This recipe is a classic type of kimchi that uses the natural layering of Napa cabbage. For fermentation, the quarter cut of cabbage allows for the red pepper mixture to be 'stuffed.'
Ingredients for Cabbage Kimchi
Napa cabbage
Chives
Radish
Onion
Asian Pear
Chili Powder
Fish Sauce
Salted Shrimp
Fresh Shrimp
Garlic
Ginger
Sugar
Coarse Sea Salt
Whole Sesame Seeds
Glutinous Rice Flour
Anchovies
Kelp
(additions can be added for different flavors and processes depending on seasonal produce available)
Cooking Sequence
Prepare the cabbage. To do so, wash thoroughly and cut into fourths. Remove any wilting leaves that are on the outside of the cabbage. Instead of slicing through the entire cabbage, make a slit at the bottom of the head of cabbage and use your hands to gently rip it apart. Continue this process until the cabbage looks like the ones on the left. Care in every aspect of this recipe gives way to a better outcome. As my mom says, "the taste of knife is different than by hand." It also bodes for a better presentation in my opinion. See the video below for guidance.
2. Put the quartered, torn cabbage into a large basin of cold water with about a 1.5 cut of coarse sea salt. Then, in each layer of the cabbage, use your hands to rub salt into each individual leaf. This is the beginning of the pickling process
3. This step varies with seasonal temperature. Since it was the winter, you can see that each cabbage is adequately salted with more added in later on. Using a pot and bowl as a weight, partially cover the salted water and cabbage mixture and leave out in a dry place for one night. It is important to note that this process can vary by outdoor temperature.
4. Now comes the glutinous rice mixture. Here, combine ginger, garlic, glutinous rice, onion, pear, fish sauce, and salt to a blender or food processor. Process until smooth like the image to the left.
5. In a separate bowl, begin to create the red pepper mixture. Add thinly sliced radish, sugar, red pepper powder, garlic, salted shrimp, fresh shrimp paste, and fragrant Korean greens.
6. Mix the red pepper mixture with the glutinous rice mixture. Add to a bowl with green onion.
7. After a night of salted fermentation, rinse and trim the Napa cabbage from its salted water bath. Create a workstation with the combination of the 2 mixtures to prepare for the final jarring of the kimchi for final fermentation stage.
This is not a recipe step but you can eat fresh Napa cabbage with the fermentation mixture (before adding shrimp paste) as a dish for dinner while you wait for the kimchi to ferment. Many times, Koreans eat fresh cabbage and kimchi mix with pork belly.
8. As seen above, spread the mixture on each kimchi leaf, similar to how we rubbed salt on earlier. Make sure to be gentle and thorough in this process.
9. Place each cabbage in an airtight kimchi container vertically. Make sure to layer each cabbage without damaging the leaves and packing firmly.
10. Check on your kimchi every 2-3 days. After a week, our batch was ready. Slice the kimchi each time you finish one fourth for freshness. You can see here that the layers of the cabbage is filled with the red pepper mixture. Enjoy the fruits of your hard work!
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