Traditional Napa Cabbage Kimchi (Vegetarian Type)

I love making pickles, any kind..  and this is a very first time I make kimchi (Korean Style Pickle) . Actually is easy to just visit Korean Store near by and get one, but cooking is in my DNA - I see many videos and recipes before I make my own kimchi.  The recipe comes from Maangchi, owner of Korean cooking website.

I slightly copy the recipe with a little adjustment since I choose to make vegan style, which I skip using squid or shrimp - anyway, please visit her youtube video or her website to get a clear tutorial HERE

This is a big batch recipe, I just make a half portion of recipe since I want to find out if this recipe work or not, which no surprise work very well.

Traditional Napa Cabbage Kimchi (Vegetarian Style)
Recipe : Maangchi

Ingredients :

Makes about 8 pounds (3.6 kg) of Kimchi
For salting cabbage:

6 pounds napa cabbage (3 to 4 heads of medium napa cabbage)

½ cup Kosher salt

For making porridge:

2 cups water

2 tablespoons sweet rice flour (glutinous rice flour)

2 tablespoons brown sugar

Vegetables:

2 cups radish matchsticks

1 cup carrot matchsticks

7 to 8 green onions, chopped

1 cup chopped asian chives (substitute with 3 green onions, chopped)

Seasonings and spices:

½ cup garlic cloves (24 garlic cloves), minced

2 teaspoon ginger, minced

1 medium onion, minced

½ cup fish sauce

2 cups hot pepper flakes

Directions

Prepare and salt the cabbage:

If the cabbage cores stick out too much, trim them off.

To split a cabbage in half without shredding the densely packed leaves inside, first cut a short slit in the base of the cabbage, enough to get a grip on either half, and then gently pull the halves apart so the cabbage splits open.

Cut a slit through the core of each half, 2 inches above the stem. You want the cabbage leaves to be loose but still attached to the core

Dunk the halves in a large basin of water to get them wet. Sprinkle the salt between the leaves by lifting up every leaf and getting salt in there. Use more salt closer to the stems, where the leaves are thicker

Let the cabbages rest for 2 hours. Turn over every 30 minutes, so they get well salted. From time to time you can ladle some of the salty water from the bottom of the basin over top of the cabbages if you want to

After 2 hours, wash the cabbage halves a few times under cold running water. Giving them a good washing, to remove the salt and any dirt. As you wash, split the halves into quarters along the slits you cut into earlier. Cut off the cores, and put them in a strainer over a basin so they can drain well.

While the cabbage is salting for 2 hours, and in between the times you’re turning it over, you can make the porridge:

Combine the water and the sweet rice flour in a small pot. Mix well with a wooden spoon and let it cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes until it starts to bubble. Add the sugar and cook 1 more minute, stirring. Remove from the heat and let it cool off completely.

Pour cooled porridge into a large mixing bowl. Add garlic, ginger, onion, fish sauce, and hot pepper flakes. Mix well with the wooden spoon until the mixture turns into a thin paste

Add the radish, carrot, and green onion, plus the Asian chives (or more green onions) and the water dropwort if you’re using them. Mix well

Make kimchi:

Spread some kimchi paste on each cabbage leaf. When every leaf in a quarter is covered with paste, wrap it around itself into a small packet, and put into your jar, plastic container　

On fermentation:

The kimchi will start fermenting a day or two at room temperature, depending on the temperature and humidity of your room. The warmer and more humid it is, the faster the kimchi will ferment. Once it starts to ferment it will smell and taste sour, and pressing on the top of the kimchi with a spoon will release bubbles from beneath.

Once it starts to fermented, store in the refrigerator to use as needed. This slows down the fermentation process, which will make the kimchi more and more sour as time goes on.