Napa Cabbage Kimchi

Method

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1. Rinse the cabbage quarters and, while still wet, sprinkle the coarse salt between every leaf, using more toward the thick stem ends.

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2. Leave in a large bowl for 2 hours, turning every 30 minutes. The cabbage should become limp enough to bend a stem in half without snapping.

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3. Rinse thoroughly three times to remove excess salt, then drain upside down in a colander for 30 minutes.

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4. Whisk the rice flour into the water and cook over medium heat for 3 minutes until it thickens into a paste. Stir in the sugar and cool completely.

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5. Blend the garlic, ginger and onion with the fish sauce and salted shrimp into a smooth purée.

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6. Combine the cooled rice paste, the purée and the gochugaru into a thick red paste, then fold through the daikon, carrot and spring onions.

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7. Wearing gloves, spread the paste generously between every leaf of each cabbage quarter, working from the base outward.

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8. Fold each quarter over on itself and pack tightly into a clean jar or container, pressing down hard to eliminate air pockets. Leave 5 cm of headroom.

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9. Leave at cool room temperature for 1 to 2 days until it smells sour and bubbles rise when pressed, then refrigerate. It is edible immediately and best after 2 weeks.

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Chef’s Tips

• Wear gloves. Gochugaru will stay on your hands for a day and find your eyes.
• Press down daily during fermentation to keep everything below the brine.
• Open the jar over a sink for the first week — fermentation builds real pressure.

Common Substitutions & Variations

• Out of spring onions? A small regular onion, finely sliced, or a few chives stirred in at the end both cover the job.
• A quarter-teaspoon of ground ginger per tablespoon of fresh is the standard ratio if you are working from the spice rack rather than a fresh root.
• An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the usual stand-in when you are out of fresh garlic — it will not caramelise the same way, but it carries the flavour.

Pairing Suggestions

• Soju or a cold lager
• Serve with almost any Korean meal, or with rice and a fried egg
• Use aged kimchi for jjigae and pancakes

Storage & Reheating

Refrigerates for 6 months and keeps getting sourer. Older kimchi is better for cooking than eating raw.

Common questions

Nutritional Highlights

Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list. Treat these as an estimate — brands and cuts vary.