This Sat, I made my 27th batch of kimchi.
I became a fan of Maangchi's videos in late 2014. They were great to get one
started on Korean cooking. Since then, I always played her "Easy-to-Make Kimchi"
on a laptop for guidance when making a batch myself.
With practice, however, I needed the video less and searching through it for a few
forgotten details, e.g., the amount of one ingredient, became a pain, especially
when ads got in the way.
Over time, I have adapted Maangchi's original recipe to make a one-cabbage batch.
Here's it for quick reference. Hopefully I won't need the video crutch anymore.
1. Prepare the cabbage.
- Cut the cabbage (~5lbs) into mostly square pieces.
(first lengthwise and then cross)
- Dump the pieces in a big container, a plastic basin, e.g.
- Soak them in water and drain.
- Mix them with 0.5 cup of coarse sea salt.
- Every 30min, turn them once. Do this three times.
After three turns or 1.5 hours, the cabbage is ready. Drain. Wash the wilted
cabbage three times.
2. Cut the vegetables.
- 1 leek, 12 green onions, cut at an angle, and
- 1 carrot(~10oz), Asian chives(~5oz), and 1 daikon radish(1.5-2.0lbs) in matchsticks
3. Prepare the kimchi paste.
- Mix 3 cups of water, 0.5 cup of mochiko powder (rice flour), and 0.25 cup of
sugar. Heat over medium high and churn until the porridge turns translucent. Cool it down.
- Blend
- 2tbsp of ginger,
- 1 cup of onion,
- 1 cup of fish sauce, and
- 1 cup of garlic,
and add the mixture into the porridge bowl.
- Add 1.5 cups (depending on taste) of coarse hot pepper flakes.
- Finely cut 1 tbsp of salted shrimp, and add to the mix.
4. Finally, mix everything.
Step 2 and 3 can be done while the cabbage is sweating. So the whole process
takes less than two hours. I even find time to write in the middle.
The final crop fills a 5.5L/185oz air-tight containter and I usually leave it on the
counter for the night for faster fermentation. If not in a hurry, I would put the
container directly in the fridge. One batch would last a couple of months.
