Korean Exploration ::: How to make KimChi / 김치 ? - Spicy fermented cabbage with radish

Walking into a dozen of korean shops, you will definately see KimChi 김치 it's like must have dish in Korea! With this basic homemade in hand you won't be worried about the prices you are pay for your KimChi used for your recipes.

Total cost is approx S$50 for 7kgs of KimChi. That's a lot of KimChi...!!!

Let's start with your shopping list:

3 fresh Chinese Cabbage
4 1/2 cups or 990g of FINE Salt
2 litres of Water
3 heaped tablespoons of Glutinous Rice Starch
2 cup or 256g Korean Chili Powder
1 1/2 cup Fish Sauce
6 tablespoons of White Sugar
18 Spring Onions
15 cloves of Crushed Garlic
3 knobs / 1cm of Ginger
3/4 Brown Onion
700g White Chinese Radish

Cabbage


Chop the Chinese Cabbage into half then slice from the bottom twice to make it 3 slices. This will make 6 slices for each cabbage. Remember not to slice all as this way it will fasten your salting and KimChi Paste spreading later.



Soak them in slight salted water, while grating the White Chinese Radish and slicing the Spring Onion.





Drain and remove the washed cabbage into a tub.



Lightly salt the leaves. Outside - in between - Inside. After salting all of the cabbage, set it inside the tub for 2 hours, then rotate the bottom cabbage with the top ones halfway through leaving it for another 2 hours.




Kimchi Sauce
Now you can put these ingredients from the Korean shop in use!


Place the Garlics, Ginger, Brown Onion in the food processor, to make it into a paste.

Can either use grated White Chinese Radish or put it in the food processor with the rest of the above.

Put the water and sugar in a pot to boil till the sugar totally dissolve, turn off the fire and add in Glutinous Rice Starch and stir till mixture is smooth. Place a side to cool.

Scoop out all the paste into big pot or bowl add in the cool mixture then add in the Korean Chili Powder.



If you're mixing with hands like me, remember to wear a glove! Don't be a hero, your hands will be hurt by the spicy level of this KimChi Paste.

Mix well then add in the white radish and spring onion into the paste, if the paste is too dry, add more water little by little to loosen it up a little bit. Taste the mixture and make sure it is saltier, spicy, and somewhat refreshing and sweet because of the White Radish.



Rub the paste all over the cabbage in the similar way as the Chinese Cabbage is salted, make sure this delicious & spicy KimChi paste is in between every leaf. Be generous!

Store in a big plastic containers.



Now, just store and leave it out at room temperature for 9hours minimum or 24hours maximum for it to ferment then it can be refrigerated.

I took some pictures!

Fermenting after 2hours.......



Fermenting after 4hours.......see the juices!




Fermenting after 6hours.......



I'm pretty tired so i went to sleep... =P

i stopped after letting it ferment for 12hours.

My suggestion is to cut the KimChi into bite sized pieces, keep in containers. In the below picture the container can store about 500gram. Why bother storing in this way? It's because you would wanna bless your friends. Whenever your friends pop by you can just grab one tub for them to bring home! They will leave your house with a BIG smile.



A must try and learn this "very high skill" recipe which can save a whole lot of money by making this Homemade Kimchi by yourself. Along with dozens of happy faces that you will be blessing!

Remember to keep a lot for yourself too coz i'll be doing a few recipe with this basic dish!

Click here for our blog page Cooking Classes for more recipes. Hope you will be inspired~