Kimchi

Recipe Kimchi - 김치 (spicy fermented Chinese cabbage) by Kkoching

Ingredients (for about 2.5 liters of Kimchi):

2 whole Chinese cabbages

5 tablespoons of coarse salt

1 and ½ tablespoons of rice flour

3 tablespoons of brown sugar

½ white onion

8 garlic cloves

a small piece of fresh ginger

3 tablespoons of fish sauce

4 tablespoons of Gochugaru

1 medium carrot

⅓ of a daikon radish

1 green onion

1 bunch of chives

300 ml of water

Instructions

1. Cut the two Chinese cabbages lengthwise, only halfway, starting from the root. Separate them by hand. Cut them again and separate once more by hand, obtaining 8 pieces of cabbage.
2. Wash the cabbages under running water and let them drain for 30 minutes.
3. Sprinkle coarse salt on the cabbage leaves, especially near the base, between the leaves.
4. Place the salted cabbages in a container and put a weight on top. Let them salt for 2 hours, turning them every 30 minutes to ensure even salting.
5. To check if the cabbage is ready, try folding the white part of a leaf in half: if it bends without breaking, the cabbage is ready.
6. Rinse the cabbages under plenty of running water to remove all excess salt and let them drain for 30 minutes.
7. Julienne the carrot and daikon, and finely chop the green onion and chives. Set aside.
8. Dissolve the rice flour in a small pot with cold water. Heat over high flame, stirring well to prevent sticking and lumps.
9. Once it boils, add the brown sugar and continue stirring until the porridge becomes translucent. Turn off the heat and let it cool.
10. In a blender, combine onion, garlic, ginger, and fish sauce. Blend until smooth.
11. Add to the mixture the chili powder, the cooled rice flour porridge, and the chopped vegetables (carrot, daikon, green onion, and chives).
12. Wearing gloves, spread this mixture on the cabbage leaves, paying special attention to the inner parts of the leaves.
13. Fold each quarter of cabbage in half over itself and place it in an airtight container (preferably glass). Press the cabbage quarters firmly inside the container to remove all air bubbles.
14. Let the cabbage ferment at room temperature for at least 24 hours (in winter, ferment for at least 48 hours).
15. The Chinese cabbage kimchi is ready when pressing the surface with a spoon creates bubbles and a lot of liquid comes out.
16. After fermentation at room temperature is complete, store the kimchi in the fridge.