Kimchi Recipe
Kimchi is a spicy fermented vegetable dish from Korea, essential to Korean cuisine. It has gained increasing popularity worldwide as society develops. Today, I'm sharing the recipe for this dish. I'll teach you everything I've learned about it from renowned Korean chefs without holding anything back.
INGREDIENTS
- 500g of Napa Cabbage (half a head, small amount)
DIRECTIONS
Before starting, prepare all the ingredients needed. Take half a Napa Cabbage and remove the stem with a knife.
Tip:
I will cut the Napa Cabbage into small pieces for better flavor absorption and easy serving later, so it's important to remove the stem, which isn't as enjoyable to eat.
Stack the Napa Cabbage leaves one by one and cut them diagonally at a 45-degree angle!
Place the cut Napa Cabbage into an empty bowl and pour in 2/3 of the coarse salt and 200ml of water, then soak for at least 8 hours.
Tip:
If you're short on time, you can use warm water with coarse salt to soak the Napa Cabbage, which will shorten the soaking time to about 3 hours.
While the Napa Cabbage is fermenting, prepare the sauce: Mix 1 cup of coarse red pepper powder, 2/3 cup of white sugar, 1/2 cup of fish sauce + shrimp paste, 2/3 cup of minced garlic, and 1/2 tablespoon of minced ginger (using a dining spoon). Stir well.
Tip:
Note: These seasonings are enough for half a head of Napa Cabbage. If you want to make a whole head of Napa Cabbage, you'll need to double the ingredients!
Prepare the side ingredients: Wash the onion and carrot thoroughly, then cut them into 4-5cm julienne strips for later use.
After 8 hours, rinse the marinated Napa Cabbage with clean water 2-3 times to remove the saltiness. Squeeze out excess water from the rinsed kimchi, ensuring it is well drained.
Tip:
After rinsing the marinated Napa Cabbage thoroughly, make sure to squeeze out excess water. This step is crucial to prevent the kimchi from spoiling easily.
Next, pour the prepared seasoning into the bowl filled with Napa Cabbage and mix thoroughly with both hands.
Tip:
Make sure every piece of Napa Cabbage is coated evenly with the seasoning for delicious kimchi.
After thorough mixing, add the prepared side ingredients all at once and mix thoroughly to blend them with the Napa Cabbage.
After mixing well, you can optionally add some white sesame seeds according to personal taste preferences. If you don't like them, you can skip this step.
Once everything is mixed evenly, the authentic Korean kimchi is ready to be enjoyed.