This is a seriously easy kimchi recipe, perfect for anyone that is beginning to experiment with kimchi or anyone that loves cabbage kimchi! This particular kimchi reminds me of jja jang myun (black bean noodles) because it is often served in Chinese restaurants in Korea.
When my mom first told me the instructions I was a bit skeptical because it was so easy but it works! And it is very tasty! It's also great to cook with- easy to make kimchi pancakes, kimchi fried rice or soups.
The recipe below is based on 500g of cabbage, which is about 1/2 a head in most cases. It makes about 800g of kimchi. The best part is that it takes 10 min to throw together. Leave to ferment at room temperature until you like the taste. Place the kimchi into the fridge when you like the taste to slow down fermentation.
What you need:
White Cabbage - 500g
Red pepper flakes (Gochugaru) - 2 to 3 Tbsp
Garlic - 5 cloves (2 generous Tbsp minced)
Ginger - 1 thumb size (2 generous tsp minced)
Onion- 1/2 small onion or 2-3 stalks of spring onion
Apple - 1 medium sized
*Carrot - 1/2 a carrot (1/2 c julienned). This is optional and largely to add a bit of colour.
Salt - 3 tsp (15 g = 3% weight of cabbage)
Fish sauce: 1.5 tsp (half the amount of salt)
Cooking tools: Air tight Container w/Lid, 1 Big Mixing Bowl, Blender (optional), Cling wrap if you are making a batch you want to keep for a long time.
Remove outer layers, the core and other the hard bits.
Prep the cabbage:
Chop thinly about 1/4 centimeter wide, 2-3 inches long OR into bite size blocks about 1 inch by 1 inch. Style of cabbage chopping is purely up to you!
Put Cabbage into the big mixing bowl and make sure all layers are separated.
Add the Red Pepper Flakes - how much you add really depends on the spice level you want OR colour that you want. I usually add 2-3 Tbsp for this amount of cabbage. Mix the Cabbage and Red Pepper Flakes making sure all peices of Cabbage are evenly coated. Check the colour and add more if you want. Set aside.
Moving onto other ingredients.
2 different ways to do this:
1. Blender:
Core the Apple, peel the Garlic and Ginger, and if using Onion peel it too. Throw everything into a blender and pulse until minced. Add everything to the bowl of white cabbage. Julienne the Carrot. If you are using Spring onion, cut the Spring Onion into blocks of about 2-3 inches and slice in half OR chop them into thin slices. Up to you! Add these to the big bowl too.
2. Knife:
Peel and mince the Garlic and Ginger. Thinly slice the Apple and Onion, julienne the Carrots. If you are using Spring onion, cut into blocks of about 2-3 inches and slice in half OR chop them thinly. Up to you. If you are using an Onion, thinly slice.
Add everything to the bowl.
Time to season:
This recipe doesn't call for pre-salting the white cabbage so this time we will use a bit more salt and go for 3% of the weight of cabbage. For 500g, add 3 tsp salt (500g x 0.02 = 15g salt) and 1 1/2 tsp fish sauce to the bowl. Note fish sauce is 1/2 the amount of salt.
Mix it all up!
Toss in the large bowl or use hands (please wear gloves if you use your hands!!). Make sure everything is mixed together well - you will start to see a little liquid but not much. The key is mixing well so all the cabbage is seasoned and separate any remaining layers of cabbage. If you taste the 'sauce' off the side of the bowl, it will be quite salty. As the kimchi ferments, the saltiness will reduce. If you taste a peice of kimchi, everything will be a bit raw and sharp. Because this is a dry brine, the cabbage will be quite hard at this stage. You can eat it now if you like how it tastes. As the kimchi ferments, the cabbage will soften and all the flavours will mellow out, come together and at one point start to become zingy.
Transfer kimchi into an airtight container with a lid. Press everything down to get rid of any air pockets. Get a sheet of cling film and stretch it across the top of the kimchi tucking it in around the kimchi before putting the lid on. This helps to prevent oxidation and keeps the kimchi safe from bacteria. This is important especially if you plan to eat the kimchi over a longer time or making a larger batch.
When fermenting, leave at room temperature out of direct sunlight and in the shade. Taste kimchi every 12 hours or so and when you like the taste, put in the fridge to slow down fermentation. Fermentation is weather and temperature dependent. Warmer weather speeds up fermentation. At 10 degree celcius/50 degrees farenheit UK spring weather, I left t at iroom temperature for around 4 days because I like it when the kimchi starts to get a bit zingy.
*MyMommyKim Tip:
1. When tasting or accessing the kimchi- ALWAYS use a CLEAN & DRY spoon. Be careful not to drop any water or introduce anything 'new' to the kimchi as this can grow a fungus.
2. Make sure that the lid is back on properly after tasting.
3. Never add back kimchi you've taken out. Keep it separately.
