Kimchi: Korean cabbage that ferments on your counter
Kimchi is not a chilli salad but a living fermented preserve, in which lactic acid bacteria do exactly what they do in sauerkraut — only faster, and in the company of garlic, ginger and chilli. Two stages are non-negotiable: three hours of salting, which draws out water and softens the leaves, and a rice flour paste, which glues the seasoning to the cabbage and gives the bacteria something to feed on at the start.
Your own work in that: 1 h 10 min.
- Salting 180 min
- Rinsing and paste 35 min
- Rubbing and packing 35 min
- A day on the counter 1440 min
Step by step
0 / 6 doneSalt the cabbage for three hours
Cut the cabbage lengthwise into quarters and work salt in between the leaves, especially at the thick bases. Pack into a large bowl, cover with water and weigh down with a plate. Leave 3 hours, turning hourly. The leaves should go limp enough to bend without snapping. Meanwhile cook the rice paste (step 3) so it has time to cool.
Ingredients: 2000 g Chinese cabbage · 120 g coarse non-iodised salt · 1000 ml water
TipTraditionally <b>coarse non-iodised salt</b> is used. Fine table salt with anti-caking agents can cloud the brine and dull the flavour, and its fine grain makes it easy to overdo.
Salt between the leaves, three hours under a plateRinse and drain
Rinse the cabbage three times in cold water to wash off excess salt. Squeeze it and leave in a colander 30 minutes. Too salty and fermentation is held back; too well rinsed and it spoils more easily — taste a leaf: it should be clearly salty but pleasant, like well-seasoned soup.
Three rinses and half an hour drainingCook the rice paste
Ideally while the cabbage is still salting: whisk the flour into cold water and bring to the boil, stirring (about 5 minutes), then cook 3 minutes until thick and translucent. Stir in the sugar and cool completely. The paste does two jobs: it glues the seasoning to the leaves and gives the bacteria sugars to start on.
Ingredients: 2 tbsp rice flour · 250 ml water · 1 tbsp sugar · 80 g gochugaru chilli flakes · 10 cloves garlic · 30 g fresh ginger · 4 tbsp fish sauce · 1 pcs apple
TipHot paste poured onto chilli and garlic would kill some of the bacteria living on the vegetables and scald the garlic. It must be lukewarm or cold, without exception.
Thick, translucent, completely cooledMake the chilli paste
To the cooled paste add the gochugaru, crushed garlic, grated ginger, fish sauce and grated apple. Mix into a smooth, thick, vivid red paste. Leave 10 minutes for the chilli to swell and release its colour.
Vivid red paste, ten minutes to bloomRub the paste between the leaves
Cut the carrot and spring onions into thin strips and stir them into the paste. Wearing gloves, rub the paste onto every leaf individually, from the base upwards. It takes 15–20 minutes and is the most important step: paste spread unevenly gives kimchi that is bland in one place and over-seasoned in another.
Ingredients: 1 pcs carrot · 6 pcs spring onions
TipThe gloves are not fussiness. Capsaicin clings to skin for hours and transfers to your eyes at the slightest carelessness.
Every leaf separately, from the base upPack tightly and ferment
Pack into jars very tightly, pressing with your fist until the brine rises above the vegetables. Leave 3 cm of headspace. Close and keep at room temperature 1–2 days, until bubbles appear and it smells sour, then move to the fridge.
TipStand the jar on a plate. Fermentation makes carbon dioxide and brine can push out past the lid. Loosen the lid once a day to release the gas.
Packed until the brine covers the vegetables
Before you start
Without fish sauce
For a vegan version, 3 tablespoons of soy sauce plus a spoon of miso in place of the fish sauce. Fermentation proceeds in much the same way; the flavour is less marine but equally deep.
What gochugaru is
Korean chilli flakes, coarsely ground, vividly red and moderately hot. Don't substitute ordinary chilli flakes or cayenne: they are usually much hotter and taste different, so at 80 g the kimchi would come out far too hot.
How long it keeps
Several months in the fridge, sourer every week. Young kimchi is crisp and fresh; after a month it is markedly sour — and only then is it at its best for cooking.
What to make with it
Kimchi jjigae (a stew with tofu), kimchi fried rice, kimchijeon pancakes, or in a cheese sandwich. The older the kimchi, the better it is in hot dishes.