One of our favorite comfort foods is kimchi, a spicy fermented cabbage originating in Korea. For me it was an acquired taste, but if you like spicy and vinegar it doesn't take long to get hooked. My favorite way to eat kimchi is in a bowl of ramen noodles.
As with most things we choose to make from scratch, we recognized how much we were spending on it and decided we could make it for less. So, as usual, Henry did his research. He looked into recipes, processes, temperature control, and cost effectiveness. Fermentation was new to us, so we wanted to make sure we didn't do it wrong and get ourselves sick. (As we learned about this process we also were introduced to the process for making sauerkraut; we'll save that post for another day.)
We started by ordering supplies online, for all the things we couldn't get locally. This mostly consisted of the red pepper flakes and natural sea salt, as well as looking into crocks for the fermenting process. We purchased some smaller crocks at bed bath and beyond for smaller batches, as we learned how it all worked. We also ordered a 4 gallon crock online for large batches, the one pictured here.
When the supplies arrived we got to work. It took several attempts to get the kimchi just right. Sometimes we added too much salt, sometimes the temperature wasn't right, and at times the natural enzymes were not strong enough to create the vinegar. After some trial and error we finally found some consistency.
We have tasted a lot of kimchi, and there is no doubt that homemade is our favorite! The recipe we use is very basic. We researched several different recipes, and using them as a general map, created our own. We don't use specific measurements, but typically go by taste. It can be difficult to document the recipe because of this, but I'll do the best I can.
Here is the list of ingredients, and than I'll walk you through the process.
Napa Cabbage
Green Onions
Garlic Cloves
Sea salt
Red Pepper Flakes (Found on Amazon)
The liquid in Kimchi is made through the wilting of the cabbage by salting it and pressing the moisture from the leaves. Cabbage has natural enzymes that keep it from rotting, and inhibit bacterial growth, because of this it's natural juices become vinegar when aged. It is easy to stunt this process, however, by simply rinsing the cabbage in tap water. As most tap water has been chlorinated, these enzymes can be killed before you even start. The misters at the grocery store won't have this effect, as the water is purified through reverse osmosis. https://www.uswatersystems.com/humidification-and-produce-misting-systems
When preparing your cabbage it is a good idea to wipe away any soil particles that remain on the leaves. The outer leaves can be discarded, or used as a covering for the kimchi in the fermentation process. Using organic cabbage may help in reducing any chemicals that may have been used in farming, this is entirely a matter of preference.
After removing any unwanted material, it is time to chop the cabbage. We like smaller, bite sized, chunks. Once chopped it will need time to wilt. At this stage sprinkle unrefined, non-iodized sea salt in layers over the cabbage to pull the moisture from the leaves. Too much salt makes for salty kimchi, but you'll need a good amount to help the wilting.
A good rule of thumb when you are first doing this is to start with a small amount (a little in the palm of your hand), mix it into the cabbage and then give it half an hour to rest before trying to press the moisture out. We like to help extract the moisture by squeezing the leaves while mixing by hand, kind of like kneading bread. After kneading the Napa cabbage, a liquid will form in the bowl, and the cabbage will decrease by half in bulk. If it isn't working, taste the liquid and see if it is getting too salty, or if you can add a little more. Then either keep kneading the cabbage, or add more salt to help the process.
This process can take a while in the beginning but will get faster as you get more comfortable with the amounts that you need to use. Once again start with small amounts. You can always add more salt, but you can't remove it. Too much salt will cause it to take much longer to ferment, in addition to ruining the taste. When we do ours right, we get enough salt to help with wilting the cabbage, but not enough to have any kind of noticeable salty flavor. Personal preference though, as some people prefer salty kimchi.
When wilted the cabbage should have plenty of liquid, enough to cover the vegetables in the crock. This is when we add the chopped green onions and pressed garlic (we got a little hand press as a wedding gift and use it so often that we would recommend you pick one up), remember not to rinse the veggies as rinsing will kill the natural bacteria that causes fermentation. Red pepper flakes are then added to taste. Keep in mind, like the salt, under spice at first. You can always add, but you can't remove. Also the heat increases a little as it sits and ferments.
The kimchi can now be eaten raw, or placed in a crock for fermentation.
The fermentation process is pretty simple. Depending on the amount of kimchi you are making, the size of your container will vary. We choose to use a crock, rather than a mason jar, as it is much more effective in keeping out the light. As stated above, smaller crocks can be found at 'Bed Bath and Beyond' for about $10, and they hold a decent amount.
The crock will need to be clean and dry, again to avoid killing the natural bacteria that causes fermentation. Once kimchi is prepared it can go directly into the crock. The outer leaves can than be placed on top to help seal off the surface area, or a weight can be placed on top to force the vegetables below the liquid level. For this batch we cut our own weight from a plastic cutting board. We than placed a closed mason jar of water on top as an additional weight.
The kimchi will need to be covered and placed in a warm dark place, around 70 degrees Fahrenheit, and left undisturbed for 3-7 days. The longer it rests, the more pronounced the vinegar flavor. We left ours for about a week. There are typically bubbles that rise to the surface as it ferments. It almost looks like it's boiling, due to the gasses released. Do not seal the kimchi during this time, or the pressure of the gasses will expand and can explode. (we had this experience with homemade apple beer, wow what a mess!).
To create an a anaerobic (air free) environment beyond just keeping the concoction submerged in it's own liquid, we use plastic bags. For the small crocks, we rubber band bread bags into the top, and force the air out as we push it into the open space in the crock. The bag will inflate with gasses as the kimchi ferments and will act as a seal and protection to keep out foreign matter as well. For the four gallon crock, we rubber band on a garbage bag and force the air out for the same effect.
Once again, this process is to taste, we like the vinegar flavor. Some people prefer to have less vinegar. So, they can ferment for a shorter period. You can also ferment at cooler temperatures, but the process takes longer. As stated above, more salt will cause the fermentation time to increase. Play around with the time and temperatures until you find something that works for you.
Once it is done, just transfer it to smaller jars (we use half gallon mason jars because we eat a lot of kimchi) and then refrigerate to slow the continued fermentation. Your nose is your biggest friend at this point. If anything smells rotten or off, it probably is (the smell of rotten cabbage is hard to miss). Also look for mold. If it is rotten or moldy, toss the batch and start over. Thankfully we haven't had a problem with that yet, but everything we have read warns to be careful of it and we would be derelict if we didn't give you a heads up.
We really hope you enjoy your kimchi making experience! Please feel free to comment! We would love to answer any of your questions, or have you share your own experiences. We would also love to expand our audience, so please feel free to share! Thanks for reading!
