I made Kimchi and am now an evangelist

[JCBBQ]

I can’t express just how EZ and delicious this is. Believe me I’m no expert, but, the stuff I’ve bought in stores pales in comparison to this. If you like kimchi, MAKE YOUR OWN!!

This is the recipe I followed:

https://youtu.be/eTucCw1w6Ak?si=xOBFYogZaOu1AxQu

The hardest thing for the majority will be finding some of the ingredients. Fortunately for me there is a massive H-Mart (an almost exclusively Korean grocery) about 20 minutes away. I should’ve taken more pics bc the produce and meat sections were impressive. Here’s some seafood shots to give you an idea:




The kimchi process is pretty straightforward - wash the Napa cabbage, heavily salt the cabbage, turn the cabbage every 30 mins for around 2hrs. In the meantime make the porridge with all the chopped veggies and gochugaru (pepper flakes) etc. Rinse the cabbage thoroughly and then apply the porridge and veggies in between each leaf. Roll in up and stick it in a container. I bought a special container bc I don’t have any glass jars.

Here’s the porridge and veggies.




At this point I packed it into the container pushing out all the air, sealed it and left it out to ferment. I went about 38 hrs and then put it in the fridge.

Final result:

[barelfly]

There is nothing better than homemade kimchi! Hands down an amazing add on to so many things!

What do you plan on making to pair with it? And for your next go at kimchi, give daikon kimchi a go…I think it’s even better, especially when you make some Korean Tacos!!!!!!!

I think I need to make some Napa cabbage kimchi next week! It’s been too long!

[JCBBQ]

Oooh. Sounds great. I also like the sound of the cucumber kimchi.

I’m gonna put it w some bbq this weekend instead of cole slaw and see how that goes.

[barelfly]

JCBBQ - kimchi on the bbq sounds excellent! Bringing flavors together!

Here’s the daikon/raddish recipe I use. Everything I’ve made on Maangchi’s website has been excellent!

https://www.maangchi.com/recipe/kkakdugi

[Bkhuna]

I fell in love with Kimchi decades ago. My favorite is Korean radish (Kkakdugi) and cucumber (oi kimchi). There is a Lotte Supermarket about an hour away and they sell many varieties.

We love making kimchi fried rice pretty often.

Sounds like you may be needing a dedicated kimchi refrigerator if your future.

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

My wife loves the cabbage kimchi, but it's just not my jam. Love some good cucumber kimchi though!

[JCBBQ]

Cucumber will be my next one!! Looks so good.

[hoovarmin]

I think I am your first convert. I have seen the light!

[JCBBQ]

LOL!! Our meetings will be on the weekends…

[58limited]

I make sauerkraut and kimchi too. Here is the recipe I use for kimchi (along with other recipes). For the radish use daikon. I slice the Napa cabbage finely just like European sauerkraut. I ferment on the counter for 3-4 weeks and move to the fridge. After a year or so the pepper flakes really come through - it gets hot! Makes wonderful pulled pork egg rolls.

[JCBBQ]

Ooph! Pulled pork egg rolls sound amazing

[58limited]

JCBBQ https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/fo...gg-roll-recipe

Substitute the cabbage, leeks, and carrots for the Kimchi.

[Dewesq55]

I have nearly 2 quarts of sauerkraut fermenting in the basement on week 3 right now.

[troymeister]

This sounds and looks amazing. I have been to Korea twice. I tried acquire as taste Kimchi many times. Maybe homemade will finally do it.

[JCBBQ]

Try it. Good chance that’ll do it.

[FireMan]

Dang! Dang! Dang! That looks outstanding. It will be very high on my to do list.
Thank ya, thank ya, thank ya.

[JCBBQ]

Yeah man! Let me know when you do!

[shify]

Awesome. Haven’t made my own kimchi yet but damned if this doesn’t make me want to.

[JCBBQ]

Super easy. Go for it!

[barelfly]

Do it!!!!!!!!!

[TripleB]

I gotta try this.

[JCBBQ]

Do it! You’ll love it

[JCBBQ]

Dewesq55 58limited Tell me about sour kraut. I want to make that too. Does it have to ferment for months? One thing I liked about the recipe I used for kimchi was that it only fermented for a couple days. Does SK always need months? What recipes do you recommend?

[58limited]

This website is a good resource and is where I got the recipes I posted above: https://www.makesauerkraut.com/how-to-make-sauerkraut/

[Dewesq55]

It takes 4 weeks to get usably sour in my experience. As far as recipes, I just make basic sauerkraut which is just cabbage and 2% salt by weight. Pioneer Woman has a basic "how-to" which you can Google.

[barelfly]

As 58limited says, 5-6 weeks is how long I ferment but it does depend on the temperature of where your crock is. I’ll find my recipe in the book I follow and send it to you, but it’s similar to what is mentioned below. One thing I do add to mine, crushed red chile flakes

And, once you make your own kraut….you’ll never eat store bought unless you have to!

[JCBBQ]

Btw, I now have a dedicated kimchi cutting board 🙄