Kim Chi - Korean Bae Chu Kim Chi Recipe

Photo: Richard Blaine

Ingredients

1 head of Napa Cabbage

8 bulbs of fresh garlic or more to taste

2 inches piece of ginger cut up into small pieces

1/4 cup fish sauce

2 bunchs of scallions

1 cup coarse Korean chili powder

2 teaspoons sugar

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

1/2 of large Asian radish (Daikon) cut up into small pieces

Preparation

Cut Napa cabbage in half the long way.

Cut the stem out at bottom.

Cut each cabbage half in half again.

Cut each cabbage quarters into strips of one or two inches thick each.

Put cut up cabbage into large pot with 3/4 to 1 gal of water.

Add 4oz of salt.

Make sure salt is dissolved in water.

Cover pot for 2 to 4 hours.

Come back after 2 to 4 hrs.

Strain cabbage into a collander.

Shake off excess water then gently squeeze out excess water.

Now put a little bit of cabbage back into pot and sprinkle just a little bit of salt on it. Do this a little bit at a time. A layer of cabbage and then just a touch of salt.

When all done put lid on pot and let stand for 30 minutes.

Time To Make The Sauce:

Tbsp. rice flour added to 1/2 cup water in sauce pan.

Heat medium until it boils and thickens. This is rice flour glue that allows other ingredients to stick to the cabbage. Once thickened, let cool.

Korean Chili Paste:

Take garlic, ginger, Asian radish and blend in food processor or blender until it is a pulpy liquid.

When the rice flour glue has cooled add the Korean chili powder, sugar, fish sauce, sesame oil, and rice vinegar and mix it up well.

Then take the pulpy liquid of garlic, ginger, radish and add it to the glue mixture and mix it all up well.

Time To Mix It Up:

Now uncover the cabbage that is in the pot on your counter and get another big pot or mixing bowl out.

Take a little bit of the cabbage from bowl one and put it into bowl two then take a spoonful of the chili paste and mix it with the cabbage.

Repeat this step: layer of cabbage then spoonfuls of paste and mix together.

Repeat this step until all the cabbage has been moved from bowl one to bowl two and all the chili paste has been used up.

Once all the cabbage has been coated with all the chili paste then move it from the pot that you have mixed it up in and put the kim chi into a large air tight jar. I find that one large head of Napa cabbage prepared into kim chi will fill a 2 quart jar easily. Once transferred into your jar put jar in a cool place with no sunlight for 2 to 3 days to let it ferment, if you see it bubbling this is a good thing. Put in refrigerator. It will keep for up to 2 months.

I am sure once made it will not last that long!