Homemade Cabbage Kimchi
- PREP 2hrs 30min
- TOTAL 2hrs 30min
Our kimchi recipe is beginner friendly. It’s straightforward and can be adjusted to your preferred spice level, depending on how much gochugaru (red chili powder) you use. While some recipes leave the cabbage in wedges, we chop ours into bite-size pieces. This simplifies things and saves a bit of time during the salt brine. We typically make cabbage-only kimchi and don’t add other vegetables (except garlic, ginger, and green onion), but feel free to add shredded Korean radish, daikon, or carrots.
You Will Need
Kimchi Ingredients
1 napa cabbage, about 3 pounds
2 ½ tablespoons (42 grams) fine sea salt
12 green onions
2 tablespoons rice thickener, recipe below
5 tablespoons (45 grams) gochugaru, Korean red chili pepper powder
8 cloves garlic, finely grated
One 2-inch knob fresh ginger, finely grated
2 tablespoons fish sauce
4 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons water
Rice thickener
1 tablespoon sweet rice flour
1/2 cup cold water
Directions
Prepare the cabbage. Cut the cabbage in half, lengthwise, and remove the core. Cut the halves into small wedges, then slice crossways to cut the cabbage into 1 ½-inch pieces.
Prepare green onions. Trim and discard the root ends and slice the green onions in half, lengthwise. Cut onion halves crosswise into 2-inch pieces.
Place the cabbage and green onion in a large bowl (use two bowls if needed). Sprinkle the salt and toss well to combine. Cover with a clean dish towel, and let sit at room temperature until the cabbage is noticeably wilted, 1 to 2 hours. After 30 minutes, toss the cabbage to redistribute the salt.
Meanwhile, make the rice thickener. Combine 1 tablespoon of rice flour and 1/2 cup of water in a small saucepan. Heat over medium heat and cook, constantly stirring, until the mixture is a thick paste. Remove from the heat and allow it to cool.
Make the chili paste. Combine the gochugaru, garlic, ginger, fish sauce, sugar, and water in a medium bowl. Add 2 tablespoons of the cooled rice thickener. Stir until well blended. Store in the fridge until the cabbage is ready.
When the cabbage is wilted, rinse it well under cold water (I rinse 2 to 3 times). Then, set the cabbage aside to drain for 20 to 30 minutes (or use a salad spinner to remove most of the water).
Massage the chili and spice paste into the drained cabbage. Consider using gloves for this step. Continue to massage the paste into the cabbage until all of the cabbage is thoroughly coated.
Pack the kimchi into a 1-quart jar (if you have extra, use a second jar or a smaller 16-ounce jar). Carefully press down on the kimchi until the liquid (brine) covers the cabbage. If your jar is full, leave at least 1 inch of space between the kimchi and the lid. If you have one, place a fermentation weight on top and seal the jar.
Place the kimchi into the refrigerator to ferment. After a day, check on the kimchi and “burp” it using a clean spoon to press down on the tightly packed cabbage to push out any trapped air bubbles.
You can enjoy kimchi at any point, but it will take on funky, sour notes after a week or two. As it ferments, you might see bubbles forming, and brine might seep out of the jar, so consider placing the jar inside a small bowl to catch anything.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Vegetarian or Vegan kimchi: Leave out the fish sauce and add 1 to 2 tablespoons of white or red miso paste to the chili powder mixture before massaging it into the cabbage.
- Salt: Use iodine-free salt. Iodine can prevent proper fermentation.
- Gochugaru: Korean red chili powder or flakes add heat, flavor, and vibrant red color to kimchi. We used Mother In Law’s Gochugaru in our photos since it is commonly available in local grocery stores. You can also find Gochugaru sold in International/Korean markets. If you have the choice between hot or mild, choose mild since you can add more and make your kimchi more vibrant without making it too spicy (tip from Maangchi).
- Spicy kimchi: Increase the gochugaru in the recipe or use gochugaru that’s labeled medium or hot to make your batch. You can taste the chili paste as you are making it to see if it is spicy.
- Nutrition facts: The nutrition facts provided below are estimates. We have used the USDA database to calculate approximate values. Note that sodium is difficult to determine with this recipe.
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