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How to Make Kimchi




Yum

June 13, 2016 by Andrea Fabry 14 Comments

Kimchi is a Korean version of sauerkraut, full of flavor and immune-boosting properties. Kimchi typically contains red pepper and napa cabbage, but many variations exist. I love this adaptation featuring daikon radish and fish sauce.

How to Make Kimchi

You'll love this easily adaptable Korean superfood recipe! Combine vegetables with salt and spice for a delicious side dish!

How to Make Kimchi

This recipe is adapted from my go-to fermentation book, Real Food Fermentation. Feel free to modify to suit your preferences. Garlic is a healthy addition, but I prefer it without. Fish sauce is optional but helps with the fermentation process. (I buy Red Boat Fish Sauce.)

Kimchi vegetable ingredients

Ingredients

  • 1/3 cup sea salt
  • 2 cups filtered water
  • 2 pounds vegetables (cabbage, napa cabbage, bok choy, daikon radish, red cabbage)
  • 1/2 head garlic
  • 1/4 inch ginger root
  • 1 large onion
  • 1/4 cup red pepper flakes or powder
  • 1 tablespoon sugar (this will be fermented and will not remain in the final product)
  • 1 teaspoon fish sauce (optional)
  • 2-3 scallions

Directions

  1. In a mixing bowl, dissolve the salt in filtered water.
  2. Cut/slice/chop the cabbage, daikon radish, bok choy, and/or red cabbage.
    Ingredients in bowl
  3. Place the cut vegetables into the brine and mix with clean hands.
  4. Cover the bowl and leave overnight or a minimum of six hours.
  5. Drain the vegetables thoroughly. Taste them. They should be fairly salty. You can always rinse if you think they are too salty.
  6. Peel the onions, garlic, and ginger.
  7. Blend all three in a food processor with a bit of filtered water, to allow them to mix. You can chop them finely or use a mortar and pestle (the ancient way).
  8. Add the red pepper, fish sauce, and sugar to create a paste. Add water if needed.
  9. Cut the scallions diagonally and blend into the paste.
  10. Move the drained vegetables to a mixing bowl and add paste. Blend thoroughly with a spoon. Taste the vegetables. Add more salt if needed.
    Add kimchi paste to vegetables
  11. Pack the vegetables into a fermenting jar, leaving one inch of head room. I use a silicone waterless fermentation airlock from Pickle Pipe. You can also use a Fido jar or mason jar with tightly capped lid. (Be sure to burp the mason jar daily.)
    Pickle Pipes fermenting tops
  12. Leave the jar on a pantry shelf for several days. Wait until you like the taste. Store in refrigerator.

Kimchi
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Ingredients

  • 1/3 cup sea salt
  • 2 cups filtered water
  • 2 pounds vegetables (cabbage, napa cabbage, bok choy, daikon radish, red cabbage)
  • 1/2 head garlic
  • 1/4 inch ginger root
  • 1 large onion
  • 1/4 cup red pepper flakes or powder
  • 1 tablespoon sugar (this will be fermented and will not remain in the final product)
  • 1 teaspoon fish sauce (optional)
  • 2-3 scallions

Instructions

  1. In a mixing bowl, dissolve the salt in filtered water.Cut/slice/chop the cabbage, daikon radish, bok choy, and/or red cabbage.
  2. Place the cut vegetables into the brine and mix with clean hands. Cover the bowl and leave overnight or a minimum of six hours.
  3. Drain the vegetables thoroughly. Taste them. They should be fairly salty. You can always rinse if you think they are too salty.
  4. Peel the onions, garlic, and ginger. Blend all three in a food processor with a bit of filtered water, to allow them to mix. You can chop them finely or use a mortar and pestle (the ancient way).
  5. Add the red pepper, fish sauce, and sugar to create a paste. Add water if needed. Cut the scallions diagonally and blend into the paste.
  6. Move the drained vegetables to a mixing bowl and add paste. Blend thoroughly with a spoon. Taste the vegetables. Add more salt if needed.
  7. Pack the vegetables into a fermenting jar, leaving one inch of head room.Leave the jar on a pantry shelf for several days. Wait until you like the taste. Store in refrigerator.
6.6.15
https://it-takes-time.com/2016/06/13/how-to-make-kimchi/

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Filed Under: Fermented Foods, Foodie, Gut Health, Natural Health, Recipes, Super Boosters Tagged With: ancient, cabbage, daikon, daikon radish, fermentation, fermented, fermenting, fish sauce, ginger, kimchi, korean sauerkraut, mason, napa, onions, pestle, radish, Real food, scallions, silicone, vegetables

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Comments

  1. Karen says

    June 17, 2016 at 1:08 pm

    This looks great Andrea! So happy to see so many people enjoying making and eating kimchi. Gone are the days when I couldn’t eat it outside my home, let alone see non-Koreans make kimchi!

    Reply
    • Andrea Fabry says

      June 17, 2016 at 9:04 pm

      I bet, Karen! 🙂

      Reply
  2. Heidi Viars says

    June 21, 2016 at 3:18 pm

    Our oldest son just got His dad 2 jars of kimchi for Father’s Day. He totally loves it. No kidding, I have been meaning to get a recipe online, and today I got one in my email 🙂 THANKS!!!!!

    Reply
    • Andrea Fabry says

      June 22, 2016 at 8:36 am

      So glad to hear, Heidi!! Let me know how it works for you. What an awesome Father’s Day present.

      Reply
  3. michelle says

    June 23, 2016 at 5:52 pm

    Hi, I love the look of your kimchi recipe. But can you make it fit on only one page to print? It takes two pages now and if you look at it you will be able to see that it can easily fit on one page. Thank you so much for the recipe.

    Reply
    • Andrea Fabry says

      June 23, 2016 at 6:51 pm

      Hi Michelle!

      I cut it back so that it all fits on one page, but you’ll have to select single page. The second page has the link which you won’t need. Hope that helps!

      Reply
  4. Angela LUTE says

    March 6, 2017 at 9:50 am

    Hello Andrea,
    I am recovering from mold toxicity and I want to know if fermented foods are safe for my family and me? I believe I am experiencing the Herx reaction as I have just started making my own raw milk dairy kefir, kombucha and fermented vegetables. My symptoms hAve been sired up with the use of these products. But, before I knew mold was making me and my family I’ll, I was placed on six courses of antibiotics for chronic sinusitis.
    I feel that I really need these natural foods. I am trying to research but, the information is all over the board. I have read your posts and would greatly appreciate any information specific to using these fermented foods to assist in healing from mold toxicity and fungal infections .
    Thank you, Angela

    Reply
    • Andrea Fabry says

      March 7, 2017 at 9:50 am

      The key with fermented foods is to listen to your body. Sometimes they can be too much. Or other times you can tolerate one type of ferment but not another. Homemade sauerkraut can be too strong for some. But these are not toxic foods. They can simply be too much. Less is more when it comes to fermented food from my experience.

      Reply
  5. Angela LUTE says

    March 9, 2017 at 8:26 am

    Thank you, that makes perfect sense 🙂

    Reply
  6. Steven Burkhalter says

    June 4, 2019 at 2:23 pm

    Can I make this in a crock pot and take out what I want now and then?

    Reply
    • Andrea Fabry says

      June 5, 2019 at 7:36 am

      Some apps require WiFi to download but most we can use with this hookup.

      Reply
    • Andrea Fabry says

      June 5, 2019 at 7:39 am

      It depends on the temperature of the crock pot. You don’t want to overheat it as it will kill the beneficial enzymes.

      Reply
    • Charles Foley Sr says

      February 15, 2020 at 12:41 pm

      Do you mean ferment it in the crock. If so, once fermented, if should be refrigerated, in an air tight container. The added salt and lactic acid generated during frmentatin, help in preserving this food, but left out, in an open container and bad stuff will eventually spoil your stuff. Best to jar it and keep it closed in the refrigerator.

      Reply
  7. Charlie Foley Sr says

    February 15, 2020 at 12:29 pm

    I like to sweeten up the kimchi, and have found that one coffee sized packet of Stevie per pint of kimchi sweetened the mix to my tastes, and takes some of the bite and bitterness out of the pepper sauce.
    Just a suggestion.

    Reply

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MEET ANDREA

I am a certified Building Biology Advocate, a former journalist, mother of nine, and avid CrossFitter who likes to think outside the box. After our family's health crisis in 2008, I learned to ask questions about what's in our food, our water, and our air. I hope to empower you as you seek to live safely in a complex world. Thankfully, small steps lead to big changes. Let's travel this road together, one step at a time.

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