How important is kimchi to Korean cuisine? Well, Koreans eat 1.5 million pounds of it every year, the Korean stock market’s “kimchi index” tracks the prices of kimchi ingredients and when Korea sent its first astronaut to the International Space Station, it sent kimchi along with him too—after spending millions researching and developing a recipe suitable for space.
If you’ve tasted kimchi, you understand why Koreans love it. If you haven’t, you’re in for a treat. Although recipes and ingredients vary wildly, this staple consists of fermented vegetables—cabbage and radish and possibly others, salt and spices—hot pepper, ginger, garlic—and fish sauce. Spicy, salty and sour, kimchi tastes delicious on its own and goes well on the side of savory dishes—both east and west. You can cook with it also but heat will kill off the beneficial microbes teeming in the jar.
Thanks to the microbes that ferment this, kimchi both thrills your taste buds and benefits your health:
- The process of fermentation predigests food, making it easier for us to digest. Think of fermentation as an exterior stomach (or not if that sounds gross).
- Fermented vegetables contain higher levels of B vitamins, such as thiamin, riboflavin and niacin. Because fermentation slows down vitamin C loss in foods, Captain James Cook stocked barrels of sauerkraut on his ships to stave off scurvy in his crew.
- Eating fermented food helps maintain a healthy gut. Good microbes improve your gut flora and boost your immunity. Your gut health is responsible for, well, everything, it turns out. Get your hands on the copy of the book The Good Gut by researchers Erica and Justin Sonnenburg for a fascinating read on the importance of gut health. You can read my review of the book here.
- Fermented foods like kimchi can increase your vitamin B-12 intake, a vitamin lacking in a vegetarian or vegan diet.
A simple version
When I posted a picture of my kimchi on Instagram earlier this week, someone commented that most of the recipes she had seen look very complicated. Many are. But I specialize in easy. The kimchi I make requires one more step than easy-to-make sauerkraut. And that step—soaking the vegetables in a brine for at least a couple of hours—gives you a little break. You finish your kimchi up when you get to it.
But I have to admit you will face one challenge, tracking down the gochugaru spice—a smoky blend of red pepper flakes. If you can’t find it, use MUCH LESS crushed red pepper—about one sixth as much as the recipe calls for. It won’t taste exactly the same but you’ll have the heat.
My simple, possibly heretical version also omits fermented fish sauce, a traditional kimchi ingredient. But I am feeding a strict vegetarian. And when I hand out samples in workshops, I’d rather just keep everything vegan for simplicity. So far, no one has said to me, “I can’t eat this. It contains no animal products.” If you want a fishy flavor without the fish sauce, try adding some dried kelp powder.
Simple Kimchi
Ingredients
- 1 two-pound Napa cabbage cut into 2-inch pieces
- 1 daikon radish peeled and cut into 2-inch matchsticks about 1/8-inch thick
- 4 green onions cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1/4 cup salt
- Water to cover vegetables
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- 1 inch piece of ginger peeled and minced or grated
- 1/4 cup gochugaru or 2 teaspoons crushed red pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried kelp granules optional but recommended
Instructions
- In a large bowl, toss the vegetables. Sprinkle on the salt and combine everything with your hands. Pour water over the vegetables until almost covered. Place a plate over the vegetables and place a weight on the plate (I use a jug filled with water). If the vegetables and not completely submerged in water, add more. Cover the bowl with a towel and let the vegetables sit for a couple of hours or overnight to allow them to soften. (I started this batch at night, was tired and went to bed and continued the recipe in the morning.)
- In a separate bowl, combine the garlic, ginger, gochugaru and kelp powder if using.
- Drain the salt water brine and reserve it. Taste the vegetables. If they taste too salty, rinse them. If they don’t taste salty enough, sprinkle on more salt, mix and taste. Add more salt if necessary.
- Sprinkle the spice mixture onto the vegetables and mix together until combined.
- Pack the vegetables into a clean quart-size jar. I use my bare hands for this but, depending on the spices and how much you put in, you may want to use a large wooden spoon, pestle or, if you have one, a wooden pounder.
- To ensure the vegetables remain submerged in liquid—they will not ferment properly if exposed to the air—weigh them down. I do this by placing a small jar within the quart jar and closing the lid. The small jar will push down the vegetables in the larger jar, submerging them in liquid. If you need to add more liquid, pour some of the reserved brine over the vegetables.
- Place the jar on a plate on the counter to catch liquid that will soon begin to bubble and escape from the jar. Taste daily. Depending on your kitchen, your kimchi will be ready in about three days. Kimchi tastes best when young, unlike sauerkraut, which can ferment for many weeks or even months.
- Refrigerate and eat your kimchi within a couple of weeks.
This looks great, thank you for making it without the fish!
That’s really lucky that you have access to korean pepper powder in bulk, did you have to request your co-op start carrying it or did they already do so?
You’re welcome. Thanks for checking it out. No kidding it’s lucky! I didn’t request the spice, the co-op just had it. It has just about everything. I love the place. Enjoy!
Hi, what a great blog. Just wondering if and how you cover the jar when leaving it to ferment? Thank you
Thanks Chan 🙂 Yes, I cover the jar but you don’t have to. I prefer to. I put a small jar inside the large jar and when I close the large jar, that pushes the vegetables down and the liquid up, submerging everything so it can ferment properly. You can use an open crock or open jars if you have sufficient weights to push down the vegetables. Also, cover open jars with a thin cloth to prevent stuff from falling in. I hope that helps. ~ Anne Marie
Got it, thanks for that. I hope to try this kimchi soon.
At the Korean market where I have been buying kimchi for years, they always tell me I should make my own because it’s better. But all the recipes I’ve seen sound too complicated, and I didn’t want fish sauce with MSG in it. Your recipe is just what I’ve been looking for. I made my first batch ever and it came out great.
I’m in a CSA and have a lot of napa cabbage so I’ve been thinking I should try making kimchi. We also have a lot of shunkyo radishesv(I think they are basically a regular radish that is oblong instead of round) – do you think that’s okay to sub for the daikon radish? Or should I perhaps do a mix?
Hi Carrie,
:O I’m so jealous. I’ve had trouble lately finding napa cabbage. Yes, make kimchi! I think those radishes might be stronger than daikon but I’m not sure. I might go easy on them. Or maybe a mix like you suggested. You could buy a daikon and do a taste test. Enjoy! ~ Anne Marie
Followed the recipe ta a T but mine is incredibly salty!!! It’s been three days.. . Is this normal??
Thanks!
Hi Amanda.
Oh no! It is pretty salty but it shoudn’t taste overly salty. You can try adding water to it to dilute the salt. Or you could rinse off some of it, but then you’ll also rinse away some of the delicious spices. Did you taste it after you drained off the brine and if so, was the saltiness okay then? ~ Anne Marie
This looks great! If I were to use fish sauce how much would suffice. Never made kimchi before and I think this is going to be my first!
Hi ! You inspired me so much from your Instagram account that I decided it was time for me to try out fermentation and I went for it ! I have a question. I don’t have small jars to submerge but I pressed down as much as I could and closed the jars with screw leads. Some of the lighter bits from the spice mix float on the surface but I can’t add more brine. Is it OK or will that be a problem ? Thank you !
Where does the liquid in step 6 come from? Do you put the reserved brine back on it, or put some other liquid on it and add the reserved brine if you need more?
How long will the kimchi last after it is done fermenting? If eaten after a few weeks, will it make you sick? How does this compare with the lifespan of store bought kimchi?
Hi Casey,
Fermented foods last for months in the refrigerator (or cold cellar), even a year or longer. I made my last batch of kimchi a couple of months ago and have been eating it. It’s fine. I don’t put fish sauce in mine and wonder if that would affect it’s lifespan…I will have to look that up…the fish sauce is fermented so I would think it would be fine for months also…). The store-bought stuff will also last a long time if it’s truly fermented. If you buy it from the shelf (not the refrigerator section), it’s not fermented but pasteurized. Fermented foods aren’t shelf-stable like canned food. They eventually rot, but not for a long time. I don’t put fish sauce into my kimchi.
~ Anne Marie
Can dried seaweed work as a substitute for the kelp granules?
Hi Sofia,
Yes, that should work well. Enjoy!
~ Anne Marie
[…] ist eines der Rezepte, die ich verwendet habe. “Simple Kimchi” beim Zero Waste Chef. Obwohl ich echt müde war gestern nach der Arbeit, habe ich mich zusammengerissen, denn der Kohl […]
[…] Hier findet ihr das Kimchi Rezept vom Zero Waste Chef, das ich verwendet habe, und das ist das Blog von Miss Boulette, die eine Expertin für verschiedenste Kimchis ist und wo ihr dann die richtig authentischen Rezepte finden könnt, FAQ’s, und viel Know How aussen rum. […]
[…] away from making kimchi, but I hadn’t made it in at least 20 years when a friend sent me this kimchi recipe. It’s made with Napa cabbage, daikon radish, spring onion, ginger, and garlic. Plus, […]
Thanks for an awesome recipe!! Do you know why you have to do the Salt brine first and then rinse it off? How come you can’t just mix all the ingredients and spices together right off the bat?
I have a question – I followed a different recipe and didn’t put anything to weigh down the vegetables. Now day 2 I see that a few of them aren’t covered in liquid. Is that okay or do you think I should put more liquid in?
😀 So happy that doesn’t contain fish! Been on search for kimchi recipe that doesn’t contain fish sauce. Thanks to Mariska Nell of Mama earth talk podcast! I heard your interview with her 3 weeks ago, went to check your IG and blog site right away! 😀
Your recipe sounds so easy to follow! I made kimchi about a month ago following a different recipe which said I should refrigerate the jar after making the kimchi rather than living it on the counter …. one month later, no bubbles, no fermentation. Would it be ok to take it out of the fridge and leave it on the counter for three days now until it starts bubbling? Then refrigerate.
Hi Roxy,
I once tried making it in the refrigerator. I had to leave town right after a kimchi class so I put it in the refrigerator as a test and it didn’t ferment. Does the kimchi still taste okay? If it tastes fine, I would take at least some out and see what happens. Then if it ferments, move it back into the refrigerator after a few days.
~Anne-Marie
Hello! Just wanted to let you know that I tried your kimchi recipe and it turned out beautifully! I’m an old hand at what is now called zero-waste living, but I had never tried fermenting anything before. I’d also never tasted kimchi before, but I’d bought a daikon radish from the farmers market and decided to go for it. Your directions were easy to follow, the process was super easy and fun (I enjoyed staring at the jar to see if there was any new activity, lol), and the results are delicious. And I have a highly amusing story to tell to illustrate the wisdom of wrapping a towel around your jar before venting it. 🙂 I took my kimchi to a family gathering, where it got the seal of approval from several food snobs.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge online and in book form (I bought mine from my local indie book store). I’m already planning my next fermentation adventure.