Traditional Korean cabbage kimchi
4 servings
60 minutes
Traditional Korean cabbage kimchi is not just a dish but a symbol of Korean cuisine that carries centuries of history. The art of fermentation has allowed vegetables to be preserved for long winter months, turning them into a flavorful delight. Kimchi has a bright, spicy taste that awakens the appetite and pairs wonderfully with rice, meat, and even soups. Its spiciness and complexity come from the combination of garlic, ginger, fish sauce, and shrimp paste. Fermentation gives it a slight tang and rich depth. This Korean delicacy is not only delicious but also healthy—rich in probiotics and vitamins. Kimchi can be consumed right after preparation or left for several months to enhance its flavor. This dish is the soul of Korean cuisine that awakens the senses and warms the heart.
1
Wash the cabbage, make a cut from the base to the middle, and then tear it into two halves.
- Cabbage: 1 piece
2
Pour water into a large bowl and dissolve 150 grams of salt in it. Check if there's enough salt by placing a fresh egg in the water. It should float — if it sinks, add more salt.
- Water: 1 l
- Coarse salt: 6 tablespoons
3
Submerge the cabbage in brine so that water penetrates between the leaves. Then remove the cabbage from the brine.
4
Salt the cabbage with dry salt, placing it between the leaves at the base.
- Coarse salt: 6 tablespoons
5
Transfer the cabbage to a suitable container, pour in the brine, and leave for 5-8 hours.
6
To prepare the marinade, make a jelly from rice flour. Mix the flour with 50 ml of water, boil 200 ml of water, add the rice mixture to the boiling water and stir until a thick jelly forms. Cool the finished jelly and mix it with red pepper and fish sauce until smooth.
- Ground red pepper: 200 g
- Fish sauce: 250 ml
7
Add garlic and ginger paste, onion blended to a puree, shrimp paste, and mix.
- Garlic paste: 40 g
- Ginger paste: 20 g
- Onion: 40 g
- Shrimp paste: 20 g
8
Cut the daikon into strips, the leek into rings, and the green onion into pieces about 4 cm long. Add them to the marinade and mix well. Finally, add sugar and mix again.
- Daikon: 150 g
- Leek: 70 g
- Green onions: 30 g
- Sugar: 25 g
9
Spread the brine between the leaves of the salted cabbage, starting from the large outer leaves and moving towards the core.
- Cabbage: 1 piece
10
Kimchi can be eaten right away or saved for later. For this, the top leaf should be wrapped around the cabbage and folded in half, tucking the soft leaves under the base while trying to release all the air. Transfer to a container and store in the refrigerator or without it for up to 5 years.