Cabbage kimchi
by
- Side
- Medium
- Makes 8
- 60 minutes
PT1H
Judy Joo shares her fantastic kimchi recipe, the pickled cabbage thought of as the national dish of Korea. Don't be intimidated by the idea of fermenting cabbage at home, Judy's recipe takes you through the whole process, step-by-step, resulting in authentic Korean kimchi with the perfect balance of sour, sweet and spicy flavour. This recipe will make about 4.5 litres of kimchi.
Ingredients
Cabbage kimchi
- 2l warm water
- 225g of coarse sea salt
- 2.5kg Napa cabbage , bottom trimmed, wilted and tough outer leaves discarded and rinsed well
- 2 small onions , roughly chopped
- 12 dried shiitake mushrooms
- 10 dried anchovies , (myulchi) head and guts removed
- 6 spring onions , roughly chopped
- 64 garlic cloves , 8 crushed and the rest left whole
- 1 sheet of dried seaweed , (25cm long)
- 250g of gochugaru , (Korean chilli flakes)
- 14 tbsp of fish sauce
- 10 tbsp of salted shrimp , (saewujeot), rinsed
- 4 tbsp of sugar
- 1 knob of fresh ginger , (18cm), peeled and chopped
- 3 carrots , julienned
- 12 spring onions , cut into 5cm pieces
- 200g of white radish , or mooli, peeled and julienned
Method
1
In a large bowl, stir together the warm water and 115g of the salt until the salt has dissolved. Set aside and leave to cool
2
Meanwhile, partially cut the cabbage in half lengthwise, starting from the root end and cutting about halfway to the top. Using your hands, pull the cabbage apart to split in half completely. Repeat so that each half is halved in the same way, which keeps the leaves intact and whole
3
Loosen the leaves of each wedge so that they are easy to spread. Sprinkle the remaining 115g of salt over and between all the leaves, salting the core area more heavily
4
Place the cabbage into a large bowl (use two if they don’t fit) cut-side up. Pour the cooled salted water over the cabbage, then pour enough cold water into the bowl to cover the cabbage; don’t overfill the bowl, as some liquid will be drawn out of the cabbage
5
Weigh down the cabbage with a plate so the wedges are completely immersed. Leave at room temperature for 6–8 hours, flipping the wedges halfway through
6
Rinse the wedges well under cold running water and gently squeeze out any excess moisture. Place the wedges, cut-side down in a colander and leave to drain for at least 30 minutes
7
Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine the onions, mushrooms, anchovies, spring onions, the 8 crushed garlic cloves and the seaweed and bring to the boil over a high heat. Reduce the heat to maintain a simmer for 20 minutes. Strain the liquid, discarding the solids and leave the anchovy stock to cool completely
8
When the stock has cooled, combine the remaining garlic cloves, chilli flakes, fish sauce, salted shrimp, sugar and ginger in a food processor and blitz until smooth
9
Add enough of the stock to make a smooth paste, about 475 ml total. Discard any remaining stock. Transfer the spice paste to a large bowl and stir in the carrots, spring onions and radish
10
Rub the spice paste all over the cabbage wedges and between each leaf. Pull the outermost leaf of each wedge tightly over the rest of the wedge, forming a tidy parcel. Pack the wedges into one or more glass or other nonreactive containers with a tight fitting lid
11
Cling film directly on the surface of the kimchi, then cover. The kimchi can be eaten at this young stage or after it sits at room temperature and starts to get sour and ‘bubble’, about 2–3 days
12
Stir the kimchi in the fridge, where it will continue to ferment at a slower pace. I like to age mine at least 2 weeks, but it really is up to your personal preference. Cut the kimchi before serving
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Cabbage kimchi
