We are all cycling through stages of grief in this pandemic. And we linger in the place with which we are all familiar. For some of us, it’s anger or depression or denial (hey there churches, still doing in-person worship!) or bargaining. It’s going to be a long road to acceptance.

We’re also going toward the familiar. For me, that’s kimchi. Suddenly, I HAVE TO HAVE KIMCHI IN THE HOUSE AT ALL TIMES. I’ve made many batches since this began (which also tells you WE ARE EATING KIMCHI AT ALL TIMES).

Lots of you have requested my mother’s kimchi recipe. So I’ll share it here, instead of emailing the same thing umpteen times. It can be adjusted–and where it can, I’ve indicated in the notes. I’ve used this kimchi recipe as a base for both radish and cabbage kimchi.

FYI, I am basically DGAF these days. So I don’t do fancy kimchi. I do “mak-kimchi,” which is cabbage chopped up in advance of pickling. Sometimes, I mix up radish AND cabbage together. Whatever. It tastes really good and reminds me of safety.

INGREDIENTS:

  • IF you opt to use napa cabbage in this recipe, you need to start this step at LEAST 6 hours prior: Take a big head of napa cabbage, slice it into quarters. Then chop. Then put the cabbage in a big bowl, and add about 1/2 cup of salt. Toss. And leave for at least 3 hours (preferably closer to 6), before proceeding with the directions. I often do a mix of both napa cabbage and daikon radish (BUT DON’T PRE-SALT the RADISH, ONLY PRE-SALT CABBAGE)–just scale the rest of the ingredients to match. By the end, your napa cabbage should be nice and wilted like so:
wilted

(before it wilts–see the contrast?)

  • 2 daikon radish, chopped into 1-inch cubes (or 2-inch cubes or 3-inch cubes, whatever)
  • 1/4 cup rice flour and approximately 1/2 cup water (basically, a 1:2 ratio) —some people don’t add this, but I do. This is the thing that aids the lactic acid fermentation and is one of the key components to that awesome “fizzy” nature of A+ kimchi
  • 1-2 Tablespoons of “gochu garu” (Korean red pepper flakes) —your mileage may vary on this. you can probably add more if you like your kimchi spicier/redder
  • 1/2 cup sugar ——okay, the real measurement is “a small handful”
  • 1 bunch chopped scallions —sometimes I don’t have enough scallions on hand, in which case, I just add like 1-2 sliced scallions. whatever. but it does need to be in there.
  • 2 Tablespoons salted shrimp —okay. in my recipes, this is a MUST. But if you don’t have salted shrimp (the kind you get from korean stores, so I mean fresh salted baby shrimp) on hand, I’ve seen people use fish sauce, and I think that’s a fine substitute. This addition of a fish/seafood source is the OTHER key component in aiding lactic acid fermentation and makes the kimchi AWESOME FIZZY. There is, yes, vegan kimchi. Props to vegans. I guess you could add more salt in its place if you decide to opt out of this ingredient. But I would at least add fish sauce.
  • Salt to taste —if I add enough salted shrimp (or you add enough fish sauce), I usually don’t have to add salt. Also, if I’m making cabbage kimchi version of this…then I definitely don’t need to add salt.
  • 12 cloves garlic, crushed —the “exact measurement” is this is A BIG OLD HANDFUL of GARLIC. this is absolutely necessary. Sorry Not Sorry.

DIRECTIONS:

  • IF YOU ARE USING NAPA CABBAGE, do this first: Rinse the salted napa cabbage well. Drain. (You may want to rinse again–the cabbage will be VERY salty–and if you don’t rinse, it will be inedible). Squeeze out excess water if you can. Then proceed.
  • Put the cubed radish (or above pre-prepped cabbage, or if you’re doing a medley, both radish + pre-salted cabbage) in a large mixing bowl.  Sprinkle the gochu garu (red hot pepper flakes) on the radish until the radish are just covered with the flakes.  Let rest while you do the next steps.
  • While radish is “resting,” bring 1/2 cup water to simmer in a small saucepan and add 1/4 cup rice flour and mix until it makes a paste.  Let the flour mixture cool.
  • Add the small handful of sugar and toss into the radish/cabbage mixture with your HANDS until well mixed.  Add the rice paste, scallions, garlic, salted shrimp and toss with your hands until mixed.
yah, i know. the rice paste reminds you of something, too.
  • Taste. It won’t be exactly the same as “ripe” kimchi–but taste for balance of flavors. DEFINITELY shouldn’t be sweet. definitely should be salty but not TOO salty.
  • Add 2-6 tablespoons of salt, as necessary (the mixture should not be
    incredibly salty–if you’re using pre-salted cabbage, you likely won’t need to add salt).
  • Put into an airtight container and leave out for 24 hours at room
    temperature until fermented.  I like to use mason jars and then “burp” them every 12 hours or so. You’ll hear the fizz! When the fizzing stops being so intense, that’s when I put it in the fridge. Most people just leave out at room temp for a day and then stick it in the fridge for further ripening over the next 3 weeks or so. But if you leave it out at room temp until it stops fizzing (about 3 days), then it gets really close to being ready to eat right away.
Kimchi jars, fermenting. The ones in the back are “white kimchi” for my child. I make a mean batch of that, too. I usually put the jars on a shelf above my stove where it’s warmer. YMMV.

Check out the fizz–on my Instagram video.

Also–feel free to do variations. You can increase or decrease the hot pepper. And you can substitute daikon radish with watermelon radish or purple daikon (and bonus: the colors). Or add cauliflower. Or sub out napa cabbage for kale.