# Traditional napa cabbage kimchi (Tongbaechu-kimchi: 통배추김치)

My classic, spicy, traditional whole leaf napa cabbage kimchi recipe that I've been using for years and years. Spicy, fermented, and delicious.

- Servings: 8 servings
- Total time: 170 min
- Cuisine: Korean
- Category: Sauce & Condiment
- Language: en

## 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)

## Instructions

1. Prepare 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. While 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. Pour 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. Make 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. Eat right away or let it sit for a few days to ferment. Once fermented, store in the refrigerator

## Equipment

- knife
- cutting board
- large basin
- wooden spoon
- small pot
- large mixing bowl
- jar
- plastic container
- onggi

## Source

- Original video: https://www.maangchi.com/recipe/tongbaechu-kimchi
- Recipe page: https://www.cliprecipe.com/recipe/13671ba6-4838-4633-8546-db268d4d3846
- Extracted: 2025-03-04

Extracted from the video by Clip Recipe (https://www.cliprecipe.com). Quantities and steps are as stated or shown in the video. Site guide for agents: https://www.cliprecipe.com/llms.txt