Easy Kimchi

Kimchi Jar

Kimchi is a traditional Korean dish made with salted fermented vegetables. The fermentation process gives kimchi its sour, salty and umami flavours as well as a sharp acidity. By itself, Kimchi is the star of the show, or you can added to soups and hotpots or chopped to be stirred through brown rice on a stir fry.

Ingredients:

  • 1 Nappa cabbage about 500 g

  • 1 big onion or 2 small ones peeled

  • 6 garlic cloves peeled

  • 100g ginger

  • 1 apple cored

  • 3 fresh chillies

  • 1 Tbsp of Korean chilli powder

  • 2 Tbsp of white miso

  • 10g of salt

Instructions

Step 1 – Gently wash the cabbage and separate its leaves. Keep the small leaves whole and cut the big ones. In a bowl, sprinkle the cabbage with the salt. Leave for at least 1 hour. After about 30 minutes, shake the bowl to mix the salt and make sure it is in contact with all of the cabbage.

Step 2 – Cut the ginger, garlic, onions, chillies and apple in small pieces. Blend with an immersive blender or in a food processor to make a paste. Spread the spice paste over the cabbage and massage it into all the nooks of the leaves.

Kimchi Jar

Step 3 – Transfer to your sterilised jar pushing the leaves down so that the brine/paste covers the leaves completely, with no air holes. Cover with a thin layer of cling film or baking paper to exclude all air. Screw on lid. Let it ferment at room temperature stirring every 2 days for the first week.

About the Ingredients

Glass Jar: Make sure your glass jar is sterilised. I boil my jars and lids 1 hour before I use them and let them cool down at room temperature. It is very important that your containers, hands and everything that touches your beautiful ingredients are very clean and sterilised. We just want to attract the good bacteria.

Nappa Cabbage: You can use a different cabbage or you can add other vegetables like carrots, radish, spring onions etc.

Process: When transferring the cabbage to the jar, do it in layers pressing as you go. Make sure the brine covers the leaves completely, no air holes. Cover with a thin layer of cling film or baking paper to excluded any air. Leave some space in the jar, it will expand and burp with the fermentation process. Stir every other day for the first week. It should be ready in 7-14 days, in the summer will ferment much faster and be ready in 7 days, depending on where you live and in the winter in can take up to 14 days.

Kimchi: In addition to being delicious, kimchi is a healthy food with many benefits. Kimchi contains fibre, vitamins (B, C, beta carotene, etc.), and many other nutrients. Thanks to the fermentation, kimchi is a living food! It is filled with good lactic acid bacteria (probiotics). Moreover, fermentation reduces the carbohydrates found in vegetables, making kimchi low in sugar and calories.

Easy Kimchi

Marisa Marques
Kimchi is a traditional Korean dish made with salted fermented vegetables. The fermentation process gives kimchi its sour, salty and umami flavours as well as a sharp acidity. By itself, Kimchi is the star of the show, or you can added to soups and hotpots or chopped to be stirred through brown rice on a stir fry.
Prep Time 30 minutes
Fermentation 8 days
Total Time 8 days 30 minutes
Course Side Dish, Snack
Cuisine Asian
Servings 600 ml
Calories 48 kcal

Equipment

  • 1 600ml Jar sterilised
  • 1 blender

Ingredients
  

  • 1 Nappa cabbage about 500 g
  • 1 big onion or 2 small ones peeled
  • 6 garlic cloves peeled
  • 100 g ginger
  • 1 apple cored
  • 3 fresh chillies
  • 1 Tbsp of Korean chilli powder
  • 2 Tbsp of white miso
  • 10 g of salt

Instructions
 

  • Gently wash the cabbage and separate its leaves. Keep the small leaves whole and cut the big ones. In a bowl, sprinkle the cabbage with the salt. Leave for at least 1 hour. After about 30 minutes, shake the bowl to mix the salt and make sure it is in contact with all of the cabbage.
  • Cut the ginger, garlic, onions, chillies and apple in small pieces. Blend with an immersive blender or in a food processor to make a paste. Spread the spice paste over the cabbage and massage it into all the nooks of the leaves.
  • Transfer to your sterilised jar pushing the leaves down so that the brine/paste covers the leaves completely, with no air holes. Cover with a thin layer of cling film or baking paper to exclude all air. Screw on lid. Let it ferment at room temperature stirring every 2 days for the first week.

Notes

Make sure your glass jar is sterilised. I boil my jars and lids 1 hour before I use them and let them cool down at room temperature. It is very important that your containers, hands and everything that touches your beautiful ingredients are very clean and sterilised. We just want to attract the good bacteria.

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