- To clarify, although kimchi is originally a Korean food it’s been modified in Japan to better suit Japanese tastes. It’s milder and even has a slight sweet tone to it compared to genuine Korean kimchi.
Full Recipe Step By Step-
Kimchi recipe (yields ~2kg)
1 Hakusai/Chinese napa cabbage (about 3kg)
100g salt
500ml water
200g apple (about half a large apple - I used Fuji)
40g garlic (about half a bulb)
40g ginger
50g chopped scallions
50ml nanpla (or 27g shoyu, 15g dashi, splash of worcestershire, and about 1tsp ajinomoto)
6tbsp gochugaru/korean red pepper flakes
1tbsp roasted white sesame seeds
1/2tbsp sugar
Slice napa cabbage into 8 parts. Prep two bowls, and chop the leafy part into one bowl, stem part into one bowl (bite-sized pieces)
Add your salt into the bowl of stems and work it into the stem pieces until it’s slightly wilted. Add your water and let sit for 30min.
Add your bowl of leafy bits to your bowl of stem bits and work it in. Put an upside down plate on top of your cabbage, and press down on the plate using two 2-liter bottles filled with water. Let sit for 2 to 3 hours.
Do a taste test at this point - it should taste lightly salted. If it tastes too salty, drain your salt water and add fresh water to de-salt a little. Once you’ve gotten the salt levels right, drain your cabbage in a colander for 2 to 3 hours.
In the meantime, make your spice mixture. Put your apple, garlic, and ginger in a blender or food processor and make a paste. (If you don’t have one, you can just grate the apple and combine it with store-bought garlic and ginger paste.)
In a bowl, mix your paste from (5) and the scallions, nanpla/fish sauce/nanpla substitute, gochugaru, sesame seeds, and sugar.
Once fully drained, mix together your cabbage and spice mix. Do a taste test - if you want it spicier, you can add more gochugaru at this point.
Put your kimchi in a sealable baggie, large jar, or tupperware. You can eat it without letting it mature, but tastes best after letting it sit for 3+ days. Store in fridge.
Enjoy 😊