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This homemade kimchi is tangy and spicy and delicious. With a few alterations to make it vegan, it will make a perfect side dish and accompaniment to any meal!

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Ingredients

• Napa Cabbage. Alternatively, you can use green cabbage if you can’t find napa cabbage. I have found it to be cheaper in some grocery stores and more widely available.
• A Coarse Salt. Almost all Korean use sea salt because it is large and flaky. I used a coarse Celtic salt because it is mineral-rich, but don’t use any refined salts because it will be too salty and iodine can inhibit the fermentation process.
• Seaweed. To add a fishy flavor in the fish sauce. It is rich in fatty Omega-3 and is where fish get their healthy Omega-3s.
• Mushrooms. This is totally optional and you can use any mushroom of your preference. Mushrooms soak up the salty and fishy flavor and this is meant to mimic the presence of salty shrimp I have seen other kimchi recipes to have.
• Rice Flour. This helps the paste to stick to the cabbage. I tried the recipe without this and the paste was too loose and would gather at the bottom of the container.
• Gochugaru. This is Korean red pepper flakes. This gives kimchi the spiciness and the signature red color. This is not the same as regular red pepper flakes, for it has no seeds and is very fine.

Instructions

Remove the leaves and rinse the cabbage in the sink, making sure to remove any dirt you see.

Cut off the stem, then cut horizontally 1 or 2 times to cut it into 1/2 and quarters, then cut the opposite way.

Put in large bowl or Tupperware and salt generously. You would want a coarse salt for this. This is to draw out the moisture and don’t worry, you will rinse all the salt out later.

Leave in the bowl for two hours, turning every 30 minutes. A salty brine will collect at the bottom from the moisture from the cabbage. You want to turn the cabbage pieces into the salty water.

While that is happening, you want to make the “fish” sauce. To mimic the fishy sea flavor, tear up one nori sheet to one cup of water. Add 2 tbsp of low sodium soy sauce (I used coconut amimos to keep it soy-free) and 2 tbsp of rice flour (to keep it traditional you can use glutinous rice flour, but this worked fine). Lastly, I chopped up one white button mushroom to seep in the water. Bring to a boil until it thickens. Strain the mixture. Discard the seaweed, but keep the mushroom pieces.

Chop up all the vegetables you want to put in the kimchi. I added daikon radish, green onion, carrots, garlic, ginger, and celery. These are customizable and based on your preference. Also, chop up the mushroom pieces and add ti to the vegetable pile.

Once cabbage pieces look wilted and can bend without snapping it is ready. Rinse the cabbage really well. I rinsed mine three times.

Add the 1/2 cup of gochugaru (Korean red pepper flakes). This was the right amount of spiciness for me, but you can add less or more depending on your preference. You can always taste it in the “raw” unfermented form to see if it tastes right.

With gloved hands (PLEASE WEAR GLOVES), you massage the cabbage pieces with the gochugaru until they are all mixed. Then add the fish sauce and vegetables. Mix until everything is red and coated. You can taste it to see if it needs salt. I added about 2-3 tbsps.

Then you transfer the kimchi to food-safe Tupperware or mason jars. Make sure you push it down to prevent air pockets. Aso, very important, sanitize your containers before you put food in it. I put a little apple cider vinegar on a micro-fiber towel and wiped them inside and out. I was able to get two Tupperware worth of homemade kimchi from one napa cabbage. You don’t want something too airtight because as it ferments, it releases gases, so it might, you know….explode. My Tupperware had little vents that allowed airflow and still protects from bugs.

Then it ferments. Mine took 3 days to fully ferment at room temperature, but it depends on how humid the air is and it can vary from person to person. You know when it is ready when there are any air bubbles when you move it around. It will have more liquid and if you taste it, it has a vinegary taste. Then you can refrigerate it.

I like to keep one container to eat right away and one to keep for two weeks. It will leech more liquid and become more acidic over this time. I will use this older kimchi to use in recipes, like kimchi stew or kimchi fried rice. I linked the recipes I like to follow, so you can try it, as well.

Why Kimchi?

Kimchi is a traditional side dish used in Korean cuisine. And when Koreans make kimchi, they make kimchi, if you know what I mean. In Korea, it is common to have two fridges. One for their regular food and one just for kimchi.

It is spicy and commonly mixed with other vegetables (usually daikon radish), thus making it very healthy. And since it is fermented, it has good bacteria for a healthy gut. The main ingredient is cabbage, which is high in vitamin C and K.

It is low-carb and can be used in many dishes.

Please let me know in the comments below if you tried this recipe. I would love to hear from you!