Scribd
Upload
330 views8 pages

Traditional Kimchi (Napa Cabbage Kimchi) : Jump To Recipe Print Recipe

This document provides a recipe and instructions for making traditional Korean napa cabbage kimchi. It discusses what kimchi is, the history of kimchi making in Korea, and buying and preparing the ingredients for this recipe. The key steps outlined are cutting and salting the napa cabbage, making a kimchi paste with seasonings like gochugaru and jeotgal, and then rubbing the paste onto the cabbage leaves to make the kimchi. Making kimchi at home allows one to continue the Korean tradition of fermenting vegetables to enjoy in many dishes throughout the winter months.

Uploaded by

rolea denio
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
330 views8 pages

Traditional Kimchi (Napa Cabbage Kimchi) : Jump To Recipe Print Recipe

This document provides a recipe and instructions for making traditional Korean napa cabbage kimchi. It discusses what kimchi is, the history of kimchi making in Korea, and buying and preparing the ingredients for this recipe. The key steps outlined are cutting and salting the napa cabbage, making a kimchi paste with seasonings like gochugaru and jeotgal, and then rubbing the paste onto the cabbage leaves to make the kimchi. Making kimchi at home allows one to continue the Korean tradition of fermenting vegetables to enjoy in many dishes throughout the winter months.

Uploaded by

rolea denio
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 8

Traditional Kimchi (Napa Cabbage Kimchi)

NOVEMBER 4, 2019

 Jump to Recipe    Print Recipe

This kimchi recipe shows you everything you need to know about how to
make traditional cabbage kimchi. With this small batch recipe, you’ll find it
not that difficult to make good authentic kimchi at home. 
What is kimchi?
Kimchi (김치) is a collective term for vegetable dishes that have been salted,
seasoned, and fermented. The history of kimchi goes back to ancient times.
Originated from pickled vegetables, there are now hundreds of kimchi
varieties in Korea. You can find some of the most common kimchi recipes
in my 15 easy kimchi recipes. 

Over the last decade or so, Korean kimchi has gained a global recognition as
a healthy probiotic food. Kimchi is a good source of useful lactic acid bacteria,
has excellent anti-oxidation and anti-cancer effects, and helps prevent aging. 

My other videos

   Jjapaguri with Steak


This kimchi recipe is made with baechu (배추), known as napa cabbage, hence
the name baechu kimchi. Because the cabbage is kept intact at its head, it’s
also known as pogi kimchi (포기김치). Pogi means a “head” of a vegetable. 

In late fall, Korean households make this type of kimchi in large quantity for
their kimjang (or gimajang, 김장), an annual kimchi making event in
preparation for cold months. I grew up watching my mother make kimchi
using over 100 cabbages with her friends in the neighborhood who rotated
their kimjang schedules to help each other. 

I usually make it with 5 – 10 heads (pogi) of cabbages at a time because we eat


kimchi every day. Also, I provide regular supply to my grown-up children.
Both my mother and mother-in-law did that for us for a long time, so I am
gladly continuing the tradition. 

In Korean homes, there can never be too much kimchi. So many Korean
dishes are made with well-fermented kimchi, such as kimchi jjigae, kimchi
mandu, kimchi bibim guksu, kimchi fried rice, kimchijeon, tofu kimchi, and
many more.
Buying napa cabbage 
For this pogi kimchi, it’s best to use a medium to large cabbage that weighs
around 5 to 5-1/2 pounds with some light green outer leaves. When cut, a good
cabbage has a nicely straight white part that’s not too thick as well as bright
yellow inner leaves. 

Salt for making kimchi


Korean coarse sea salt (cheonilyeom, 천일염) is the best to salt the vegetables
to make kimchi. It’s natural salt with a coarse texture that’s minimally
processed. Commonly referred to as gulgeun-sogeum (굵은소금), meaning
coarse or thick salt, this salt tastes good without bitterness, so it helps develop
flavors in fermented foods.

When we first came to America, Korean sea salt wasn’t available, so we used
normal salt to salt cabbages. Be sure to use less (about 1/4 less than the
amount called for in the recipe) if using fine salt.
Kimchi seasonings
The taste of kimchi varies widely, depending on the quality, type and ratio of
the seasoning ingredients. Each Korean household has its own recipes, often
driven by the regional flavors of their hometown. I find myself making it
differently each time. 

In addition to gochugaru (고추가루, Korean red chili pepper flakes), garlic and
ginger, kimchi recipes typically call for various jeotgal (젓갈, salted seafood)
for the distinct pungency and depth of flavors and to aid the fermentation
process. Saeujeot (새우젓, salted shrimp) and myulchiaekjeot (멸치액젓, fish
sauce made with anchovies) are the most common ones.
Sometimes, I also use fresh shrimp which is my mother’s secret ingredient for
adding extra freshness to the kimchi flavor. If you can’t find saeujeot in your
area, consider using some raw shrimp instead.

If you want to make vegan kimchi, skip shrimps and swap fish sauce with soup
soy sauce (국간장). Or simply head over to my post on how to make vegan
kimchi. 

How to make kimchi


To help you start making kimchi at home, I came up with this recipe using one
napa cabbage. Start with one cabbage, and then move to 2 or 3 by doubling or
tripling the recipe. 

Making kimchi usually starts with salting the main vegetable. For this pogi
kimchi, you need to cut the whole cabbage in half lengthwise, and then into
quarters. If you’re using 2 small cabbages, cutting in half should be enough. 
You then need to thoroughly bathe each cabbage half/quarter in the salt water
one at a time. Using the other half cup of salt, generously sprinkle salt over the
thick white part of each leaf. This process makes sure the white parts get
evenly salted, 

Meanwhile, make a kimchi paste by mixing all the seasoning ingredients, and
then cut the radish into thin matchsticks and mix well with the paste. The rest
is easy, rub a little bit of the radish mix over each cabbage leaf, mainly the
white part. 

You might also like