A few months ago in Gijon, Spain, I enjoyed a morning class on fermentation delivered by a friend of mine who runs a fermented foods store.

Roughly ten of us gathered together and put on kitchen aprons to cut vegetables and prepare ingredients to make a few different fermented items, including Kimchi! To make a napa cabbage kimchi recipe, we started with basic cabbage, and sliced it up into bite-sized chunks:

From start to finish, this process takes a little bit of time, although it’s much easier than you might imagine. If you want to make a small jar, go ahead! You can also make a giant 5-gallon bucket’s worth!

I’ve seen some really old batches of kimchi that are several years old and still taste incredible. Generally for me, I’ll ferment the kimchi for about a week before storing it in the fridge.

Ingredients

• 1 kg of Napa cabbage (about 2 heads of cabbage)

• 5 green onions, finely sliced

• 1 leek, finely chopped

• 1 onion, minced

• 3 Tbsp minced garlic

• 2 Tbsp minced ginger

• 2 carrots, julienned or grated

• ½ cup sea salt or Kosher salt, divided

• ¼ cup fish sauce (or soy sauce to make it vegan)

• ¼ cup Korean chili flakes gochugaru (see notes below)

• 3 tsp sugar

• Optional: 1 ½ tsp. salted shrimp paste (for a more authentic flavor)

• Chlorine-free water as needed (I use filtered water)

Instructions

Before diving in, assemble your ingredients and equipment.

Step 1: Prepare the cabbage.

Remove the discolored outer leaves of the Napa cabbage, then cut it lengthwise into quarters. Remove the cores and ends.

Chop the cabbage into large bite-sized pieces (about 2 inches in length). The leafy pieces can stay large, since they will shrink during the salting process.

Put the cut cabbage into a large basin and cover it with cold water. Let it soak for 10 minutes, then drain and transfer back to the basin.

Split the cabbage into two, sprinkle salt on the first half, then add the rest of the cabbage and sprinkle on the remaining salt. Use your hands to massage the salt gently into each piece. 

Come back every 30 minutes to mix the cabbage. After 2 hours, the cabbage is ready. You’ll notice it releases a lot of liquid—that’s good. 

Rinse the cabbage 3 times and transfer back to the large basin. Taste it and make sure it’s not too salty. If it is too salty, rinse another time.

Step 2: Make kimchi seasoning paste

In a separate bowl, add fish sauce or soy sauce, minced garlic, ginger, onion, and Korean chili flakes to taste (4 to 8 tablespoons).

Add the chopped green onions, leeks, and carrots. Stir to combine.

Step 3: Mix the cabbage with the seasoning paste

Add the kimchi paste to the large basin of salted cabbage. Put on your gloves and use your hands to mix it in.

Place the kimchi into an airtight sealed plastic container or glass jar, press it down with your hands to remove any air bubbles, cover it with a weight, and close the container or jar.

Ferment kimchi at 12-18°C C (55-65 F), in a cool dark place, away from direct sunlight. Let it ferment for 3-6 days. Check it each day to keep an eye on the process, and to let it burp.

Once it’s to your liking, pop it in the fridge to slow the fermentation process. Kimchi lasts in the fridge for 3-6 months (or more).

Tips and Tricks

When massaging the salt into the cabbage, treat the cabbage gently so as to not bruise it.

Make sure the kimchi is submerged to avoid oxygen getting to it and possibly causing mold growth. That’s why the weight is so important.

Use chlorine-free water and iodine-free salt to ferment vegetables. Both chlorine and iodine can hinder the fermentation process.

I find that the ideal temperature for fermenting kimchi is 13-18 C (55-65 F), but it’s okay if your room temperature is a bit higher. The warmer the room, the faster the fermentation process, so your kimchi could be done in 1-2 days instead of 3-6.

Add Korean chili flakes to taste. You can even omit them entirely if you’re not into spicy foods. For this recipe, 4 tablespoons results in mildly spicy kimchi, while 8 or more tablespoons makes it super spicy.

These chili flakes are generally ground-up a bit, resulting in a finer consistency compared to whole red pepper flakes. They add wonderful flavor and heat to your kimchi.

Have you made kimchi at home? Why not try it out? If you do, please reach out and let me know how it goes!

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