I. LOVE. KIMCHI. I love it on rice, in tacos (and just for the record, I did this before Kogi even!), I love it with seaweed, rice and spam (okay, don’t roll your eyes….it’s GOOD!), in soups (Kimchi Jigae) and to spice up midnight instant noodles. But I’ve never made kimchi myself before, which is why i asked Amy Kim of Kimchi Mom to help me out and teach you all how to make kimchi! She’s even made a little video to show you. ~jaden
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I’m Amy Kim of Kimchi Mom, and my blog is a collection of stories and family recipes from my kitchen. As a kid, I watched my mom cook Korean food everyday but never paid attention to any of it even when she tried to teach me (ah, those teen years). But I do remember being at the dinner table every night at 5 o’clock and having totally consumed dinner 20 minutes later. Yes, it was that good! Fast forward to a couple of years ago. My parents stayed with us for several months to help when my second child was born. And by “help”, she cooked! The dishes she made were flavorful, easy to make, and most importantly, voraciously devoured by my toddler son! I was intent on learning how to make these dishes and Kimchi Mom was born!
I am still a newbie when it comes to making kimchi. Growing up, I watched my mom make green cabbage kimchi every couple of months, and as with every dish she ever made, no measuring implements were used. I had always wanted to make a batch from scratch, and so I called my mom last summer and asked her to measure all the ingredients the next time she made her own batch of kimchi. I was surprised at how easy it was to assemble everything, but it certainly took a few tries to get the desirable flavors. As for my mom, her recipes have evolved over the past 40 or so years as various ingredients were made more accessible and also because, well, she likes to experiment. So this recipe for mak kimchi is her latest, and I think one of her best kimchi recipes.
There are essentially two types of cabbage kimchi – poggi kimchi and mak kimchi. Poggi kimchi is nappa cabbage kimchi where the cabbage is seasoned whole and sliced when ready to be eaten. Its presentation is “prettier” when served in tidy little stacks, and it lasts longer than mak kimchi mostly because of the way it is packed and stored in the jar. Mak kimchi is the more “casual” counterpart to poggi kimchi. The cabbage is cut into slices before it’s seasoned. It’s much easier to make – everything is thrown in together versus carefully layering the seasoning and cabbage leaves – and the presentation is certainly not as formal as poggi kimchi .
The recipe detailed below is a variation on my green cabbage kimchi recipe. The components for the sauce are essentially the same, but instead of the rice purée (my grandmother’s touch), I used sweet rice flour paste. Although my kimchi-making experience is limited, I believe this paste has made ALL the difference. The resulting kimchi juice is smooth, balanced, and luscious. I could drink this red elixir. Oh yes I could! I also found that this glutinous component has made a marked difference in my kimchi jigae and kimchi fried rice.
I also made a video on how to make mak kimchi, and you’ll see how easy it is. I now make my own kimchi at least once every couple of months! Every time I’ve made kimchi, it comes out slightly different each time, so it’s critical to adjust the seasoning of the sauce before incorporating everything together. Enjoy the video!
How to make kimchi – recipe video
Mak Kimchi Recipe
Ingredients
- 7 pounds of napa cabbage
- about 1/3 cup kosher salt
- 1 cup sweet rice flour (Mochiko is a popular brand)
- 2 cups water
- 3/4 cup red pepper flakes, medium coarseness
- 1/4 cup chopped saewoo jjut (salted shrimp)
- 3 tablespoons fish sauce
- A scant 1/2 cup sugar
- 5-7 stalks green onion, chopped
- 2 ounces ginger (2-inch long, 1-inch diameter piece), minced
- 8-9 medium garlic cloves, minced
- 3 medium carrots, julienned
- 1 medium-sized daikon or 1 small mu (Korean radish), thinly sliced in 2-inch sections
- water
Instructions
Preparing the sweet rice flour paste:
- Whisk together the sweet rice flour and water in a small saucepan. Keep whisking the mixture until bubbles form on the surface. Once this occurs, take the saucepan off the heat and set aside to cool.
Preparing the cabbage:
- Discard any wilted or discolored leaves. Starting at the base of the stem, cut the cabbage about one-third of the way down. Then pull apart the cabbage halves to completely separate them. Do the same with the halved portions - cut and pull apart. Repeat for all the cabbage heads. At this point, you can give the quarters a quick rinse under running water and shake off any excess water.
- Trim the core at a diagonal. Cut the quarters into 2-inch wide pieces and place in an oversized bowl (I used a 12 qt. bowl) or use a couple of large bowls. Sprinkle generously with salt. Alternate layers of cabbage and salt. Once all the cabbage is cut, give the cabbage a toss and sprinkle more salt on top. Place a weight on top of the cabbage. Two dinner plates works well for me.
- Let the salted cabbage sit for at least 3 hours. Don't worry if you go over (in the video, I let mine sit overnight since I couldn't tend to it at 3 hours). After 1 hour, give the cabbage another toss.
Preparing the sauce:
- While the cabbage is close to being ready, prepare the red pepper sauce. In a medium bowl, mix kochukaru (red pepper flakes), water, saewoo jjut, fish sauce, green onions, sugar, ginger, garlic, rice flour paste, and about a 1/2 cup water. Mix thoroughly. Taste. It should be balanced – not too salty, not too fishy, not to spicy and not too sweet. Adjust seasonings at this point. The consistently should be akin to very thick batter. Add a bit more water if necessary. Mix in carrots and radish. Set aside.
- Once the cabbage is ready (the volume of the cabbage should have decreased, and it should be a bit wilted), rinse the cabbage under cold running water and let drain in a colander. Once drained, place the cabbage in a large bowl.
- At this point you may want to put clean plastic gloves on especially if you have sensitive skin. Add the sauce to the cabbage. Thoroughly mix the sauce and cabbage and make sure every piece of cabbage is coated with the red pepper sauce. Taste. If it needs more salt, add a bit of fish sauce. But you don’t want it to be too salty.
- Transfer the cabbage mixture into a large glass jar. Press down on the cabbage as you are filling the jar. Leave about 1-inch of space from the top.
- Don’t throw the empty bowl in the sink just yet. Pour in about 1 cup of water into the bowl. Add about a teaspoon of salt to start, and stir. Swirl the water around to make sure you get all the remaining pepper mixture. Taste. Again, you don’t want it too salty – just a hint of salt. Fill the jar with the water until it barely covers the cabbage.
- Press down on the cabbage again and make sure the liquid has made its way throughout the jar. Close the lid tightly.
- Leave the jars at room temperature** for about a day away from direct sunlight. I leave mine out for about 24-30 hours. This is when the magic happens. You may want to place the jar in a shallow bowl or plate in case there is leakage.
- After those 24 or so excruciating hours, sample the kimchi. There should be a slight tang. At this point it is ready to be refrigerated. You can eat the kimchi right away, but I prefer to wait at least a week to indulge. The kimchi will continue to ferment at a much slower pace in the refrigerator and will keep for about 4 weeks. The kimchi will turn really sour at this point and if you have any left in the jar, it will be perfect for jigae, fried rice, ramen or jun.
Did you try this recipe? Please leave a star rating in the recipe card below and leave a review in the comment section! I always appreciate your feedback and I know other readers do, too!
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The ratio of water to sweet rice flour is totally wrong.
I was visiting kimchimom.com and noticed a different recipe for Mak Kimchi and wondered if that recipe is now your (Amy’s) preferred method or just a faster/easier version? I have the ingredients to try my hand at DIY kimchi (except for the salted shrimp which I’m willing to run out and get) but not sure which recipe to try. I would try both but two gallons is a lot for me to eat through. =)
Thanks!
Hi Rumi! There are soooo many ways to make kimchi! I’ve been making this recipe with consistent, great results, and give away jars of kimchi to friends. I haven’t her other version. jaden
I’ve seen people refrigerate the cabbage at the first salt.. you leave yours overnight on counter? Does it matter?Is this safe? I prefer counter just for space reasons lol
Please let me know ASAP as I’d like to make tonight 🙂
Hi Hillary – it doesn’t matter! Salt will penetrate best at room temperature, and yes, it’s safe. Salt is a preservative, and for vegetables, it really doesn’t matter (unlike meat or seafood.)
Hi Jaden! I tried DIY kimchi twice already. The flavor is unbelievable. Keep that kimchi machine going!
do you have to use napa cabbage? mine is all done in the garden but i have green cabbage that will be ready for harvest soon. thanks!
Napa is traditionally used, but you can use regular cabbage – roughly chop.
This recipe looks great and I am salivating as I read it, however, I am a Vegetarian; what do you suggest I use in place of the shrimp and fish sauce? Would a light Soy sauce work? (I assume a dark one would change the colour too drastically)
I’ve never had Kimchi (it’s not that easy to find here in South Wales in the UK) so I don’t know how the omission of the fish products would affect the overall taste.
Yes, light soy would work.
Hi, concerned experimenter here! I made my kimchi four days ago and have been opening and checking it everyday of leaving it out. It’s in a jar. Today, I opened it up and saw what I thought at first was very light, smoke-like, white mold. It seems to have been some kind of emission. What could this possibly be?
Hi Katie – I would throw that batch away. There shouldn’t be any mold!
Just made some kimchi from The Essentials of Asian Cuisine by Corinne Trang, and then saw your video on line as I was looking for other recipes to compare. You did a nice job explaining how to make it! I think mine will come out well since I did just what you did, in
terms of technique! I will leave mine out overnight, which was not in my recipe. Thanks so much for the video! Also, made one with cucumbers and Asian pear!
Great! Let me know how they taste!
I’ve been making this for a year now and have always meant to thank you for posting it. So, thank you!
My request would be, should you ever have the time, to provide links to the kind of chili flakes, fish sauce, and shrimp you use. When I go to the Korean markets in my area (it is a huge community, the nation’s largest, I think) I cannot get any help. Thanks again!
Hi – the video is not currently available to watch….can you fix this?
Would like to see how you do it…..even though everything is explained well. Thanks
Years ago I saw a recipe for Kim Chi dumplings. I’m thinking a dumpling with minced Bulgogi and this Kim Chi recipe minced, would make an awesome pot sticker or dumpling. A good dipping sauce and these would be a hit.
When I have trouble finding the shrimp, I use anchovy paste instead to taste. Adds great flavor.
Great recipe. It was my first time making kimchi, and it turned out excellent. The only thing i changed was that i used more fish sauce in place of salted shrimp, and i omitted the carrot and daikon. It was delicious and i will be using this recipe every time i make kimchi.
Hello,
Can you use regular rice flour instead of glutinous rice flour???
In a few months we will be selling our Kimchi on-line for those of you who aren’t as adventuresome as some to actually take on the crazy task of making it yourself. Mrs. Kim has been making delicious Kimchi all her life and my brother and I thought we’d share our joy with Americans. Her brand will be called Kimchi Green. Follow us on Facebook, just search Kimchi Green. Thanks!
do you have any recommendations for what i can do if i can’t get my hands on an actual jar of salted shrimp? there is a small asian market in town that i plan to make a trip to in a few days but i don’t know if she carries them and i’d like to have a few options on hand just in case! i had a semi-laughable hair brained idea of buying a little tin of the mini shrimp that’s by the tuna fish at the grocery store, mashing them up a little bit and adding some salt but since i have no idea what salted shrimp is supposed to taste like (aside from salty shrimp!) i didn’t go through with it! i always prefer to get as close to the recipe as i can get before i starting messing around with it so i know how it was meant to be! thanks!
This looks like a good recipe. I have been making David Chang’s recipe which I like. I think you are definitely right about not putting it in the refrigerator for at least the first 24 hours. If you do, it never really gets enough kick to it.
Happy New Year!
https://steamykitchen.com/16043-how-to-make-kimchi-recipe.html
I tweaked the original kimchi recipe, which might infuriate the purists but it was inevitable to make it suitable for the French palate. I wonder how you’d think of my recipe. 🙂
http://www.koreataste.org/en/blogging-en/making-kimchi-in-france/
Can not wait to try this, Amy! I just recently tried kimchi for the first time at a Korean restaurant in my city. AMAZING! And thank you for providing a link for Korean Markets here in Germany! I am so excited to give this a try!!!
I want to try kimchi. But,i’m a muslim. so some ingredients i cannot eat. : (
Ahhh… Kimchi.
I’m Korean and of course I’ve been spoiled by my mom’s BEST.KIMCHI.ON.EARTH. (Although I think every korean kid would think that of their mom’s kimchi lol)
So I’ve been living on my own in the states where I have been living off of store bought kimchi and haven’t dared to try making it on my own – too complicated and afraid that it’ll suck. lol
Now I may try my hand at it. YAY!!
Thanks for this great post and I’ll look forward to different variations of kimchi recipes – no pressure 😉
and Jaden – I totally back you up on the spam and kimchi thing – they ROCK together!! try making fried rice with kimchi and cubed spam – DELICIOUS!!
Hi Anh – That’s great! I’m glad it worked out for you. I need to make some this weekend also! 🙂
The kimchi turns out beautifully! Thank you!
I have to make some more this weekend. It’s that good!
Hey razzle – HMart will definitely have the salted shrimp. And I second the “yay for kimchi”!!
Thank you. We just went out to a new Korean BBQ in Southern Cali and they had kimchi on the menu. It was the first time I’ve tried Kimchi and I am sooo hooked. I think I’ve seen the shrimp in the brine in a vietamese supermarket, I’m not sure. To be on the safe side, I’ll just visit the Korean H supermarket and ask to make sure I get the correct shrimp 🙂 I’m going to have my own Korean BBQ (without the expensive tab) Yea!
LOL yay for kimchi!
Yeah! Too many recipes for KimChee without the rice-flour base out there.
Hi Anh – the sweet rice flour paste is not made a day ahead. It can be made before you mix all the ingredients for the sauce. Just make sure you leave enough time to let it cool before incorporating it with the rest of the ingredients. Thanks.
Great tips!
Check out my dim sum post at http://hongkongintern.wordpress.com/2011/06/17/having-lunch-in-good-company/
Your kimchi recipe looks looks awesome! I’ve just finished “salting” some cabbage. One question though, do we have to prepare the sweet rice flour 1 day ahead and leave it at room temperature? Thank you!
Thank you for this wonderful recipe. I could eat kimchi with everything!
Awesome! The stars and planets aligned for all of us! Have fun making kimchi this weekend!
Saewoo jjut isn’t the dried shrimp, but it is shrimp in a brine. I show what it looks like in another video (http://www.kimchimom.com/2011/02/i-love-eggs/). It is not critical to include saewoo jjut in the recipe. You can substitute fish sauce in place of the shrimp. i would start off with about a total of 1/4 cup fish sauce. Once the sauce is mixed together, taste and adjust the seasoning. Add about a tablespoon of fish sauce to get the desired flavor.
As for the salt conversion, I would use about 1/4 cup.
Good luck!
-Amy
Would you believe me if I told you that I recently (as in, this weekend) bought napa cabbage, daikon, green onions, and glass jars, hoping I would stumble upon a good, authentic kimchi recipe?! Thank you, thank you, thank you! This looks delicious and incredible. Can’t wait to make it.
What is the saewoo jjut (salted shrimp)? Is that the really small dried shrimp that they sell in Asian markets? Umm…is it critical for the recipe or can I leave it out? I’m not sure I can find it. 🙁
I don’t have kosher salt. How much regular table salt can I sub?
Thanks J! This has been a great opportunity! Have fun with the kimchi! 🙂
Thanks Yuri!
So true! 🙂 Moms know best!
delicious! i learned how to make it from my mom too. I think everyone thinks their mom’s kimchi is the best 🙂 i can’t wait to try your rice flour paste technique!
Love KimchiMom! Glad that you have her featured…will be making this kimchi recipe soon!
Glad I could conjure up some good memories for you. Sounds like my kind of school! You should try this fermentation “experiment” again!
-Amy
Have fun with kimchi making this weekend! Let me know if you have any questions…you can post on my FB wall (https://www.facebook.com/kimchimom).
-Amy
I had follow the step that you teach but after taste is powdery. Is it I need to add more water or maybe because the rice flour powder was too much?
Although I don’t have to drive several hours, I still do not want to make the 40 minute drive with two toddlers! So much easier to make at home and definitely more gratifying!
Awesome! So cool. Thanks!
My family makes napa cabbage tsukemono and now they’re making a hybrid of tsukemono-kimchi. I will share this recipe with them, I’m sure they’ll love it!
Thank you, I can’t wait to make some this weekend
I was just checking the many differant ones in the market
too many to choose from, but this will be MINE 🙂
PERFECT! I have been hankering to make kimchi for a long time. I love the stuff and have to drive several hours to get a brand I like (I live in the middle of no where). Thank you so much for the detailed instructions and video, I can’t wait to try this!
In preparing the rice flour paste you did not mention putting the pan over heat or what heat level. I guess it would be medium low. Usually I do not use the rice flour when I make kimchi, but it is a good idea because I like more sauce. I will try your recipe the next time I make it. Thanks for the idea!
I vividly remember making kimchi in freshman Biology class in high school when we were studying fermentation. My teacher was Korean, and made kimchi on a regular basis at home. Once our batch was ready to be eaten, I was the ONLY one willing to try it. I would have eaten the whole jar if I could have. Ah, the joys of being raised by hippies and attending a private prep school.