Traditional napa cabbage kimchi (Tongbaechu-kimchi: 통배추김치)

Directions

  1. 1Prepare and salt the cabbage: Trim off the cabbage cores if they stick out too much. Split the cabbage in half, then cut a slit through the core of each half. Dunk the halves in water, sprinkle salt between the leaves, and let them rest for 2 hours, turning every 30 minutes. Wash the cabbage halves a few times under cold running water, split them into quarters, cut off the cores, rinse, and drain.
  2. 2While the cabbage is salting, make the porridge: Combine water and sweet rice flour in a pot, cook over medium heat for 10 minutes until it bubbles. Add sugar and cook 1 more minute, stirring. Remove from heat and let cool completely.
  3. 3Pour cooled porridge into a large mixing bowl. Add garlic, ginger, onion, fish sauce, fermented salted shrimp, and hot pepper flakes. Mix well. Add radish, carrot, green onion, chives, and water dropwort, and mix well.
  4. 4Make kimchi: Spread kimchi paste on each cabbage leaf, wrap it into a small packet, and put it into a jar, plastic container, or onggi.
  5. 5Eat right away or let it sit for a few days to ferment. Once fermented, store in the refrigerator

Ingredients

  • 6 pounds napa cabbage
  • 0.5 cup Kosher salt
  • 2 cups water
  • 2 tablespoons sweet rice flour
  • 2 tablespoons Turbinado sugar
  • 2 cups Korean radish matchsticks
  • 1 cup carrot matchsticks
  • 7 green onions (scallions), chopped
  • 1 cup chopped Asian chives (buchu), optional
  • 1 cup water dropwort (minari), optional
  • 0.5 cup garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 teaspoon ginger, minced
  • 1 onion, minced
  • 0.5 cup fish sauce
  • 0.25 cup fermented salted shrimp (saeujeot) with the salty brine, chopped
  • 2 cups red pepper flakes (gochugaru)

Equipment

knifecutting boardlarge basinwooden spoonsmall potlarge mixing bowljarplastic containeronggi