Napa Cabbage Kimchi (Baechu gimchi)

Alternate Spellings: Baekju, baychu, baju, bakeju, bae chu, kimchi, kimchee, kim chee, kim chi, gim chee, gim chi, gimchee

A note about making Kimchi:
Making kimchi is not about precise measurements. It's about taste.
Many things can influence the final result, like the taste of the unseasoned cabbage. Some heads of Napa are very sweet so you would add less sweetener (sugar/nashi pear), some are slightly bitter so you would add a little more salt, ginger, daikon, and sweetener to overcome the "bitter".
If you get a strong fish/shrimp paste, you would use less in the recipe. etc. For a stronger flavor, maybe you would add more garlic and use chives instead of green/spring onion.
Remember, it's about taste so use this recipe as a beginning.

Degree of Difficulty

Degree of Difficulty: Moderately difficult

Servings: 50

Cooking Times

Preparation Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 48 hours

Ingredients

Ingredients

2

head

napa cabbage (approximately 2 lbs)

1/2

cup

salt (for brine)

1/4

small

Daikon radish

8

ea

spring or green onions

Seasoning paste

1

Tbs

finely ground red chili powder

3

Tbs

coarse ground red chili pepper

8

cloves

garlic, peeled

1/2

small

nashi pear

2

oz

fresh ginger, peeled

1

Tbs

shrimp or anchovy paste*

1

Tbs

sugar

1

Tbs

salt

* If you do not like the somewhat fishy element of kimchi, you can omit this ingredient and increase salt by 1/2 tablespoon.

Procedure

Directions

1. Prepare the Cabbage

Cut the cabbage in half from bottom to top.

Place the cabbage in a large pot or other container big enough to handle the cabbage cut side up. Carefully lift the leaves and salt between them using about 1/2 the salt.

Slowly add water until there is enough to submerge the cabbage.

Add the rest of the salt spread over the cabbage and let sit for at least 4 hours. (overnight is best)

After soaking discard brine then cut the cabbage sections in half from bottom to top and rinse in cold water.

Remove the solid mass at the root end. (A diagonal cut from the inner or heart top of the mass to bottom outer leaf works best)

Slice the cabbage into roughly 1/2 inch pieces and place in a large mixing bowl.

2. Prepare the Daikon

Cut larger daikon in half from top to bottom.

Shred the daikon into a strainer or colander

Rinse 1 time in cold water and drain.

Place in a small bowl and lightly sprinkle with salt.

Set aside until time to mix.

3. Prepare seasoning paste

Slice the ginger and pear into small pieces and toss in blender.

Add garlic cloves and just enough water to blend into a thick paste.

Pour blended mix into a small mixing bowl, then add all other paste ingredients and mix well

Cut the green/spring onion into roughly 1 inch sections and add to paste, mixing until onion is completely covered.

Let stand about fifteen minutes.

4. Mix the Kimchi

Add the shredded Daikon to the Napa cabbage and lightly toss.

Add the seasoning paste and mix until well spread throughout the cabbage.

Place into glass mason jar(s), leaving room at the top of the jar to accommodate swelling, and refrigerate.

Depending on your "sour" level, the kimchi will be ready to serve in anywhere from one hour to several days.

Tips

Storing Kimchi

Kimchi will swell and create pressure during the fermentation process. It is important to release pressure every so often to prevent breakage of storage container.

Nutrition Facts

Serving size: 1/50 of a recipe (1 ounces).

Percent daily values based on the Reference Daily Intake (RDI) for a 2000 calorie diet.

Nutrition information calculated from recipe ingredients.

Amount Per Serving

Calories

8.18

Calories From Fat (7%)

0.59

% Daily Value

Total Fat 0.07g

<1%

Saturated Fat 0.01g

<1%

Cholesterol 0mg

0%

Sodium 726.29mg

30%

Potassium 67.59mg

2%

Total Carbohydrates 1.79g

<1%

Fiber 0.46g

2%

Sugar 0.84g

 

Protein 0.39g

<1%

Recipe Type: Ban Chan