How to Prepare Appetizing Kimchi

Kimchi. Mak kimchi, or simple kimchi, is made with cut cabbage, radish, and scallions and a seasoned paste of red pepper, garlic, ginger, sugar, and fish sauce, salted shrimp, or kelp powder. (Image credit: Apartment Therapy) Kimchi varieties are determined by the main vegetable ingredients and the mix of seasoning used to flavor the kimchi. There are many types of Kimchi dishes, and the most famous meal in this category is the cabbage Kimchi. For many families, this pungent and often spicy meal is a source of pride and recalls the taste of a good home.

Use a persimmon in place of the apple, if you prefer. If you want to serve it the very next day, don't refrigerate. Kimchi, the national food of South Korea, is a spicy pickled vegetable dish. You can cook Kimchi using 23 ingredients and 16 steps. Here is how you cook it.

Ingredients of Kimchi

1. It's 2 of Chinese leaf cabbages (I bought two of them and had about 900g for two.).
2. You need 90 g of salt (10-12% of cabbage preferably sea salt).
3. Prepare 450 ml of (10-12% of cabbage x 5) water.
4. It's of [Sauce].
5. It's 1/2-1 of apple (about 200-400g).
6. It's 2-4 cloves of garlic (about 40g).
7. You need of about 50 g Root ginger, skin peeled.
8. Prepare 1 bunch of spring onion.
9. You need of (option) 1/3 bunch of Chinese chives (nira), if you can get them. Cut into 3cm. If you do not have it, cut half of spring onion 3cm and the other half small.
10. Prepare 50 ml of fish sauce (I could not get Korean 魚醤 in the UK.).
11. You need 1-2 TBS of fine chilli powder (if Korean chilli, 3 TBS).
12. Prepare 1-2 TBS of coarser chilli powder (if Korean chilli, 3 TBS).
13. You need 2 tsp of sugar.
14. You need of kelp Kombu, optional.
15. You need of niboshi, optional.
16. You need of dried shrimp, optional.
17. You need of Shiokouji, optional.
18. You need of sesame seeds, optional.
19. It's of honey, optional.
20. It's of [Optional vegetables].
21. Prepare of Daikon radish.
22. You need of cucumber.
23. Prepare of carrots.

Kimchi is traditionally made by combining cabbage, scallions, or radishes in a brine with garlic, ginger, chili pepper,. Kimchi is a Korean side dish made from salted, seasoned, and fermented vegetables—most commonly Napa cabbage with radishes, green onions, and gochugaru, or red pepper flakes. It is commonly found in many Asian restaurants. Baechu-kimchi, or cabbage kimchi, is the most common type of kimchi.

Kimchi step by step

1. Cut Chinese cabbages into serving sizes. Traditionally, cabbages are not cutting into serving sizes and put sauces between leaves. However, this way is much easier to handle! So cut cabbages..
2. Divid them into hard parts and tender leaves..
3. Wash them under running water and drain them in a colander..
4. In a big bowl or a big pan, sprinkle salt on to harder leaves and pour water. (The amount of salt is 10-12% of cabbage and water is 5 times of salt). Then put a plate and put something as a weight..
5. Leave them for about 30 mins and add softer leaves. Then put plate and a weight on the top again. And leave it for another two and half hours or so..
6. After about three hours in total, rinse them under running water and drain them. Taste it. If it is too salty, put them in freshwater and get rid of salt a little bit. Make the salt level as Japanese asatzuke: not too salty but salty. Leave them in a sieve for about 3 hours in order to drain excess water. Or if you are in hurry, squeeze by hands and get rid of the excess water without waiting for three hours..
7. While waiting for the cabbage to dry, make the sauce. (optional "dashi" stock) If you have kelp and niboshi, boil water. Pour over kelp and niboshi and leave until it becomes room temperature. This “dashi” will gives depths to Kimuchi. You only need small amount (30ml, 2 Tablespoon) for this but you and use rest for other dishes..
8. Peel the ginger. Please use tea spoon to peel it. It is the safest and easiest way to peel ginger. Usually, Brtish people do not know about it. Peel the garlic as well..
9. Cut spring onion. Half of them as small pieces and the other half about 3cm. If you have Chinese chives (Nira), please use them and cut Nira as 3cm and all spring onion small! It will taste much better with Nira but I cannot find it here. I think that you could get it in Japanese or Chinese supermarkets in London. You could also use normal chive instead as well..
10. Put peeled ginger, garlic and apple in a food processor. Make purée..
11. Mix two types of chilli powders in a bowl and mix well. Use coarser and finer ones, if you do not have two types, just use one. Try to use a finer chilli and coarser chilli which gives better flavours. But if you cannot find two types of chilli powders, just used one. Mix both chillies well in a bowl. If you have Korean chilli powders, you probably need more than UK ones as they are milder and they are better for Kimchi..
12. Add all sauce ingredients, including the purée and "dashi" stock into a big bowl except the chilli powders and mix them well. Please start to add less than half of the chilli powder mix. Then, add chilli powder mix little by little to suit your taste. If you add all at once it may become too hot for you and it would be impossible to be undone. Therefore, please start with a smaller quantity. You could add a small portion of your former Kimchi sauce or Kimchi to accelerate the fermentation..
13. The beauty of homemade Kimchi is you can make as you like. You could add more garlic, ginger, apples, more spring onion, or add chives etc. You could add Kelp, niboshi or dried fish, honey, shiokouji 塩麹 etc to give complex taste when you ferment it. So, play with your sauce and try to find your perfect Kimchi! And you can definitely make much tastier Kimchi than bought ones!.
14. Then, add cabbage and mix them with hands with gloves. I use disposable plastic gloves. Then after mixing well, put them into a clean container. I use a Kilner fermentation bottle set which is great for Kimuchi..
15. Leave it in a relatively cool place in the house for at least three days and it is ready to eat! It will change its taste according to the fermentation..
16. I could not get Korean fish saice 魚醤 but I was able to buy this from Ocado..

Kimchi is a classic Korean dish consisting of fermented cabbage and radish. Its tasty, spicy flavor makes it an ideal additional to rice, noodles, soup, and other dishes that need a little something extra. You can purchase prepared kimchi at Korean or Asian grocery stores, but it's actually relatively easy to make at home. Kimchi is a traditional Korean dish made with salted, fermented vegetables. It typically contains cabbage and seasonings like sugar, salt, onions, garlic, ginger, and chili peppers.