Kimchi (Napa Cabbage Kimchi) | Two Plaid Aprons (2024)

Kimchi or more specifically, napa cabbage kimchi (baechu kimchi - 배추김치), is one of the most popular and classic kimchi loved and enjoyed all over the world! This kimchi recipe is traditional and authentic, made with quartered napa cabbage, which means the process is a bit more labor intensive. However, this process allows for longer storage and longer fermentation compared to geotjeori (fresh kimchi), which is meant to be enjoyed quickly and has a much shorter storage time. You can also try our quick cucumber kimchi for a cucumber alternative that takes only 20 minutes.

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What is kimchi?

When we think of kimchi, most of us instinctively think of the classic napa cabbage kimchi that's fermented and often served at Korean BBQ restaurants as part of their complimentary side dishes (banchan) or the cabbage used in budae jjigae (Korean army stew).

But kimchi, or kimchee, literally translates to pickled vegetables. So technically any vegetable can be made into kimchi, like kkadugi (cubed radish kimchi) and our quick cucumber kimchi!

For any kimchi, the vegetables are first salted to kill any harmful bacteria and to remove excess water content so that the vegetables can be preserved. After salting, the vegetables are rinsed to remove the extra salt and finally slathered in the iconic, red, spicy marinade marinade. Often times, a mixture of carrots, Korean radish, and buchi (Asian chives) are added to the marinade to add flavor and to bulk up the kimchi.

How to eat kimchi and what to do with it

To clear any confusion, kimchi can be enjoyed immediately after it is made or enjoyed after it's been sitting and fermented. Both stages have their pros and cons and are more suitable for different applications and can be up to your personal preference.

Freshly made kimchi is often enjoyed as a side dish but it's almost a tradition to eat it with boiled pork as a wrap (bossam). At this stage, the kimchi tastes vibrant, spicy, and a balance between salty and refreshingly sweet.

After the kimchi is fermented, it becomes funkier, still spicy, and tangy. It'll become more sour the longer it's fermented. At this stage, there's so much you can do with kimchi! Here are some of our favorites:

• Kimchijeon (savory kimchi pancakes)
• Kimchi mac and cheese
• Kimchi jjigae (kimchi stew)

• 10 minute kimchi chili oil ramen (ADDICTIVE!)
• Kimchi spam fried rice
• Creamy kimchi pasta (a great weekday meal!)

Ingredients and substitutions

Please scroll down to the recipe card for the ingredient quantities!

For the bulk of the kimchi:

• Napa cabbage - The main star of this classic kimchi! Napa cabbage is usually available at most Asian markets and even at local grocery stories. But the price is definitely better at Asian markets.
• Salt - We highly recommend using Kosher salt or any coarse salts. Coarser salts are easier to control when salting.
• Carrot and Korean radish - Both add flavor, mild sweetness, and extra texture. For the Korean radish, it can be found at most Asian markets. These radishes are the thicker ones with white and green skin. If you can't find Korean radish, daikon radish is a good substitute or you can simply omit it.
• Buchu - Also known as Asian chives. They really bring the FUNK to kimchi. Asian markets usually sell it in a large bunch, so if you have any leftovers, use it for pork and chive dumplings (they're really tasty!). If you cannot find any buchu, feel free to use green onions instead.

For the kimchi marinade:

• Rice flour and water - These two ingredients are cooked into paste that makes the marinade stickier so that the marinade can adhere to the napa cabbage. You can use either regular rice flour (red bag) or glutinous rice flour (green bag).
• Gochugaru - Also known as Korean red pepper flakes. Make sure to get the coarse gochugaru. The fine version is too fine for kimchi. Also, some Korean markets offer different varieties of gochugaru that differ in spice level. You can choose the one that you prefer.
• Yellow onion, garlic, ginger - These are the base flavors of the marinade. They also add spiciness to the kimchi.
• Apple or Korean pear - Either fruit is good fine. They serve as a natural sweetener and provide some extra liquid for the marinade. If using apple, we recommend juicy apples, like Fuji.
• Fish sauce or saeujeot- The purpose of both ingredients is to add funk and saltiness to the marinade. In Korean households, saeujeot (fermented salty shrimps) is the more preferred option, but saeujeot has gone up in price and can be quite expensive. So a good fish sauce is a great substitute.

How to pick the best napa cabbage and Korean radish

The cold season, mid fall and winter, is when napa cabbage and radishes start to come into season. Hence, why homemade napa cabbage kimchi is often made during fall.

When picking napa cabbage, look for ones that feel heavy for their size and have a fresh looking core on the bottom. The weight indicates how full the cabbage is, which usually also means it's got good water content and probably sweeter. Also, if you can find ones with yellow leaves instead of dark green leaves, it means the napa cabbage is younger and more tender. Green leaves are fine too. The leaves may just be a little heartier and nothing is wrong with that!

As for Korean radishes, and radishes in general, look for ones that feel heavy. Just like the napa cabbage, heavy radishes mean they have good water content and not dried out. This is especially noticeable with daikon radish. Light weight ones are usually quite fiber-y. Lastly, look for Korean radishes that have more green than white. That usually means the radish is sweeter.

How to make authentic kimchi

Clean and cut the napa cabbage:

1. Peel away and discard any undesirable outer layer leaves of the napa cabbage.

2. With the napa cabbage laying on its side, quarter the cabbage long ways. You can also just cut the stem area of the cabbage and rip the rest of the cabbage open with your hand. Repeat with remaining napa cabbage.

3. Trim away excess part of the cabbage core but not too much so that the leaves can stay intact. Then, rinse between each leaf to remove dirt or grim. Make sure to pay extra attention to the outer few leaves. Drain the cabbages as best as you can.

Salt the napa cabbage:

4. In a clean, sanitized area (like a large bowl in a clean sink), salt each quarter of napa cabbage by sprinkling salt between each and every layer and from the root to the tip of each leaf. Make sure to salt more generously around the stems. Repeat with all cabbages.

5. Once all of the cabbages are salted, arrange and stack them in a large bowl. Cover and weigh down the cabbages with something heavy and let them salt for 1½ to 2 hours. Rotate the cabbages every 30 to 60 minutes, moving the ones on the top to the bottom.

6. To check if the napa cabbage is done salting, rip off a small leaf of cabbage and rinse it well with fresh water. Taste the cabbage. The cabbage will be very bendable and should taste well seasoned at the stem, while the leaf should be a littler saltier but not unbearable. If the cabbage does not taste salted enough, continue with the salting process for another 30 minutes to 1 hour, until the desired saltiness is achieved.

Make the kimchi marinade:

7. While the napa cabbages are salting, make the marinade. First, make the rice flour paste by whisking together the rice flour and water until well combined. Transfer the mixture to a pan or saucepan and cook over medium to medium high heat, stirring occasionally. Once the paste starts to thicken, stir constantly until the a thick, bubbly, slightly translucent paste forms. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and let cool.

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8. In a blender, add the apple or pear, onion, garlic cloves, ginger, and saeujeot or fish sauce. Blend everything together until the mixture is well blended. Add half of the gochugaru to the mix and blend until well combined and as smooth as possible.Scrap down the sides as needed.

9. Transfer the mixture to the bowl with the cooled rice flour paste, along with the rest of the gochugaru, Korean radish, carrot, and Asian chives. Mix until evenly combined. Set aside until needed

Rinse the napa cabbage:

10. Once the napa cabbages are done salting, rinse the them with fresh water to remove excess salt. Make sure to get between each leaf.

🌟 Pro tip: We like to rinse our napa cabbage in a large bowl of water and repeating the process about 2 to 3 times with fresh water. We recommend tasting the cabbage after the final rinse to see if the cabbage require an additional round or two of rinsing.

11. After the final rinse, gently but firmly squeeze each quarter of napa cabbage to remove most of the excess water, especially the leafy parts. But don’t squeeze too hard or the stems may get bruised and damaged. Removing the excess water helps to prevent the marinade from becoming diluted and watery.

Marinate the napa cabbage:

12. Working with gloved hands and one quarter of napa cabbage at one time, place the cabbage in the bowl of prepared kimchi marinade. Take some marinade and rub it on each leaf. Make sure to also leave some of the julienned veggies in between each layer too!

13. Once the entire quarter of cabbage has been rubbed down with marinade, fold the cabbage over itself to keep it tight. Repeat with remaining cabbage.

14. Pack the kimchi into sterilized glass jars or BPA free plastic kimchi containers. Make sure to pack the cabbage tightly into the container, but leave at least 1 inch of space between the top of the kimchi and the lid. As the kimchi ferments, it will release juices and produce gas. The extra room will help prevent the kimchi from popping off the and the juices from overflowing.

🌟 Pro tip: If storing in a kimchi tote, place a sheet of cling film on the kimchi. Make sure to tuck the cling wrap in and that the cling wrap is touching the kimchi. This helps to prevent excessive oxidation.

15. The napa cabbage kimchi can be enjoyed immediately after marinating, after chilling, or you can let it ferment until it reaches your desired fermentation stage before eating or used in cooking.

Recipe tips

• Use Kosher salt or coarse salt to salt the napa cabbage. Coarser salt is easier to sprinkle, and it's easier to gauge how much salt is used and control the saltiness.
• Wear disposable gloves when slathering the marinade onto the salted cabbages. The marinade will stain your hands and anything it touches.
• Use weights to help the napa cabbage salt faster. The weight helps to compress the cabbage, which ensure the leaves are in contact with the salt so that osmosis does its thing. We like to stack heavy books on a clean plate or bowl.
• Leave at least an inch gap in the kimchi container. The gap is to compensate for the expansion the kimchi will undergo during fermentation. The amount of juices will increase too. If you do not leave enough room or eat enough as the kimchi ferments, it will overflow and leak from the containers.

Storage

This kimchi can be enjoyed right away, but if you prefer it more acidic, like the store-bought ones, let it sit overnight at room temperature or for a day or two to speed up the fermentation process. Then, keep it refrigerated at all times. You can also transfer the kimchi to the fridge right away once you're done making it, if you prefer a slower fermentation and want to enjoy the taste of fresh kimchi for a few extra days.

Make sure the kimchi is stored in clean, sterilized glass jars. We often store our kimchi in the gallon glass jars we saved from store-bought kimchi or in quart size mason jars. You can also store kimchi in clean BPA-free plastic containers, but do let me warn you. The container will most likely be stained orange and will forever smell like kimchi. So make sure to use a container you want to dedicate to storing kimchi.

Lastly, make sure to press down on the cabbages and try to keep them tightly packed together. Do this every time the kimchi is used. This prevents the kimchi from being exposed to a lot of oxygen, which could cause it to oxidize and spoil sooner.

🌟 Pro tip: We also recommend double and triple wrapping the container in a few layers of plastic bag. This is especially helpful if you are storing the kimchi in the same fridge as other groceries. Otherwise, the smell will for sure permeate into everything.

How to sterilize jars

The easiest way to sterilize yourglass jars or canning jarsfor your is by boiling them. Just bring a pot of water to a boil and gently submerge the jars into the water completely. Let them simmer for 10 minutes for altitudes of 1000 feet or less and add an additional minute per 1000 feet.

Alternatively, if you are using those gallon size jars, you can place the jar upside-down into a pot or pan of simmering water. Let the jars steam for about 15 minutes.

🌟 Pro tip: Place a rack at the bottom of the pot or pan to prevent the jars from having direct contact with the heat and to precent the constant clanking.

Once they are done boiling or steaming, carefully remove the jars and let themcool and dry completelybefore using.

FAQ

If you’ve made this recipe or any recipes from our blog, please tag us on Instagram using #twoplaidaprons! You can also tag us in your Instagram stories using @two_plaid_aprons. We would love to see your creations! It absolutely makes our day! 🥰

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