For this online kimchi class, you’ll need only basic kitchen tools and minimal ingredients.
Tools
- Cutting board
- Large knife
- Spoon for peeling ginger (if you peel your ginger)
- Measuring cups
- Large bowl for the prepped vegetables
- Small bowl for the spice mix
- Large spoon to mix the vegetables
- Plate that can fit inside the top of the large bowl, once filled
- A weight such as a jug filled with water to set on the plate, inside the large bowl
- If you have one, a wooden pounder for packing the vegetables into the jar. I don’t have one of these. I use a small clean bottle that fits into my wide-mouth jars. A large pestle also works.
- A few wide-mouth jars of various sizes. One quart is a good size; one pint might come in handy.
- Small jars to fit inside your big jars. I use small glass yogurt jars for this. Don’t worry too much if you can’t find these. If you want to splurge, you can also buy fermentation weights from Cultures for Health. I have never used these because they are expensive and I don’t have room in my kitchen for more gadgets. But they sure look nice! The standard size will do.
Ingredients
- 1 (2-pound) Napa cabbage
- 1 (1-pound) daikon radish
- 4 scallions
- 1-inch piece of ginger
- 6 cloves garlic
- salt
- ¼ cup gochugaru
- 1 teaspoon dried kelp granules (optional)
Notes on ingredients
- I prefer Napa cabbage (a type of Chinese cabbage) for kimchi but you can also use Savoy cabbage or even plain cabbage in a pinch.
- Daikon radishes are long, thick and white. If yours have the leafy green tops attached, ferment those too.
- Gochugaru spice is a type of chili powder used in kimchi and many other Korean dishes. If you can’t find gochugaru in a grocery store or Asian market near you, you can buy it online. This is a must-have for really good kimchi.
- Don’t worry too much about the dried kelp granules. A bit of crushed nori also works. I often forget to add the kelp granules and the kimchi still tastes delicious.
