I love kimchi. Love it with a force of a thousand burning suns. However, I always buy it at the Asian market instead of making it myself. That is about to change soon though. And that’s why I need help/ advice. Does anyone have experience making your own kimchi? If so, could you take a look at …
This looks legit, though the proportions are different from the recipe my family uses.
My suggestions:
1.) The quality of the Napa cabbage and the gochugaru are key. Try to get the freshest cabbage and gochugaru you can, because it really does make a huge difference in how the final product tastes. You have a bit more leeway with the other ingredients.
2.) Use rock salt for the initial “wilting” step to make the cabbage leaves soft. It works better than table salt.
3.) The gochugaru will stain everything, so if you can, try to make the kimchi in a metal bowl. Definitely wear gloves while you make it – otherwise you will look like you just brutally murdered somebody because your hands will be stained red for hours.
4.) Store the kimchi in a large glass jar, not plastic, because the smell will stay in plastic.
5.) Your mileage may vary, but I think kimchi tastes much better if allowed to ferment slowly in the refrigerator for a week rather than fermented quickly at room temperature for a day. Just stick it in the fridge right after you make it and let it marinate in there for a week before you eat it.
You see. This is why I love the internet. Thank you so, so much for all this advice.
For the past decade and a half I have been making all my content available for free (and never behind a paywall) as an ongoing practice of ephemeral publishing. This site is no exception. If you wish to help offset my labor costs, you can donate on Paypal or you can subscribe to Patreon where I will not be putting my posts behind a lock but you'd be helping me continue making this work available for everyone. Thank you. Follow me on Twitter for new post updates.