Have you tried eating kimchi?
If you’ve tried this traditional dish before, you probably know how good it is, but for those who haven’t tried it, here are some facts for you.
Kimchi is a red fermented cabbage dish. Though, there is also kimchi made from radish, cucumber, and mustard leaves.
The ingredients are fermented and placed in a closed jar, or what the Koreans call the ‘onggi’.
They usually serve kimchi as a side dish in every meal. It’s a part of every Korean household.
Kimchi is also super healthy.
Kimchi is packed with probiotics and healthy bacteria that aid digestion.
It’s also purported to lower cholesterol, give you radiant skin and hair, help prevent stomach cancer, and even slow down aging.
Aside from that, kimchi tastes delicious.
Though it’s hard to find kimchi in some locations, and others don’t have the distinct tanginess of the original kimchi recipe, that may be one reason this video garnered more than 24M views.
Emily Kim (Kim Kwang-sook) or popularly known as Maangchi is a YouTube superstar when it comes to Korean cuisine.
She sticks to the basics and the traditional way of cooking the most-loved Korean foods, and of course, one of them is kimchi.
Maangchi shows her audience how to make classic, spicy, traditional napa cabbage kimchi. Koreans call their kimchi tongbaechu-kimchi or baechu-kimchi.
Here’s what you will need:
This recipe makes about 8 pounds or 3.6 kg of yummy Kimchi
For salting cabbage:
- 6 pounds or 2.7 kg Napa cabbage
- ½ cup of kosher salt
For making the kimchi porridge:
- 2 tablespoons sweet rice flour or you can use glutinous rice flour
- 2 cups water
- 2 tablespoons brown or white sugar
Vegetables for your kimchi:
- 1 cup carrot julienned
- 2 cups radish julienned
- 7 to 8 green onions, chopped
Optional vegetables:
- 1 cup water dropwort or minari
- 1 cup chopped Asian chives or green onions
For the seasonings and spices:
- 24 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 medium onion, minced
- 2 teaspoon ginger, minced
- ½ cup fish sauce
- ¼ cup fermented salted shrimp or saeujeot (salty brine included, shrimps chopped)
- 2 cups hot pepper flakes or gochugaru
Step 1. Wash your cabbage and remove the excess core. Don’t remove everything, or the cabbage leaves will fall.
Step 2. Split your cabbage into four parts. Sprinkle kosher salt on each leaf and put them in a large basin. Leave the cabbage for 2 hours but turn them every 30 minutes.
Step 3. Once done, wash your cabbage thoroughly. We don’t want salty kimchi.
Step 4. In making the kimchi porridge, combine your water and sweet rice flour. Mix it well and cook on medium heat.
When it bubbles, add your sugar and mix. Let it cool.
Step 5. Put your garlic, onion, and ginger in a food processor and mince them.
Step 6. In a separate large bowl, put your cooled kimchi porridge and add your minced garlic, ginger, and onion.
Step 7. Add your fish sauce, salted shrimp, and hot pepper flakes. Mix well and taste the paste.
Step 8. Once you’re satisfied with the spice and taste, put the vegetables and mix well.
Step 9. Remove the napa cabbage and let remove excess water.
Step 10. To make kimchi, simply get one part of the cabbage and coat every leaf with the kimchi paste. Once done, wrap the cabbage around itself and place it carefully in a container or, if you have an onggi, much better.
Step 11. Repeat the process, and once done, press all the kimchi to release air.
Step 12. You can already taste the fresh kimchi, but it’s better to allow it to ferment for three days or more.
Serve with your favorite meal.
Mouthwatering, isn’t it?
Watch the full video tutorial below!
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
