Homemade Kimchee

If I remember correctly, the first time I was introduced to kimchee was when I was living in a dorm. One of my friends was Korean, and she would sometimes have good homemade Korean food after being at home for the weekend or on vacation. At least one of those times she brought kimchee. I was hooked, but our dean was not. She thought the smell was so rank and terrible that she wound up banning kimchee from the dorm. Although disappointing, I still managed to have it every now and then, and over the past couple of years we have been making our own at home.

In case you’re wondering, kimchee (also spelled kimchi or kim chee) is an all encompassing word for the many varieties of fermented foods found in Korean cuisine. Typically, kimchee is made with a variety of vegetables, with the most popular tending to be napa cabbage. While a lot of kimchee is vegan, not all of it is – oftentimes you will see shrimp or other seafood found in the ingredients list on a commercial bag or jar. Vegan varieties do exist, and my favorite brand that I have come across so far is Sunja’s Kimchee.

Like other fermented foods (i.e. sauerkraut and pickles), kimchee is extremely good for you. Not only is it low in calories, it is high in fiber, contains a lot of vitamins and minerals, and it also contains beneficial bacteria which aids in digestion. When I have felt a cold coming on or if my digestion seems to have slowed down, even a quarter cup or half a cup of kimchee a day will help turn things around. Health Magazine has named kimchee one of the world’s healthiest foods.

While you can go out and grab a jar of kimchee, there is nothing more satisfying than knowing that you can make it yourself at home. If you’re anything like I was, you are probably overwhelmed at the thought of making your own kimchee or any type of fermented food. What if you do something wrong? What if you have to spend a lot of money to get started? What if you don’t like it?

I will admit that it does require a certain amount of work, but once you get the hang of it you’ll find that it goes easier and faster. There are many different ways to make kimchee, but I am going to show you how to make it in a Harsch fermentation crock with the ingredients I like to use. I first learned how to make kimchi using the very detailed instructions in this .pdf, so if you are still overwhelmed at the prospect of making your own kimchee this should also give you some good information that I may not be sharing in my post. (I’ve noticed that the original link to this .pdf no longer exists, so if the link I provide here no longer works, let me know and I can try to find another alternate link or email it to you directly.)

Kimchee

• 1 head napa cabbage
• 3 or 4 carrots, peeled and grated
• Daikon radish (this comes in varying sizes, so I would choose a small one), chopped
• 1 bunch of scallions, chopped
• About 1-inch size of ginger, peeled and chopped finely
• Coarse sea salt
• Crushed red pepper
• Sugar or agave nectar

First, boil about 4 or 5 tablespoons of salt in 8 cups of water, and let completely cool.

Boiling salt water

You will use this salt water at a later point when you are nearly done making the kimchee.

Take your head of napa cabbage and discard the damaged outer leaves. Remove about 3 or 4 of the intact outer leaves and salt them, then put in a large glass or plastic bowl (not metal).

Salting the napa cabbage

At this point I like to take the rest of the cabbage and chop it up into bite-sized pieces. Some kimchee is made where all the leaves are essentially left whole, but we like ours chopped up. Salt as much of the pieces as you can and put them in your large bowl with the larger outer leaves. Cover with water, and weigh down the cabbage with a bowl or plate. Let it sit for at least two hours.

Salting and then soaking the cabbage

I am using this salt which I have only been able to find in Korean grocery stores. If you do not have a Korean grocery store near you, you can try to use another sea salt or you can order it online. There are many different brands of Korean sea salt, so the one in the picture is not your only option.

Kimchee sea salt

After a couple of hours you’ll find that the cabbage has wilted. Drain the water and rinse the cabbage well.

Wilted napa cabbage

Prepare your other vegetables that you wish to use in your kimchee. Here I am using carrots, daikon, scallions and ginger.

Carrots, scallions, daikon and ginger

Add crushed red pepper (I usually do about two tablespoons which makes a batch of kimchee this size mildly spicy to medium spicy), a couple of tablespoons of salt and about a teaspoon of sugar (this is optional, but it gives the bacteria a boost). Mix all the ingredients together by hand, including the cabbage except for the larger leaves (it’s a good idea if you can use kitchen gloves, because the red pepper and salt can irritate your hands).

Making the kimchee spicy

Again, the red pepper can be found in Korean grocery stores, but I wouldn’t substitute on this one. If you can’t find it near you, then try to purchase it online. There are also many brands of red pepper, so you don’t need to be picky.

Once everything has been well mixed, place the kimchee mixture into the Harsch crock. We have a 5-liter crock, which is the smallest size that this company makes. Don’t let the size fool you, though. It can make about twice or triple the batch you’re seeing here, and the crock itself is extremely heavy.

Harsch fermentation crock

Once you have everything in the crock, take a dowel or rolling pin and mash your vegetables for a few minutes. This helps to release some of the vegetable’s water.

Mashing the kimchee vegetables

Once you are done, place the large leaves of cabbage over the top of the kimchee, then on top of that place the two half moon ceramic pieces that come with the crock. These weigh the kimchee down so that it stays below the water.

Covering up the kimchee

Pour the salt water on top of the two ceramic pieces until they are covered. Place the lid on top of the crock, then fill the reservoir with water so that the holes on the side of the lid are adequately covered. This makes it so that oxygen does not enter the kimchee as it is fermenting. After a few hours or on the second day you may see bubbles escape through the water – this means that your kimchee is fermenting!

Kimchee fermenting in the Harsch crock

I like to let my kimchee ferment for about four days, but some people prefer shorter or longer fermentation periods. As tempting as it may be, do not open the crock until you plan to take your kimchee out! It won’t necessarily ruin the kimchee, but when oxygen comes in contact with it, there is a greater chance for mold.

About to take out the kimchee

When you open up your crock and take a look at the kimchee, do check for floating mold or slime. This batch didn’t have any, but to be on the safe side, I still discarded some of the top part of the kimchee juice (including the floating veggies) before removing the kimchee from the crock.

When your kimchee is done, you can store it in a glass container in the refrigerator. If you use a container with an air tight seal, make sure it is not completely closed as the fermentation will still continue in the refrigerator and the air will still need a way to escape. I like to store my kimchee in mason jars, and as you can see I used a plastic sandwich bag and a plastic lid. I have used regular canning lids, but have found that they do disintegrate and start to rust after a while from the acids in the kimchee, so a plastic barrier of some kind is my current solution.

Storing kimchee

It has been a while since I’ve made kimchee, so I made a smaller batch this time. It turned out nicely, although it is a pretty sour one. My husband would probably prefer a milder kimchee (and sans ginger), so a couple of days of fermentation might have yielded him a nicer kimchee.

Still, if you wind up with kimchee that is too spicy or sour, there are ways that you can use it without throwing it out. We enjoy using it in stir fry, or a lot of Koreans will make soup or pancakes (not your breakfast variety) with them. It’s also nice to have with a simple bowl of rice, which will cut the heat and sourness down a little bit. The nice thing is that your kimchi will last for months and sometimes up to a year, so there is time for you to figure out how best to use it.

Never had kimchee before? Before you do anything else, I would strongly suggest that you find a small jar of kimchee at your local health food store, or a store like Whole Foods. It is not something that everyone likes, so before you commit yourself to making it, try it first.

I also recommend watching some videos on how to make kimchee. It’s not necessary to use a fermentation crock – and it’s not even necessary to ferment it before eating it. As they say, variety is the spice of life. ;)

Have you made kimchee before? How do you make it?