Kimjang Baechu-kimchi (Napa Cabbage Kimchi)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large food-safe tub or basin for salting cabbage
• •Large colander or draining rack
• •5-liter onggi, glass jars, or kimchi containers with tight lids
• •Kitchen gloves
• •Small pot and whisk for sweet rice paste

Instructions

1. 1

   Split the cabbages

   Trim only the browned base of each cabbage. Cut a 3-inch slit into the stem end, then pull the cabbage apart with your hands into halves. Slit each half again at the stem and pull into quarters. Pulling keeps the leaves whole and ragged in the right way; slicing straight through the leaves bruises them.

2. 2

   Salt leaf by leaf

   Dissolve 1 cup of the coarse salt in 12 cups water to make a light brine. Dip each cabbage quarter into the brine, then lift it out and sprinkle the remaining 1 cup salt mostly into the thick white stem layers, using about 2 tablespoons salt per quarter. The leafy green ends need little salt; the white ribs need persuasion. Stack the quarters in a large tub, cut side up.

   Use coarse Korean sea salt if you can. Fine table salt enters too fast and makes the leaves harsh before the stems soften.
3. 3

   Turn and test

   Let the cabbage salt for 6 to 8 hours, turning the stack every 2 hours so the top and bottom trade places. The cabbage is ready when a thick white leaf bends in a U shape without snapping. Taste a piece from the stem. It should be salty enough to season the cabbage through, not so salty that your mouth tightens.

4. 4

   Rinse and drain

   Rinse each cabbage quarter under cold running water, opening the leaves gently to wash away loose salt. Rinse 2 or 3 times, then drain cut side down in a colander for at least 1 hour. Do not squeeze the cabbage. You want excess water gone, but the leaves still supple.

5. 5

   Cook rice paste

   Whisk the sweet rice flour with 3 cups water in a small pot until smooth. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until it thickens to a loose porridge, 5 to 7 minutes. Cool completely. The paste is not filler; it helps the seasoning cling to the leaves and gives fermentation a steady food source.

6. 6

   Mix the seasoning

   In a very large bowl, stir the cooled rice paste with the gochugaru, fish sauce, chopped saeujeot, maesil cheong or sugar, grated pear, grated onion, garlic, and ginger. Let it sit 20 minutes so the chili flakes bloom and soften. Taste a fingertip's worth. It should be salty, garlicky, and deeper than you would eat alone, because the cabbage will carry it.

7. 7

   Add the vegetables

   Fold the julienned radish, scallions, minari, and gat into the red seasoning. Mix by hand with gloves until the radish softens slightly and gives off a little juice. Keep the radish cut fine, about matchstick width, so it tucks between the leaves instead of breaking them.

8. 8

   Season each quarter

   Working with one cabbage quarter at a time, spread seasoning between the leaves, using more near the thick white stems and less near the tender green tips. Use about 3/4 cup filling per quarter. Fold the leafy end over toward the stem and wrap the outer leaf around the bundle. This keeps the seasoning inside the head, where it belongs.

9. 9

   Pack the jars

   Pack the cabbage bundles tightly into clean onggi, glass jars, or kimchi containers, stem ends alternating so there are fewer gaps. Press down firmly to push out air pockets, but leave 2 inches of headspace because kimchi rises as it ferments. Scrape any remaining seasoning over the top and press a piece of food-safe wrap directly on the surface if your container has extra air.

10. 10

    Start fermentation

    Leave the packed kimchi at cool room temperature, about 18 to 20 C, for 18 to 24 hours. Open the lid once to release pressure and press the kimchi back under its juices with a clean spoon. When the smell turns pleasantly sour and tiny bubbles appear at the sides, move it to the refrigerator or kimchi fridge.

11. 11

    Mature and serve

    Refrigerate at least 5 days before eating if you want young kimchi, or 2 to 3 weeks for deeper winter flavor. To serve, lift out one quarter with clean tongs, cut crosswise into bite-size pieces, and spoon a little kimchi juice over it. Always press the remaining kimchi back down before closing the container.

Chef Tips

• •The cabbage weight matters. This recipe is built for about 8 kg napa cabbage before salting. If your cabbages weigh less, scale the seasoning down, or the kimchi will be too salty and too crowded with paste.
• •If saeujeot is unavailable, use 1/4 cup additional fish sauce, but know what changes: the flavor becomes cleaner and less rounded. Salted shrimp gives kimjang kimchi its old winter depth.
• •Do not rush the draining. Watery cabbage dilutes the seasoning and leaves loose liquid at the bottom of the jar. One quiet hour in the colander saves the whole batch.
• •Use gloves. Not because the chili is dangerous, but because kimjang is long work and gochugaru under the fingernails will remind you of your impatience all night.
• •For a vegetarian version, replace fish sauce and saeujeot with 1 1/2 cups Korean soup soy sauce and 2 tablespoons doenjang blended with the rice paste. It will ferment well, but it will taste different, more temple-kitchen savory and less sea-deep.

Advance Preparation

• •Kimjang is easiest over two days. Salt and rinse the cabbage on the first day, drain it well, then mix and pack on the second day.
• •The rice paste can be cooked 1 day ahead and refrigerated. Cool it fully before mixing with gochugaru, or the chili flavor turns dull.
• •Once fermented to your liking, keep the kimchi refrigerated and always use clean tongs. It will continue to sour for months, becoming better for jjigae and bokkeumbap as it ages.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 100g)