Eolgari-kimchi (Young Cabbage Kimchi)

Eolgari tells you the season at the market. The heads are loose, the leaves are young, and the stems still snap easily, so you don't treat them like winter napa cabbage. Heavy hands bruise this kimchi before it ever reaches the jar.

This is the kimchi I make when the deep winter jar is nearly finished and the table needs something bright beside rice, soup, and a fried egg. It sits close to geotjeori (fresh kimchi), but it can ferment a little if you want that sour edge. The work tonight is not hard. It asks for restraint: salt only until the stems bend, rinse quickly, drain well, and fold the seasoning through without crushing the leaves.

My teacher Master Seong-nyeo used to say that tender greens show a careless cook faster than meat does. She was right. Measure the salt and the fish sauce, then taste before the kimchi goes into the container. 손맛 is real; I measure it anyway, so it can be handed on.