There are many different kinds of kimchi, and Koreans eat kimchi everyday. There are even songs about kimchi such as “I Can’t Live Without Kimchi.” Moms love to have a good kimchi refrigerator. Today I will post the most common kimchi, “napa cabbage kimchi.” Kimchi is a dish of fermented vegetables with various seasonings. It is a traditional dish in Korea.
Yield: 1 Gallon
Short Korean Lesson: *^^*
- SutGaRak (숟가락) = Spoon
- JeotGaRak (젓가락) = Chopsticks
Video Instructions
Main Ingredients
- 1 Large Napa Cabbage (4 lb)
- 2 Cups Korean Radish
- 1 Cup Garlic Chives
- 5 Green Onions
- 1 Onion
- 2 Hot Peppers
Brine Ingredients
- 10 Cups Water
- ½ Cup Coarse Sea Salt (For Salt Water)
- ⅔ Cup Coarse Sea Salt (For Sprinkling)
Sauce Ingredients
- 2 Cups Water + (3 Tbsp Water and 3 Tbsp Sweet Rice Flour)
- ¼ Sweet Apple + ¼ Onion
- 1¼ Cup Red Pepper Powder for Kimchi
- 1 to 2 Tbsp Sugar
- ¼ to ⅓ Cup Fish Sauce
- 3 Tbsp Minced Garlic
- ½ Tbsp Minced Ginger
- ½ Tbsp Salt
- 2 Tbsp Sesame Seeds
Directions
Remove any bad parts from the napa cabbage.
Divide the napa cabbage into 4 pieces. Some people divide it half, but I prefer 4 pieces, since 4 pieces are easier to put in a jar and cut later.
In a huge bowl, combine 10 cups of water and ½ cup coarse sea salt to make salt water. Stir until the salt is dissolved.
Prepare ⅔ cup coarse sea salt. Divide the salt evenly for 4 pieces of cabbage. Sprinkle the salt inside each leaf. Put more salt on the thicker parts than the thinner parts. This step is important to make kimchi. The right amount of salt and time to marinate the cabbage will change the results of your kimchi.
Dip the cabbage in the salt water. Put some heavy thing (like a big pan full of water) on top of the cabbage to keep them under the brine. That will help the cabbage to get salted better. Leave it for 4 to 5 hours until the cabbage leaves become a little soft.
Rinse the salted cabbage twice in water.
Drain the water, and set it aside for about 2 hours until more of the water drips out: or you can squeeze the water out.
Mix 3 Tbsp of sweet rice flour and 3 Tbsp of water.
In a pan add the mixture and 2 cups of water. Boil it until it makes bubbles on medium. Keep stirring it so that it will not stick to the bottom. It took about 10 minutes for mine.
Cut the radish very thinly into 2-inch lengths.
Cut 5 green onions the same length as the radish.
Cut the garlic chives into 1½-inch Pieces.
Cut 2 hot peppers thinly and slice ¾ of an onion thinly.
Grind ¼ of an onion and ¼ of a sweet apple.
In a big bowl, add the rice flour mixture, 1¼ cup of red pepper powder, and 2 cups of radish. Mix everything together.
Add the rest of the ingredients: chopped onion, hot peppers, garlic chives, green onion, onion & apple mixture, 1 to 2 Tbsp of sugar, ¼ to ⅓ cups of fish sauce, 3 Tbsp of minced garlic, ½ Tbsp of minced ginger, and 2 Tbsp of sesame seeds. Mix all of the ingredients well. Taste it and salt it to your tastes. I added ½ Tbsp of salt.
Spread some of the mixture into each leaf of the cabbage. Make sure all of the surfaces get covered in the sauce.
Wow! At last, it is done! 
I prefer to use a glass jar to keep kimchi since the kimchi has a strong smell. It is easier to remove the smell from glass jars than from plastic containers, and glass helps to contain the smell. 
Keep the kimchi at room temperature for about a day, and then put it in the refrigerator. You can eat kimchi before it is fermented, but it tastes best when it is properly fermented. (In about 1 week, depending on your refrigerator’s temperature.) Even old (sour) kimchi can be a delicious dish if you cook it and make: fried kimchi rice, kimchi dumplings, kimchi jeon, Kimchi soup, and etc. Enjoy!
Tips for delicious kimchi: *^^*
- Good ingredients are important, especially the Red Pepper Powder and Napa Cabbage.
- Getting the right amount of salt for marinating the napa cabbage in the salt water is very important. You don’t want the kimchi to be too salty, but if it doesn’t have enough salt, it becomes sour too quickly, and it produces too much juice later. Use coarse sea salt, not normal salt.
- Depending on your personal tastes, it is good to add raw oysters or salted shrimp (SaeUJeot) also.
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Hello again Aeri! I can only get the long white icicle radish where I live. Can I use this for making kimchi? If I cannot do so, do I need to adjust the amount of salt for the brine or the amount of fish sauce? Thank you in advance for answering my questions!
Hi, i’m Hà. I’m from Vietnam.
I love korean food so much.
I very happy when i found your blogger. it’s so amzing.
And i want to ask you about your knife. what’s kind of knife you use for your kitchen ? Can you tell me about that ?
hi Hà,
I’m very happy to meet you.
About your question, I posted something about my knife before since many people wonder what kind of knife I use and will recommend people… so here is a link for you..and i highly recommend you try this brand if you can get.
http://aeriskitchen.com/2009/03/my-knife-collection-rada-knives/
Hi ! thank you so much for answer my question
Hi
I followed your napa cabbage kimchi recipe.
I’ve left it outside for about 1 and a half days and tried tasting it. Mine has a bitter after taste. Did I something wrong?
hi Kimberly,
I don’t know where you live in.. however.. it can be because you left it out for a little too long.. when you said outside.. where did you put it ?? because I meant.. room temperature..which can be in the kitchen.. I usually leave it in the kitchen for over night or a day.. (I said a day in my recipe..) so I think..that’s your problem…but sour kimchi is good too.. and you don’t have to wait longer to try fermented kimchi later.. hehe right ? thanks
I left mine in the kitchen. I’ve just tasted it and it actually tastes nice and sour now.
Hi Aeri, I am enjoying your videos and recipes. You seem like a very sweet respectful and knowledgable young lady. I have recently planted some Korean loose leaf small cabbage in our little garden as a suprise for my Korean wife who cannot live without Kimchi every day, and am curious to know if you have any Kimchi or other recipes for it? It is called Korean Small Cabbage, Green Seoul. Thanks so much for what you do.
hi Ken,
When you look at “related posts” for this recipe.. you can see some more recipes using napa cabbage. ^^ It’s sweet that you cook some Korean food for your wife. thanks for your comment.
Hi aeri you said that your from uk and me too but i can’t find any diakon radish, where do you get yours from? because i’d really like to try it
thank you
i meant korean radish
hi 2pmFan,
Oops, sorry but when I said that I’m from uk ? ^^:; I’m from Korea..and now I’m living in USA.. hehe.. anyway.. about your question.. if you have a korean or asian grocery store.. check them. thanks ^^
thanks for the recepi now i can make a delicious kimchie.i make this before but the result is not so good, no thanks to cook book it does’nt work at all
today is my fifth attempt to make kimchie and the result DAEBAK i really loves it.gamsahamnida.
Hi Aeri
My family loves napa cabbage and cucumber kimchi. I was wondering if I can make kimchi using fresh garlic. If so what veggies are suitable to garnish the garlic kimchi. Should I leave the garlic whole or sliced.
Thnx and have a nice weekend.
hi ymase,
Sorry but do you mean that use garlic as a main ingredient for kimchi?? which means.. use garlic instead of napa cabbage for kimchi ?? Because garlic is just seasoning ingredient for kimchi …
Yes, whole or sliced garlic as the main ingredient instead of cabbage or radish – is it possible?
Regards
hi ymase,
Well I don’t know how much you love garlic..but I will not use garlic as a main dish to make kimchi.. as I mentioned.. garlic is just for flavoring … thanks
Hi Aeri,
Your website looks great and I really enjoy your recipes- I am trying this one for the first time. Wish me luck! The other kimchi recipes I have tried for napa cabbage have not come out authentic even though they were good. I hope this comes out the way my favorite Korean restaurant makes theirs- extra stinky!
Thank you for being so generous with your gifts!
God bless you and your beautiful baby.
Bridget
Hi Aeri
I like your recipes because you dont add too much sugar into your food like on another person korean recipes that i saw on youtube. But I have a question. When i go to Hmart and buy my Kimchi i noticed that it has a sour taste to it but i like. Is it salted shrimp? Thank you
hi Betsy Jannin,
Thanks for your comment. About your question, the sour flavor comes from fermenting process not from salted shrimp.. so sour kimchi means it’s fermented.
Hi Aeri,
Thank you so much for your recipe. Kimchi has been among my favorite dishes since I knew it. I just would like to have a question regarding your measurement: Is one cup equal to 240ml or 200ml? I am told that a Korean cup equals 200ml only. I have mixed almost all the ingredients and suddenly think of this
Hi Ha,
1 cup [US] = 236.588 236 5 milliliter
Thanks
hey i love your kimchi recipe
it tastes really good but it seems a bit to salty 
so what should i do? i put the exact amount you said to put but… 
i dont know what went wrong 
cam you please hep me know? 
plzzzzz! thx!^___^ 
hi nicky,
sorry for late reply.. if you made the kimchi too salty.. usually we add some chunk of Korean radish (without salting) to the kimchi… or.. if it’s too salty.. wait it until it’s fermented..and cook it to make kimchi pancake or kimchi stew.. thanks.. p.s maybe your measuring cup size is different with mine.. or you eat less salty than mine.. usually kimchi is salty..but it should be eatable salty..
Hi Aeri! Im looking at your site again.. I love kimchi food and your recipes haha
Today I was looking for cabbage kimchi, I found that all the kimchi sold in the korean mart had raddish in it. Is this the most commmon or is there just cabbage kimchi (without the radish)? I want to make vegeterian kimchi mandu and it seems as though your kimchi is only cabbage. I dont know whether I should use this cabbage+raddish kimchi for the mandu. Thanks!
hi Rei,
You can skip the radish for making kimchi..but for your question..yes.. it’s common to add radish to make kimchi. for your mandu.. you can just pick kimchi (cabbage) and remove raddish before you cut them for mandu.. for me.. I will just use all of them..because they(cabbage and radish) all taste good for kimchi mandu.
hi aeri…i’m a newbie here..thanks a lot for sharing lots of korean recipes here…^____^ yesterday i tried making kimchi using ur recipe…as i dislike salty food…i used only 1/3 from the actual amount of salt…n like wat u said…tis morning it became sour n too juicy…
so do u think i can keep tis kimchi for a month? or should i eat it fast? i afraid it might be bad really fast due to lack of salt…
hi sukidesu08,
Yes, salt is important ingredient for fermenting process of kimchi. I think.. you cut the mount of salt too much.. what you could do is.. reduce some of the salt for soaking in salt water…. and reduce some fish sauce for the kimchi paste later.. Yes, your kimchi will be sour faster. you can use sour kimchi for kimchi fried rice, kimchi pancake, or kimchi jjigae..so keep taste it if your kimchi didn’t go bad…
thanks a lot for ur advice…^___^ next time when i try again…i’m gonna used the exact amount u mentioned…1 cup = 175 grams rite…i’ll take da note..
n two more questions…we dun have korean fish sauce here…so wat should i replace it with? n usually how long da kimchi last?over how many months?sori for asking too much…hope u’ll published ur printed version book soon…gonna buy 1.. 
hi sukidesu08,
Where are you from ? Do you use fish sauce for your food ??? If you have other type of fish sauce.. you can try that too. kimchi last over a month.. for winter kimchi.. we make it extra salty and keep for several months.. but for normal kimchi… you can eat as long as you like the sourness.. and if it becomes too sour.. you can make other food with it. Thanks
hi aeri…
i’ll buy da fish sauce…n i wanna buy ur recipe book too…hope it’ll b published in Malaysia soon… 
so sori for tis late reply…
i’m from Malaysia…
we have fish sauce sold in hypermarkets…bt not da korean one…thanks aeri for your advises…
Aeri, I just found your website and i love it. I wondered in making Kimchi, if i don’t have the red peppers but i have gochujang will that work as a substitute? and will it effect the fermentation process?
Thanks!
Hi Amber,
Nice to meet you. Oh, I’m sorry but you can’t use gochujang instead of red pepper powder or red pepper for kimchi. It will ruin not only the flavor but texture of your kimchi.
Hi, I was wondering..will the ingredients be the same if I cut it into bit size pieces?
Hi Susan,
I have a recipe for that. please check it out
http://aeriskitchen.com/2009/08/easy-napa-cabbage-kimchi-mak-kimchi-%EB%A7%89%EA%B9%80%EC%B9%98/
Hi Aeri,
When I tried making this I couldn’t submerge the cabbage fuly in the brine. Would it be ok if I used 20 cups of water and 1 cup of salt?
hi Lawrence,
When I put the cabbage in salt water .. it doesn’t fully go under the water… later..once it is salted by the salt water.. the cabbage shrink..and will be under the water.. so don’t worry.. as I did.. you can use heavy pan with water on top of your cabbage..
Hi Aeri
When you say one big cabbage… how many lbs is your big cabbage? My local store only carries smaller ones so many I can get up to the same lb amount as your one big one. Thanks!
hi Jen,
I’m so sorry about my poor instruction. Whenever I make recipes, I try to measure every single ingredients exactly.. so people will get success when they try my recipes..but i don’t know what happened that day… I forgot to measure the weight for the napa cabbage.. and didn’t think of ..it will give problem to some people like you. I’m keep forgetting to measure the weight again..when I make kimchi again… aha.. I just remembered..I have an another kimchi recipe.. the recipe said… one napa cabbage is 4 lb.. so that’s what it is..because I normally buy that size.. thanks
What is the purpose of keeping the ends on the cabbage and the leaves in one bundle, of sorts, per quarter of cabbage?
Would it affect the taste at all if I detached them for ease of packing in the jar?
hi Jared,
When you make big (large..huge) portion of kimchi.. it’s good to keep the kimchi as a bundle.. that’s why you keep the ends on the cabbage.. so it will not be separated.. plus.. it is easy to work with when you make kimchi…^^ Nope.. you can divide them if you want too.. the taste will be almost same..
Is a kimchee refridge different than a regular fridge?
hi Maggie Henry,
Yes, kimchi refrigerator is specially made for storing kimchi well.. so it will have different temperature setting for good fermenting process…and convenience storage space for kimchi jar or container.. ^^ Most Korean moms have kimchi refrigerator in Korea..hehe
Hi! I made my first Kimchi today and it tastes great! Thank you for your detailed recipe and video…it really helped me a lot!
Now I will also try out other things
캄사함니다!!!
hi 조야 ^^
Your kimchi is fermented yet ? hehe Thanks for your comment. please give me more comments about your Korean cooking.
Hi Aeri,
Just made this kimchi today and it turned out perfect! First time I used apple (I have used korean pear before) but this is delicious! Perfect balance of sweet and salty. I have been hunting for the perfect recipe and this is it.
hi csyama,
thanks
AWESOME !!!
Hi Aeri~
I want to try making kimchi this week end, and in order to have the right amount of salt, could you tell me how much a cup of salt weight?
I’m a great fan of your recipe ^^. actually I’m a little bit scared of doing it because all my korean friends told me that it was too difficult and that even their mom werent able to make it -_- (freaking out). but i’ll try to make it as good as I can, thanks to you.
Keep up the good ^^ hope all ur family is doing good.
inès from france ^^
hi Inès,
Yes, making good kimchi can be difficult..but if you keep try again and again.. it will be easier and better to make it. sorry but what is your question about salt ?? i mentioned the amount of salt in the recipe.. so what did you mean ??
Hi
I just wanted to know what was the weight of a cup of salt in gramme. In France we don’t use cup but gramme instead, that’s why.
But I did it the best I could so even if it’s not good I’ll be proud (and a little bit disapointed, I must admit)
Thanks for your recipe
hi Inès,
Aha..I got it..
1 Cup of salt is.. 175 g with my scale.. it was coarse sea salt
Hi Aeri,
Sorry, I have one more question:) Can this recipe be done with two small/medium cabbages cause this one is done with one large baechu. Thanks!
hi RedRanger123,
Yep. you can do that.. thanks
Hi Aeri,
Will the kimchi still taste good if I add half an apple instead of 1/4 and maybe 10 cloves of garlic instead of just a few spoons? Also I like really spicy food so can i put more gochugaru? Thanks!
hi RedRanger123,
Yep.. you can always adjust the amount of ingredients depending on your taste. if you add more apple.. you can reduce the sugar amount.. ^^ thanks
Hi, Aeri
I’m going to make Kimchi for the first time with your recipe. Do you think is OK to use a Korean Pear instead of the sweet apple? Thank You!
hi Cler,
Yes you can use Korean pear instead.. thanks ^^