Spicy and crunchy, as it should be!
Ingredients
- 1 Chinese cabbage / Napa cabbage
- 50 gr coarse sea salt
- 4 carrots
- 6 scallions
Gochugaru sauce
- 2 heaped tablespoons flour
- 250 ml water
- 30 gr ginger
- 8 cloves of garlic
- 2 apples
- 1 onion
- 3 tablespoons of gochugaru (korean chili flakes)
- 2 spoons of sugar
- 3 tablespoons fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon of sea salt
Preparation
Cut the cabbage in 2 cm pieces. Put it in a very large bowl in layers, with enough coarse sea salt and shake it all together so that everything has salt on it. Put a plate on top of the bowl, just big enough to cover the cabbage, and put some weight on it. Leave this for 30 minutes, then shake again and put the plate back. Keep doing this every 30 minutes for at least 4 hours.
In a small saucepan heat the water and flour together. Stir very well until it becomes a thick paste and then take it off the heat. Peel the apples and cut them in small pieces. Do the same with the onion and the garlic, and grate the ginger. Blend the flour paste, apples, onion, garlic, ginger, and gochugaru together in a hand blender until it becomes a thick paste.
Taste and add more gochugaru to your own taste, but be careful! Add the sugar, the fish sauce and blend everything together again for a minute or two. Add the salt and stir well, and then leave this mixture sit for now. Rinse the cabbage well, and drain it. Repeat this 2 more times and let it drain well. It should be bendy but not breaking!
In a foodprocessor, grate the carrots very thin. Cut the scallions in small pieces and combine them with the cabbage, carrots and sauce in a large bowl. Mix it all together wearing gloves (very important!!) and make sure to mix everything well.
Take a jar and start filling it with the mixture. Make sure to press it down, as there should not be any empty space or air bubbles anywhere in the jar! Do not overfill the jar, though! Divide your kimchi over two jars if you need to! Press the kimchi down, add the remaining juice and clean the mouths of the jars very well before closing them .
Let the jars sit out at room temperature. Open each jar one time daily for 4 days and then put it in the fridge and let is ferment without opening for one more week! I find that doing it this way brings more taste to the kimchi!
Voilà! Enjoy your kimchi with omelets, rice or make my creamy kimchi ramen recipe from a few weeks ago!
Notes
I used Ball mason jars as they are perfect for fermenting! Be careful when handling the gochugaru flakes! Use gloves and if it’s the first time you use them, don’t overdo it, as they can easily be too strong! I started with one spoon first and did four another time. Those four probably burned my tongue and insides! I find three with a little bit of sugar is the best!
The kimchi stays good for a long time, but gets more taste with time, so it’s up to you how long you take to eat it!
Did you make this recipe? I’d love to hear what you thought!
