Summer Napa Cabbage Kimchi: A Delicious Secret Recipe

Ingredients−10servings+

• Napa Cabbage2 heads (approx. 7 kg after removing outer leaves)🛒
• Water (for brining)7 liters🛒
• Coarse Sea Salt (for brine solution)2 cups🛒
• Coarse Sea Salt (for cabbage leaves)2 cups🛒
• Sweet Rice Flour3 tablespoons🛒
• Water (for sweet rice paste)300 ml🛒
• Garlic Chives2 bunches (300g)🛒📖
• Korean Radish1/3 piece (600g)🛒📖
• Onion1 small🛒
• Red Chili Peppers17🛒
• Cheongyang Chili Peppers5🛒
• Ginger3 pieces🛒
• Garlic1.5 handfuls🛒
• Salted Shrimp (Saeujeot)4 tablespoons (80g)🛒📖
• Fish Sauce (Anchovy)1 and 1/4 cups (245g)🛒📖
• Water (for blending)400 ml🛒
• Korean Plum Extract (Maesil-cheong)3 tablespoons🛒📖
• Sugar2 tablespoons🛒
• Korean Chili Powder (Gochugaru)350g🛒📖

Directions

1. Remove the outer leaves of the napa cabbage.
2. Trim the root end of the napa cabbage.
3. Make two cuts about two-thirds of the way down the napa cabbage to quarter it, then tear by hand.
4. Pour 7 liters of water into a large bowl.
5. Add 2 cups of coarse sea salt to the water and dissolve completely.
6. Submerge the quartered napa cabbage in the brine solution to moisten.
7. Sprinkle coarse sea salt (2 cups total) between the leaves of each quartered cabbage.
8. Cover the cabbage with plastic wrap.
9. Brine the cabbage for a total of 4 hours, flipping it once after 2 hours.
10. Rinse the brined cabbage three times under running water.
11. Drain the rinsed cabbage thoroughly.
12. Prepare the sweet rice paste: Dissolve 3 tablespoons of sweet rice flour in 300 ml of water, ensuring no lumps.
13. Place the sweet rice flour mixture over medium heat, stirring continuously with a whisk until it thickens. Cook sufficiently to remove any raw flour taste, then let it cool.
14. Cut the garlic chives into 4-5 cm lengths.
15. Julienne the Korean radish thinly.
16. Julienne the onion thinly.
17. Roughly chop the red chili peppers and Cheongyang chili peppers.
18. Roughly chop the ginger.
19. Combine the chopped red chili peppers, Cheongyang chili peppers, ginger, garlic, salted shrimp (80g), anchovy fish sauce (195g), and 400 ml of water in a blender.
20. Blend the ingredients until smooth.
21. Pour the blended seasoning paste into a large bowl.
22. Add the cooled sweet rice paste to the blended seasoning.
23. Add Korean plum extract (3 tablespoons) and sugar (2 tablespoons) to the seasoning.
24. Add Korean chili powder (350g) to the seasoning.
25. Mix all ingredients thoroughly.
26. Taste the seasoning and add an additional 1/4 cup (50g) of anchovy fish sauce if needed, then mix again.
27. Add the julienned onion, julienned Korean radish, and cut garlic chives to the seasoning.
28. Mix the vegetables well with the seasoning paste.
29. Put on gloves.
30. Take one quartered brined napa cabbage and spread the seasoning paste evenly between the leaves, starting from the root end.
31. Place the seasoned kimchi into a kimchi container.
32. Repeat the process with the remaining cabbage.

Tips

• Don't discard the outer napa cabbage leaves; dry them and use them in other dishes like 'ugeoji' (dried outer leaves).
• Sprinkling salt between the leaves when brining the cabbage helps it brine faster.
• Covering the brining cabbage with plastic wrap shortens the brining time and, especially in summer, prevents insects like fruit flies from getting in.
• Sweet rice paste is essential for kimchi as it serves as food for the abundant lactic acid bacteria.
• Cook the sweet rice paste sufficiently to ensure there is no raw flour taste.
• When slicing the radish, first cut off the bottom to create a flat base for stability, reducing the risk of injury.
• When mixing the kimchi, spread the seasoning paste starting from the leaves near the root end.
• For delicious kimchi, it's important to taste the seasoning and adjust the saltiness as needed.