5 tablespoons kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)
- 1medium green apple or Asian pear, peeled, quartered and cored
- 1small yellow onion, peeled and quartered
- 10garlic cloves, peeled
- 1(2-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled
- 1tablespoon granulated sugar
- ⅓cup gochugaru (Korean red pepper)
- ⅓cup fish sauce
- 3scallions, trimmed
- 1medium carrot or ½ medium daikon, peeled
- 1tablespoon pine nuts (optional)
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
84 calories; 1 gram fat; 0 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 0 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 16 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 9 grams sugars; 4 grams protein; 1377 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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- Step 1
Dry-brine the cabbage: Rinse the head of cabbage under cold running water, making sure to get in between the leaves. Trim the root end off the cabbage and cut crosswise into 1-inch-thick slices, carving out any core if it’s especially big and tough. Transfer the cabbage strips to your largest bowl. Sprinkle over the salt and toss with your hands until evenly distributed. Set aside to brine at room temperature until the hard leaves shrink and become wet and limp (but are still crunchy), 1½ to 2 hours.
- Step 2
Rinse the cabbage: Fill the bowl with cold running water and swish the leaves around to rinse them of their salt (and to clean off any dirt). Lift them up out of the water and transfer to a colander. Repeat once or twice until the cabbage leaves still taste discernibly salted, but not too salty that you can’t eat it like a salad. Rinse out the bowl.
- Step 3
Make the sauce: To a food processor, add the apple, onion, garlic, ginger, sugar and process until very finely chopped into a fluffy purée. Transfer the sauce to the empty bowl and stir in the gochugaru and fish sauce. Cut the scallions into 1-inch-long pieces and add to the bowl. Cut the carrot into matchsticks: slice crosswise into 1-inch lengths, then thinly slice lengthwise, stack the slices and cut lengthwise again into thin strips. Add to the bowl, along with the pine nuts, if using. Stir to combine. Add the drained cabbage to the sauce and toss with clean hands until well combined.
- Step 4
Transfer the sauced cabbage to a clean ½-gallon jar, using your hands to gently pack it down. (A few air gaps are fine; they’ll fill with liquid over time.) This amount of cabbage should leave about an inch of room at the top of the jar. Top the jar with any remaining sauce left behind in the bowl. Loosely close with a lid (see Tip). Wash your hands and rinse off the outside of the jar at this stage.
- Step 5
Let the jar of kimchi begin fermenting on the kitchen counter at room temperature for 2 to 3 days, “burping” it every 12 hours or so, which just means opening the lid to let out any excess build-up of gas. After this, the cabbage should have released even more of its liquid; it’s OK if the liquid doesn’t completely cover the cabbage at this point, though it may. Refrigerate the kimchi to finish fermenting until it’s sour, 2 to 3 weeks and up to 6 months, at which point it will be very, very sour and should be eaten or turned into jjigae. Check (and taste!) the kimchi every 2 to 3 days both to familiarize yourself with the fermentation process but also to allow gas to escape.
Tips
- ⅓ cup of soy sauce plus 1 to 2 tablespoons of doenjang or miso can be used as a vegan substitute for the fish sauce. The flavor won’t be the same, but it will still taste wonderful.
- Many containers work for kimchi, but some are better than others. Glass jars with plastic lids work beautifully, as do stainless steel containers with metal lids that lock into place. Plastic containers with locking plastic lids work just fine for this recipe as well. All of these can be found online or at Korean supermarkets and work well for kimchi since the lids aren’t airtight. Avoid using Mason jars with airtight lids since they can explode as gas builds up during the fermentation process.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Janet Rosen
I have been making kimchi on and off for years. I don't use fish sauce but find that a little smoked paprika given a nice sense of umami. I also like to dice in a small tangerine or half an orange for little bursts of citrusy sweetness.
Brian
I've made a lot of Kimchi and mine always has fish sauce, lots of garlic, lots of ginger, NO ADDED SUGAR, and 1.5 cups Gochugaru. I like mine very spicey.
Amy
I make kimchi frequently and successfully, but mine always takes a 5-7 days to ferment. I have substituted bok choy when I have too many from my CSA, but napa is best
H. J.
If you don’t like the flavor of fish sauce/ are vegan/vegetarian, substitute low sodium soy sauce for the fish sauce. This is what Maangchi suggests and it works great. I like fish sauce but will usually reduce to 1/8th of a cup and use soy sauce as the remainder so there’s a more subtle flavor.
Curtis
Best lid for making kimchi is a ziploc bag filled with enough of the brining liquid, so that when you lay it on top of the goodies, it spreads and covers with enough force to keep things submerged, but its not so airtight that the gas can't escape. if it leaks, so what? it's the brine that's already surrounding the kimchi!
alchemy in the kitchen
Anyone know, is the sugar essential? I'm pretty much sugar free. One tbsp. doesn't sound like much, but I don't even have the stuff in the house. No offense to others, I regard sugar as a sort of poison. My joke is I'll live to be 120 and be miserable the whole time.
J Rosen
Use a potato peeler to shave the carrot.
Buzzy
I remember eating a benign but tasty kimchi in Seoul called mul, mool kimchi, I guess, water kimchi. Tasty and nowhere near as hot and spicy as goktoogi. I approximate the way I heard it way back in 1978. I was in Korea for 9 months and I loved the people, the food, the beer (makju), the early version of karaoke the Koreans loved to do and loved to force me to standup in front of people and sing. I would love to do that 9 mos. all over again. Koreans are good people and smart as heck.
Sand
So many variations possible, so little time...grate the carrots instead of julienning; grate in a beetroot or celeriac. The sugar helps the bacteria get a head start; if you don't want to use sugar, that's fine -- the fermentation process may take a little longer. No matter what, enjoy!
Katie B
Instead of fish sauce, (I have a vegan), i use some kombu and sea asparagus (when i have it), along with a bit of tamari. I will try with some miso next time.
Ben
The particular sugar source doesn't much matter; substitute whatever natural product you've decided "doesn't count as sugar", like honey, fruit juice, or agave syrup. Just don't use unfermentable sweeteners (saccharine, ace-K, stevia, monkfruit, etc.), or if you must, cut them *way way* down. The sugar is there mostly to jump-start and guide fermentation, not to produce a sweet result.
Michael Read
Add pineapple chunks, you won't regret it.
Tobaleh
Instructions about cutting the carrots are incomprehensible. can one just “ Cut carrots into thinnest possible matchsticks then cut into one inch lengths.”?
Lisa Beeee
This was fantastic. Easy and flavorful. I doubled the recipe because my son is kimchi obsessed and it will be gone in no time.
clydemere
No sugar needed.
Timothy
Having made kimchi regularly for a few years now, I can't not add a comment. (Sorry!) Yes, the sky's pretty much the limit as to what can be added to the basics. I've enjoyed parsnips, celery and yellow beets which actually crisp up in the kimchi adding texture. Ditto for red beets but the result is very red. My biggest change? Instead of napa I always use savoy cabbage including the outer green leaves, if they're nice, cut into thin stripes. Savoy wilts less than napa adding structure.
Christina
I make this recipe regularly. I double it and which usually means one large head of Napa cabbage it last months. If you love Kim chi, this will save you so much money versus spending five dollars on a small little pint from Trader Joe’s.
Ana
I followed the recipe, and three of my kimchi jars developed a white fuzzy mold. What have I done wrong?
Sara
I love this kimchi recipe and due to the quantity I have been going through, will try to grow my own Napa cabbage, daikon and gochugaru (should be doable on the California Central Coast). I recall stories of Koreans using large crocks and keeping kimchi without refrigeration but am unable to confirm that it is safe to store this way. Does anyone have experience with growing ingredients or storing larger volumes?
Christina
I’ve used this recipe to make a constant flow of kim chi for the past year. Not only is it better than store bought but a fraction of the cost. If you love Kim Chi - do yourself a huge favor and make it yourself!
Ariel
This Kimchi is Excellent! It's so addictive. I used a pink lady apple and omitted the sugar (since this is what I had on hand), I also subbed 1/2 red onion for a bit more heat. And I used a whole large daikon (no carrot) and brined it with the cabbage. Seriously good. May add some fresh ginger matchsticks next time too.
Running Bunny
I usually make kimchi by quartering a head of cabbage and salting between the leaves like Eric showed in his video. This time I sliced the cabbage as directed. I think I ended up using more salt than I normally do, because after five or six good rinses, it was still pretty salty. I have never used fruit in my kimchi, and I usually use shrimp in brine, but this was quite tasty. The relatively small amount of pepper flakes gave noticeable but not overpowering heat.
Erik Larsen
I just made this today in frozen Kansas City. Should I anticipate the fermentation will take longer due to the cold temperatures? Room temperature is lower than usual in my house- wondering if it might need an extra day or two on the countertop.
Alice
I've been making radish kimchi for years but always bought mak kimchi at H-Mart because it was better than what I could make at home. This recipe changed that! I use a bit less fish sauce and blend a tablespoon of salted shrimp (saeujeot) with the apple mix. If I have any leftover liquid from a previous kimchi, I add that too, to kickstart the fermentation.
Stephanie
Hey, alchemy in the kitchen, I've been making a vegan/vegetarian version of kimchi for one of my kids for years, and I've never added sugar to it. In my experience, the apple or pear adds enough. I use various versions of miso as a sub for the fish sauce; I think I read that trick from J. Kenji Lopez-Alt some years back, and it works well. My son loves the kimchi!
Jams
I love Eric and the story of the meaning of kimchi. Made it 2 days ago, it's bubbling on my counter and I'll let it go another day or two before putting it in the fridge. Next batch, I want to add thin slices of celery. Thanks for this delicious and easy recipe. It feels both easy and special.
Siobhán
I have discovered Julienne peelers! They are super evil looking but will give thin strips of carrot that then can be chopped into smaller pieces. A massive time saver for making march sticks. Love this recipe.
Curtis
I made a batch following recipe exactly (left out the pine nuts), and am absolutely addicted to it now. Highly recommended!
mags
I'm about to start making my fourth batch of this within a year. Kimchi fried rice with an egg or two is a great quick meal and I recently pressure-cooked cubed blade roast with two cups of the mature kimchi to make beef kimchi jjigae (recipe Urvashi Pitre). It was stunningly tasty and tangy and umami off the charts.
E.
Ball jars makes a great fermentation lid for mason jars, it’s cheap online. Also if you use wide mouth mason jars there are glass weight which fit perfectly to submerge your veggies in brine.
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