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Journal

First Batch Ever!

Have been wanting to make kimchi forever, but the pandemic finally forced my hand.

August 8, 2020

Berkeley Bowl didn't have good napa cabbage, so bought a normal green cabbage (about 3.25 pounds). In the afternoon, I took it apart, washed it, salted the leaves individually, layering them in my large enamel bowl (the one I use for timpanos).

Every four-ish hours, I mixed the cabbage, adding another light layer of salt, so that the upper leaves could soak in the natural brine that was forming on the bottom.

August 9, 2020

Morning, prepped my other ingredients: 8 cloves of garlic and about equivalent ginger, pulsed in food processor with a tablespoon of 새우젓, then mixed with half a cup of 고추가루. Also chopped a bunch of scallions.

Tasted the cabbage. Tasted pretty good! A few leaves felt saltier than others. Decided to rinse the cabbage and chop it into roughly 1.5-inch squares. Still salty, so glad I rinsed.

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Massaged the spice paste thoroughly with the cabbage.

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Then transferred it to my onggi, pushing it down thoroughly to squeeze out the air. Took up about a third of the vessel.

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It tasted good raw. It's spicy — my batch of 고추가루 is hot — so I might cut back a little next time. Might be a tad salty also. There was no juice — my spice paste was pretty dry — so curious about that. Hope to see juices form in the next few days.

Jee's Mak Kimchi Recipe

Active prep time: around 2 hours
Salt water brine time: 4 hours
Fermentation time: 3-4 days
Yield: About 8 lbs of kimchi

Ingredients

For brined Napa cabbage

• 2 fresh Napa cabbages (about 5-6 lbs total)
• 2 cups sea salt
• 4 cups water

For sweet rice flour slurry

• 3 cups of water
• 1/4 cup of sweet rice flour (can also use all purpose flour)

For marinade

• 1 tbsp 새우젓
• 2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
• 1 cup 고추가루
• 6-8 cloves peeled garlic
• 1 one-inch piece peeled ginger
• 1 medium onion, peeled and cubed into 4 sections
• 1 bunch scallion, trimmed and sliced into one-inch pieces
• 2 lbs of daikon radish, sliced into 1.5"x1.5" thin slices

You'll also want disposable plastic gloves and a 1 gallon glass jar.

Recipe

Prepping Napa Cabbage

1. Wash Napa cabbage and roughly chop into 1.5" square pieces
2. In a large bowl, add half of your cabbage and 2 cups water. Sprinkle one cup of salt into the mix with your hands and toss the cabbage so that the salt is evenly distributed throughout.
3. Add the remaining sliced Napa cabbage, 2 cups of water. Add remaining cup of salt. Cabbage should be slightly submerged
4. Press firmly down on the cabbage mixture, and cover with a wet, clean kitchen towel or lid. Set aside at room temperature for one hour.
5. After about 2 hours, turn the mixture to bring the cabbage on the bottom to the top, press firmly so the cabbage is immersed in the salt brine, cover it, and leave it for another 2 hours at room temperature to continue the brining process. The salt will cause the cabbage to "sweat" and when it has done so, it will reduce to about half in volume.
6. After about 4 hours, rinse your cabbage thoroughly and drain in a colander. Rinse the bowl, and set it aside.

Remaining Ingredients

During the brining, prep the following.

Make your sweet rice flour slurry

1. In a small pot, boil 3 cups water, reduce flame to medium high heat once boiling.
2. Add 1/4 cup flour at once, whisking vigorously. When mixture thins and starts to bubble, reduce heat to low and cut back on the whisking. Slurry should be left to cool to room temperature before use.

Make your marinade

1. In a food processor, add 새우젓, sesame seeds, 고추가루, room temperature slurry, garlic, ginger, and cubed onion. Liquify, and set aside.

Prep your other vegetables

1. Clean and slice the daikon slices, and set aside in separate bowl.
2. Clean and slice the scallions in 1/2 inch pieces, and set these aside as well.

Mix

In the large mixing bowl:

1. Add the cabbage that's been rinsed and drained in the colander
2. Add the prepared daikon, scallions
3. Add marinade mixture to the cabbage
4. Put on your gloves, and with both hands, mix the marinade into the cabbage using light tossing movements. Do not press or grind into the cabbage, as this will bruise the leaves and eventually reduce the crunch. Do this until the marinade is evenly distributed to all pieces of cabbage and daikon.
5. Fill the jar leaving about two inches at the top for fermentation. Press the kimchi down firmly to reduce the air pockets and seal the jar. This is an important step.
6. Place the jar on a baking sheet (in case the juice overflows) and leave at room temperature for 3-4 days. If you prefer fresh kimchi, pour about a spoonful of sesame oil over the serving of kimchi, and it's ready to eat at this time!