Kimchi is a staple of Korean life and many people include it in their meals three times a day. You can eat it by itself, or use it in so many different Korean recipes. When Koreans make kimchi, they make an effort to make the best kimchi possible and include many different kinds of ingredients depending on the region where they live.
Today I will show you how to make traditional kimchi with oysters and also we will make radish kimchi (“kaktugi”) at the same time, with the same kimchi paste, which saves time instead of making them separately. You might also be interested in my “easy kimchi” (mak kimchi) recipe if you don’t have a lot of time.
Many people think you have to wait for kimchi to be fermented before eating, but personally I prefer to eat fresh kimchi, as soon as I make it. And I like to make stew (“kimchi chijae“) out of older kimchi.
If you don’t like oysters, you can leave them out. And if you want to make only kimchi or kaktugi, not both, leave out the other recipe. Or check out my easy kimchi recipe for an easier, faster way to make kimchi.
Ingredients:
- 2 medium size napa cabbages and 2 Korean radishes
- salt, sweet rice flour, sugar, water
- 4- 6 cups of hot pepper flakes
- fish sauce, white onion, fresh garlic, ginger
- green onions, Asian chives, fresh oysters (optional)
How to handle cabbages and radish:
- Cut the cabbages in half, and then slit each half through the core, but not through the rest of the leaves.
- Soak each piece in cold water and sprinkle some salt (about ½ cup of salt per 1 medium size cabbage), and then set it aside for 2 hours.
*tip: the stems should get more salt than the leaves - Skin 2 radishes and cut them into 1 inch cubes. Do this by cutting them into several disks, and then cutting horizontally, and then vertically. Put them in a big bowl and sprinkle them with ½ cup of salt. Then set these aside, too.
- 2 hours later, turn the pieces of cabbage over so they get salted evenly. Turn the radishes as well.
- Another 2 hours later, you will see the cabbage look softer than before, and it should have shrunk.
*the total salting process will take 4 hours - Rinse the salted cabbage and radish with cold water 3 times.
Making Kimchi paste:
Make porridge
- Put ½ cup of sweet rice flour (you can replace with plain flour) and 3 cups of water into a skillet and mix them up. Then cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly.
- When you see some bubbles, pour 1/4 cup of sugar into the porridge and stir one more minute. Then cool it down.
- Place the cold porridge into a big bowl. Now you will add all your ingredients one by one.
- Add 1 cup of fish sauce, 4~6 cups of hot pepper flakes (depending on your taste), 1 cup of crushed garlic, 1 tbs of minced ginger, 1 medium size minced onion
*tip: it’s much easier to use a food processor. - Add 7 diagonally-sliced green onions, 2 cups of Asian chives (cut into 2 inches in length), and 2 cups of shredded Korean radish.
- Add 2 cups of frozen oysters, but this is optional. (I found out lots of people can’t eat them.)
- Mix all ingredients well and your Kimchi paste is done.
Are you ready to spread our paste on the leaves and make your kaktugi?
* I recommend you wear rubber gloves so that you don’t irritate your skin.
- Spread the kimchi paste onto each leaf of the cabbage, and make a good shape out of the leaves by slightly pressing with both hands.
- Put it into an air- tight sealed plastic container or glass jar.
- Mix your leftover paste with your radish cubes (this is kaktugi).
That’s all!
You can eat it fresh right after making or wait until it’s fermented. Put the Kimchi container at room temperature for 1 or 2 days and keep it in the refrigerator.
How do you know it’s fermented or not?
One or 2 days after, open the lid of the Kimchi container. You may see some bubbles with lots of liquids, or maybe sour smells. That means it’s already being fermented.
I was wonder what kind of salt you use in this recipe? Is it ok to use any kind of salt like kosher or sea salt or is there a specific kind that works best when making kimchi?
Thank you so much for putting up this recipe! I’m so excite to try it out!
I use kosher salt these days, but I don’t have any particular kind of salt I prefer.
ah good! i have plenty of kosher salt around the house!! thanks so much for answering my question!
ohh.. im not really confident. Actually this is the first time im “cooking”.
on my research, it said that the container must be air tight. But i just put it in a plastic tupperware & on to the fridge. Is this alright?
yes, of course it’s alright!
i tried making kimchi yesterday but im afraid it is a failure. i put in too much salt more tan needed so it taste so bitter even with a nice kimchi paste.
im doing my 2nd batch today but i dont use Napa Cabbage,im making radish.
*Q: we dont have Korean radish here so im using plain radish but i dont know what variety it is. this this ok?
*Q: Because i put in too much salt before, im afraid that it would get too salty again. if i taste the radish in salt water,is it normal if it taste too salty for me?
*Q: On my 1st batch, there was excess paste(but more like sauce,that was what it was). I save that in the fridge in a separate container but the next morning, i saw some little white specks. Im afraid that it was worm or something. So now im worried about my kimchi. Should i throw my kimchi?
When you make your next batch of kimchi, please use my recent kimchi recipe because more exact measurements are posted.
http://www.maangchi.com/recipe/easy-kimchi
My answers:
Q: Because i put in too much salt before, im afraid that it would get too salty again. if i taste the radish in salt water,is it normal if it taste too salty for me?
A: Don’t forget to rinse the radish in cold water and drain before mixing with kimchi paste.
If your radish or cabbage is too salty, soak it in cold water until not salty (30 minutes-1 hour? ). Then rinse and drain it, and mix with kimchi paste.
*Q: … i saw some little white specks. Im afraid that it was worm or something. So now im worried about my kimchi. Should i throw my kimchi?
A: eww! white stuff on kimchi paste in the refrigerator next day? Strange! I would not eat the white stuff! But I would use the paste after removing the white stuff.
Hi Maangchi,
This is the first time I made Kimchi, and I want to make sure I did it right. :)
It might confuse you ‘oil in the container’ in my previous post. hehe.. I am sorry. about that. :) I have few questions to a
1) After few days, it showed the fish saurce in the container.
2) The paste I made is pretty salty before I put it on the cabbage.
3) When I taste the Kimchi, I can taste/feel a lot of chilli flakes.
Are all this problems normal for Kimchi?
hello,Anti,
I understand you have many questions especially when you make your first batch of kimchi! It sounds like you made good kimchi!
My answers:
1. It’s not fish sauce but kimchi juice. Mix the juice with a spoon well
2. The cabbage won’t be very salty, so when you add your salty kimchi paste, it will work well. If your kimchi turns out too salty for you, use less fish sauce when you make your next batch of kimchi later.
3. yes, it’s normal. No problem!
Hi Maangchi,
the kimchi I made with your recipe is delicious and smells beautiful.
After a few days, though, there was a lot of juice in the container. Is that OK and I can let the cabbage sit in the juice or shall I drain it?
I would like to bring it to perfection. My husband loves it (me too) and it will become a staple, always in our fridge.
thanks so much
have a great day
I have the same problem too. I am not sure was that just water or oil in the container. :(
Btw, I am not sure why is the paste I made is so salty. Is that normal?
THank you,
“Is that OK and I can let the cabbage sit in the juice or shall I drain it?”
No, don’t drain it. Kimchi juice makes your kimchi very delicious! When you make kimchi stew, kimchi soup or kimchi stir-fried rice, use the juice. It sounds like your kimchi was well made!
Thank you.. Thank you!! I just made this and it is so delicious! I live in Japan so I used daikon instead of Korean radish. I’m not sure if there is much of a difference, I’ve never tasted Korean radish. The texture of daikon is great and the flavor is very mild. Thanks again!
I’m glad you made good kimchi! Thank you for letting me know about it.
Ms. Maangchi,
Can I used pepper paste in kimchi (gochujang)?
JLS
no, hot pepper flakes that’s what you need if you like to make kimchi.
In addition, can I salt locally shrimps from my country in replaced of salted squid? Will this be okay in kimchi too?
JLS
When I use shrimp in my kimchi, I grind it and add it to my kimchi paste.
Hey maangchi I’m interested in this as well since I’d like to try putting some seafood in kimchi but I haven’t got squid (perhaps it’s available at the fish market but shrimp is easier to find anyway). Could you explain it more thoroughly? Do you just grind raw shrimp in your kimchi, or do you salt it first…? Is the shrimp cooked?
Do we need real SawaeWooJeot or can we use fresh/frozen shrimp, and how do we handle it? Thank you!
Yes, I used to add shrimp paste to my kimchi when I made winter kimchi(large amount) in Korea. Pick very fresh and tiny shrimp if you can, and grind it to make paste. You could use a food processor. Put the shrimp paste in your kimchi paste! The raw shrimp paste will make your kimchi very tasty and sweeter.
I have never used large shrimp in my kimchi, but I think you could use it. Why not? Put the shrimp shelled and de-vained directly into your kimchi paste and wait until your kimchi ferments to eat it.
Hi Maangchi!
What if I don’t have korean pepper flakes and chili powder instead I replaced them with just chili powder made locally in our country Philippines, will kimchi still taste as good as it is? Also, in replaced of the sweet rice flour I’ll use just plain rice flour or any pear (will I put this pear in a food processor to make a paste of it?). Please help!!! I really wanted to learn how to make kimchi badly.
JLS
If you can’t get hot pepper flakes, use less amount of chili powder when you make your kimchi. Check this out.
http://www.maangchi.com/talk/forum/where-to-buy-korean-cooking-ingredients
yes, you can make porridge with rice flour or plain flour and pear juice sounds good!
Just a reminder for American readers that “chili” powder should be pure ground peppers. In the US “chili” powder is usually a mix of seasonings for tex/mex chili, it contains garlic and cumin, this is not ok for Korean cooking.
When I can’t get proper Korean pepper I have purchased ground cayenne pepper in large containers at BJ’s wholesale club. It is a little hotter than Korean pepper but the flavor is ok for Korean cooking.
Thank you for the useful info!
Hi Maangchi. Thank you for having a very helpful site and sharing your amazing food with everyone. I just started making kimchi since i couldnt get enough from my local restaurant in Kuwait. THere are only two : (. I managed to purchase locally the Kimchee Base No Moto brand. I am not sure if iam suppose do add water or any other ingredients. May you please share with your readers a recipe using this base ingredient. Thanks again and sooo looking forward to your response. ahmed
Hi, sorry about the late reply. I don’t know much about kimchi base No Moto brand. Please leave your question on the forum, then some of my readers may give you the answer. http://www.maangchi.com/talk/forum/general-discussion
Thank you very much for your interest in my recipes!
Cheers!
First, let me just tell you how much I LOVE this site. Thanks to you I have made kimchi chigae and gamjatang so many times. I am going to work in Prague soon and I want to make my own kimchi because I couldn’t find pre-made kimchi when I was there 3 months ago.
I will follow your whole cabbage kimchi recipe but I am wondering how I should store it. If I keep it in the balcony do I have to buy a special container (line an earthenware pot) and if so how long will it last?
hi Jfaye07
what a coincidence!I live in Prague, two days ago I made my first kimchi and left a question about it just before you.
In Prague there is a Korean retail – wholesale store:
Korejské a japonské potraviny
Korunní 47/1186, Praha 2 – Vinohrady
Tel/fax: 224 256 284, mobil: 603 484 802
Email: shin@mbox.vol.cz
Mo-Fri: 9.00 – 18.00
Sat: 9.00 – 16.00
They do have kimchi there, but it’s rather expensive.
You can also find it at a Japanese grocery:
한국 식품 Hanguk sikpchum
Uralská 3, Praha 6 – Dejvice
Mo-Sat: 9:00 – 20:00
Sun: 14:00 – 18:00
Have fun in Prague
Jfaye07,
Store your kimchi in a container and keep it in the refrigerator. oh, it’s freezing cold there now right? Then, I suggest putting your kimchi container into a cardboard box and keeping it in your balcony so that your kimchi won’t be frozen
Spanky,
Thank you very much for the information! Would you please copy and paste the address of korean grocery stores to the forum?
http://www.maangchi.com/talk/topic/where-do-you-buy-your-korean-ingredients
When Jfaye07 moves to Prague, both of you could make good friends and talk about Korean cooking and exchange useful information! It will be awesome!
Hi Maangchi,
thanks so much for the kimchi video!
We made it yesterday with my husband (I dragged him away from NYC and he’s missing all the food) and it all worked great, except we made it way too spicy. We didn’t have chilli flakes, so we ground a whole bag of thai chillis instead.
Is there any way to salvage it? Could I add more salted cabbage?
Thanks a lot for your answer.
sorry about the late reply. Yes, if your kimchi is still fresh but it’s too spicy (too much kimchi paste), you could add more salted cabbage now.
hi… its okay if i wanna put kimchi in the container until 6days??? i ever heard if we do fermented more than 1 week or 1 month.. this taste its more good… its true??
Hello Maangchi!
I made kimchi with your great recipe yesterday, and it turned out to be soooo delicious! And I had such fun making it, it doesn’t seemed like work :) My korean friends told me it is very hard to make kimchi when I asked them about it, so I will make them little jars as a present… I am sure they will be very surprised! :)
The only problem is now, that I am kind of obsessed with the kimchi I made, and since yesterday I already ate three times from it. I don’t think it will have time to ferment before I eat it all! :) My boyfriend is already laughing at me for being so in love with the kimchi :) I think he is just jealous, because he can’t take spicy food like me :)
Thanks for all the great recipes, and showing healthy cooking with many vegetables, good meat and kimchi!
I love fresh kimchi, too! “The only problem is now, that I am kind of obsessed with the kimchi I made, and since yesterday I already ate three times from it” lol
i just tried making one… i think the pate is alright… but the problem is the cabbages are to salty… is there anything i can do.. to lessen it?
You already made kimchi with the salty cabbage? If so, add more radish to the kimchi. Just cut a few radishes into disks and insert them into the salty kimchi. The radish will absorb some salt from the salty cabbage.
hi… im from philippines and i really love eating kimchi.. i want to try and make it by myself the problem is i cant find some of the ingredients here… i can only buy the ready made kimchi base… is it okay if i use it?.. or can i substitute some of the ingredients?… will be okay?.. i mean in terms of the taste and quality…
You may be able to find a Korean grocery store there. Check this out. http://www.maangchi.com/talk/forum/where-to-buy-korean-cooking-ingredients