Hello everybody!
Today I’m going to show you how to make classic, spicy, traditional napa cabbage kimchi called tongbaechu-kimchi, a.k.a. baechu-kimchi or pogi-kimchi. But this dish is so common and iconic among Koreans that we simply call it “kimchi.” When people talk about kimchi, this is the side dish they’re referring to, despite the fact that there are many kinds of kimchi in Korean cuisine, and many made with napa cabbage, too.
Over the years I’ve posted recipes for a few of them, but I’ve never made an in-depth video for making tongbaechu-kimchi! I’ve made a video for mak-kimchi (easy kimchi recipe), which is very similar but is easier because you to chop up the cabbage into bite size pieces first, and I’ve made an ultra simple yangbaechu-kimchi (emergency kimchi). Many years ago I even posted a recipe showing how to make baechu-kimchi with kkakdugi in one batch. But until now, I’ve never posted the most classic and traditional napa cabbage kimchi. (I also have a vegan kimchi version of this recipe, too!)
For me, this kimchi recipe has the traditional flavor I am looking for. It uses the whole cabbage leaf, which makes it more labor-intensive than the other ones on my website, because you’ll need to take time to spread the spicy paste leaf by leaf. It’s more work, but this is the traditional style and if you can make this kind of kimchi well, you can consider yourself good at Korean cooking.
To make this kimchi we need to first soak the cabbage in a salty brine to soften the leaves (some people swear by sea salt but I always use Kosher salt in all my Korean dishes). Then lactobacillus bacteria can do their work and convert sugar into lactic acid, which preserves the cabbage and changes the flavor over time. But you don’t have to wait for the kimchi to ferment before you enjoy it, you can eat it right away and keep eating it as it ferments and eventually goes sour. Then it’s perfect for dishes like kimchi-jjigae and kimchi stir fried rice.
As I mention in the video, my mom used to make kimchi from 200 heads of cabbage! This was kimjang kimchi, made with her friends at the beginning of winter, and meant to last until the spring. 3 to 4 of her friends would come over and help her chop vegetables and most importantly, spread the paste on the leaves. This always needs to be done by hand. They would bring their own rubber gloves, and spend the day talking and laughing, and always had pollock stew or beef radish soup for lunch. They had a lot of fun!
At the end of the day they would take some kimchi home with them, but my mom would get all the rest, which lasted my whole family through the winter. And when my mom’s friends needed to make their winter kimchi, my mom brought her gloves over to their houses and helped them, like they did for her.
In the video I also show you how to ferment it in a traditional onggi. Using an onggi is not mandatory, but for those of you who have one already, this is how you use it! If you don’t have one, just use a BPA-free plastic container, or a glass container.
I answer many other frequently asked questions about kimchi-making in this video.
I hope you enjoy the recipe, and if you love kimchi, I encourage you to make your own kimchi at home. It’s delicious, easy, and a fun thing to do!
Ingredients
Makes about 8 pounds (3.6 kg) of Kimchi
For salting cabbage:
- 6 pounds (about 2.7 kg) napa cabbage
- ½ cup Kosher salt (2.5 ounces: 72 grams)
For making porridge:
- 2 cups water
- 2 tablespoons sweet rice flour (aka glutinous rice flour)
- 2 tablespoons Turbinado sugar (or brown or white sugar)
Vegetables:
- 2 cups Korean radish matchsticks (or daikon radish)
- 1 cup carrot matchsticks
- 7 to 8 green onions (scallions), chopped
- 1 cup chopped Asian chives (buchu), optional (substitute with 3 green onions, chopped)
- 1 cup water dropwort (minari), optional
Seasonings and spices:
- ½ cup garlic cloves (24 garlic cloves), minced
- 2 teaspoon ginger, minced
- 1 medium onion, minced
- ½ cup fish sauce
- ¼ cup fermented salted shrimp (saeujeot) with the salty brine, chopped
- 2 cups red pepper flakes (gochugaru)
Directions
Prepare and salt the cabbage
- If the cabbage cores stick out too much, trim them off with your knife over your cutting board.
- To split a cabbage in half without shredding the densely packed leaves inside, first cut a short slit in the base of the cabbage, enough to get a grip on either half, and then gently pull the halves apart so the cabbage splits open.
- Cut a slit through the core of each half, 2 inches above the stem. You want the cabbage leaves to be loose but still attached to the core.
- Dunk the halves in a large basin of water to get them wet. Sprinkle salt between the leaves by lifting up every leaf and getting salt in there. Use more salt closer to the stems, where the leaves are thicker.
- Let the cabbages rest for 2 hours. Turn over every 30 minutes, so they get well salted. From time to time you can ladle some of the salty water from the bottom of the basin over top of the cabbages if you want to.
- After 2 hours, wash the cabbage halves a few times under cold running water. Giving them a good washing, to remove the salt and any dirt. As you wash, split the halves into quarters along the slits you cut into earlier. Cut off the cores, give them a final rinse, and put them in a strainer over a basin so they can drain well.
While the cabbage is salting for 2 hours, and in between the times you’re turning it over, you can make the porridge:
- Combine the water and the sweet rice flour in a small pot. Mix well with a wooden spoon and let it cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes until it starts to bubble. Add the sugar and cook 1 more minute, stirring. Remove from the heat and let it cool off completely.
- Pour cooled porridge into a large mixing bowl. Add garlic, ginger, onion, fish sauce, fermented salted shrimp, and hot pepper flakes. Mix well with the wooden spoon until the mixture turns into a thin paste.
- Add the radish, carrot, and green onion, plus the Asian chives (or more green onions) and the water dropwort if you’re using them. Mix well.
Make kimchi
- In a large bowl, spread some kimchi paste on each cabbage leaf. When every leaf in a quarter is covered with paste, wrap it around itself into a small packet, and put into your jar, plastic container, or onggi.
- Eat right away, or let it sit for a few days to ferment.
On fermentation
- The kimchi will start fermenting a day or two at room temperature, depending on the temperature and humidity of your room. The warmer and more humid it is, the faster the kimchi will ferment. Once it starts to ferment it will smell and taste sour, and pressing on the top of the kimchi with a spoon will release bubbles from beneath. If you’re using a sealed jar with a lid, be sure to open it once a while, let it breathe, and press down on the top of the kimchi.
- Once it starts to fermented, store in the refrigerator to use as needed. This slows down the fermentation process, which will make the kimchi more and more sour as time goes on.
Maangchi's Amazon picks for this recipe
It's always best to buy Korean items at your local Korean grocery store, but I know that's not always possible so I chose these products on Amazon that are good quality. See more about how these items were chosen.
Hi, Maangchi! :))
I have tried some of your recipes and found all of them are great! I learned how to cook through your Youtube channel. Thanks to you, Maangchi!
I have three questions about this Napa Kimchi because I am planning to make some for my family. My aunt loves Kimchi! Also, I am planning to sell Kimchi packs because Kimchi is really popular because of Korean dramas. Haha. And many are craving for it especially in our area.
Here are my questions Maanchi. I hope you’d find time to answer these!
1. Can I use iodized salt in salting my napa cabbages instead of Kosher salt?
2. Can I use ordinary radish instead of Korean radish? There are no Korean grocery stores here in our area, Maangchi. Some of the grocery stores I visited only sell processed items like doenjang, gochugaru, black bean paste. I am referring to ordinary radish just like the size of a carrot.
3. Can I use chili powder instead of hot pepper flakes? Will it affect the taste of my kimchi paste?
Please answer, Maangchi. I’ll wait! :)))
Where are you from? You can get everything at cartimar in pasay. Use the baguio labanos, they are milder than the lowland radish. There are lots of korean radish in cartimar and divisoria.
Hi Maangchi!
I followed the recipe but somehow my kimchi came out very sour! Where could I have gone wrong? :( The taste of the paste is good, but the cabbage is very sour.
Do you mean your fresh kimchi is sour? Or is it fermented a few days? If it’s fermented, it should be sour, maybe you fermented it too long.
Dear Maangchi-ssi!
Finished making this kimchi just two days ago – so delicious and beautiful we could not wait to try it… and it’s been so good! This week we are going to visit my mother and I’ll be cooking korean food for her one whole week long – of course using your amazing recipes!
I think she’ll love it!
And here are some photgraphs of our kimchi experiment.
Best wishes and many greetings from Germany. Yushka and family.
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Wow, I’m so impressed by your kimchi photo! “I’ll be cooking korean food for her one whole week long” Good luck and let me know how your mother likes your cooking!
This is a great recipe and so tasty.
Since I only use 1 cup of pepper flakes, should I use a little more rice flour? My porridge seemed a little watery rather than a thin paste.
That’s!
Thanks!
Not That’s
I made this two days ago and I’m eating it now with rice ! I decided to cut it into bite sizes as I do not have much counter space in my apartment. I made it for my boyfriend and myself, who loooove korean cooking.
Your recipes are delicious, Maangchi. They’re simple and I love that I can reuse the same ingredients. I’m now in love with sesame oil!
One question for you Maangchi:
– Can I add more sugar to the porridge to make the kimchi a little sweeter or it will taste weird? Should I add more carrots and raddish instead?
Some tips for other readers:
– Two cups of red pepper flakes is very spicy! My boyfriend and I love spicy food and it is very spicy, even for us. Eat with rice or reduce the amount of flakes you add, like Maangchi said.
– Try not to substitute too many ingredients, as it’s easy to mess up.
– Fermented shrimp can also be called Cencaluk in some places.
– Have a BIG bowl ready for the cabbage. It will reduce in size when you salt it so it’s easier to manipulate but be sure to have a big container.
– Daikon raddish does work as a good substitute for the korean raddish.
Have a nice day!
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Your kimchi looks amazing! Yes, you can add more sugar to the rice porridge to make the kimchi sweeter.
Hi,
Water drop wort is listed as a poisonous plant with neurotoxic poperties. Is there a safer substitute?
Minari isn’t poisonous.
Look here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oenanthe_javanica
Cilantro is a good substitute. But use much less than you would of Minari.
Bye, Sanne.
Hello maangchi!!
I have a quick question for you.
Since none of the Asian stores here sell hot pepper flakes, I had to go to the spices shop and ask for that. And this is what they gave me. Is it okay if I use this? The reason why I’m asking this is because I don’t want to waste it, it was pretty expensive T_T
Thank you for your awesome recipes!!
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O my.
You should just have gone to a Turkish store and ask for “pul biber” – and reduce the amount of salt you use.
What you’ve got looks OK, but it’s not the best quality – good gochugaru is seedless.
Bye, Sanne.
The shop I bought this spice from was supposed to be selling oriental spices ( and the best one of my area) and when I told them I wanted something as similar as gochugaru they gave me this :( I guess I got fooled XD should I even bother making kimchi with it? I don’t know, I am pretty disappointed now hahaha
I’m sorry I gave you that feeling!
Of course it’s OK to make kimchi with it, but you may have to be extra careful because of the seeds – they add a lot of spicyness!
Just IMHO, you would have been better off with pul biber because transport costs a lot, too.
Gochugaru isn’t cheap – and maybe I was fooled by the picture about the quality.
How much was it anyway? And which brand?
Bye, Sanne.
Thank you, sanne for your kind reply. I’m always impressed by your nice advice for my other readers. : )
Jinkimbap, As long as the shop owner recommend you get these flakes, I would do some experiment with them. First mix the pepper flakes and some water (1: 1 ratio) and let them sit for 30 minutes. Then put them into your food processor and grind until smooth. Then add other ingredients to make kimchi. Let us know how your kimchi turns out.
Cheers! oh, check this out, please. https://www.maangchi.com/shopping/greece
Hi Maangchi,
I learn a lot from you and recommend your site to anyone who’s interested in Korean food – which is everybody who tasted what I’ve prepared. ;-)
Therefore I try to help where I can. Your nice remark really made me blush! :-)
Bye, Sanne.
No no Sanne, dont be sorry! You were kind enough to reply to me with an advice and thank you for that!! :) Its not really a brand, but the shop is called elixir and its located in Athens (it is a popular old shop that sells oriental spices). I paid 5 euros for 300 grams, which might not sound expensive to you , but it is for a greek income hehe
Thank you Maangchi! I will totally try that and let you know how it turned out :)) You’re the sweetest ♥️Also i have already checked the shop on your website and I did go there, but i couldnt find any, maybe they ran out of gochugaru. I found other stuff though thanks to your website!!
I made KimChi in the winter and Spring here in Barcelona. I usually let it ferment 7 days because I like it a little sour. In the summer, however, I left it to ferment for 7 days and it came out much much stronger. Still very yummy and delicious! Thank you for your recipes!
Hi maangchi, i speak spanish, sorry for my english
I have two question?
This is gochugaru? (image)
Should the kimchi be crispy or soft?
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Forget to add the image link http://globalgourmetmarket.com/pimienta-coreana-en-polvo-1412.html
I love Asian food and your videos are a great help to me.
Greetings from Colombia :D
Yes, it’s gochugaru. And kimchi should be crispy! Good luck with your Korean cooking!
Hey Maangchi!
I have just finished making my kimchi (veg version). My kimchi is less salty right now immediately after making it I tasted it like u with rice and toasted sesame seeds. What do I do? Will it get saltier after fermentation?
(when i was making it, it was too salty as i put it in salt for 5 hours instead of 2 hours. So, I washed it lots n lots really well and drained well by squeezing. Now it is less salty. I have used soy sauce and shitake mushroom broth instead of fish sauce. I also used local chilli powder from the spice markets in India!)
Will send u pics here.
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You can add salt anytime if your kimchi turns out too bland. Sprinkle some salt on your kimchi and mix it gently.
Hi!! First of all, I loved how easy it looks and the energy you put into these videos, but I have two questions:
The first one is: Is this kimchi salty or sweet? I know it´s sour but I was wondering if it´s a salty sour or a sweet one.
The second would be: If it is sweet sour, how could you make it saltier?
Thanks!!
Kimchi should be a little salty but if you feel it’s too bland, add more salt. When kimchi ferments, it tastes sour. Fresh kimchi won’t taste sour.
HI DEAR MAANGCHI
I always kimchi but now i want make kimchi with add freash shrimp
how to use freash shrimp in my kimchi?!
I can add shrimp without shell? or frozen shrimp?
please help me Thank you my dear ^^
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The kimchi looks so delicious!
If you like to add shrimp to your kimchi, you should add very fresh shrimp or frozen and wait until the kimchi ferments before eating it.
If you like to make kimchi paste with shrimp, the shrimp should be very fresh. Koreans use live small sized shrimp and it makes the paste sweet. Shrimp goes bad easily, so be sure to use very fresh or live shrimp and also you need to wait until the kimchi ferments nicely, then the shrimp will also ferment. When I add large shrimp (frozen shrimp), I eat the kimchi at least 4 months after making it because the shrimp won’t ferment in a short time. So I add shrimp to my kimchi only for winter kimchi.
Hi Maangchi, is my first time seeing ur videos.
And its my first time trying to make korean food. Here in my town there´s an Factory of Korea named “Posco” and theres a lot of koreans. So they ask me to make to them korean food in their employees dining room, so they want korean original food. So i see ur videos, i have some questions:
– If i can´t find napa cabbage can i use something diferent?
– Can i make the fish sauce or the flavor is different?
– If i cant find korean radish, can i use raddish from mexico is the red one?
i hope u can answer me a few questions
thank u so much!
–
you can substitute other veggies, koreans make kimchi with everything, but the classic is napa cabbage (wong bak).
you can make your own fish sauce, but it’ll be in any asian food section of the grocery store – japanese chinese, korean, filipinos, southeast asians all use fish sauce. it smells terrible, but just a little brings out amazing flavor.
if you can’t find an asian radish or turnip, it’s still ok, skip it. sliced yello or red onion is a good substitute too.
HI , I always love kimchi but this is my first time making it, after I made it, I immediately placed it in the ref because I thought you can not leave it in room temperature if you are using a plastic container, now it taste good but I’m missing the sourry taste, it’s been a week now in the ref, what can I do about it?
Hi Maangchi, i tried this recipe and it worked out delicious and everyone loved it. I have used a malaysian version of the fermented shrimp ‘Cencaluk’ and it still turned out well.
I have the same batch for about 1 month now, i find the kimchi becomes soft and a little too sour.
Is it meant to be that way? and how can i reduce the sourness/acidity in the kimchi?
Thanks alot!
Hi~
I’m planning to prepare 통배추 김치 this weekend. Hhh I’m mentally preparing myself now kkkk. What I want to know though is if it’s possible to substitute the shrimp with something else since I’m allergic to crustaceans. I was thinking to just skip the shrimp, but I don’t want to compromise the flavor. Thank you, Maangchi~~~!!!
You can skip salty fermented shrimp. The kimchi will still turn out delicious.
Here it is, Maangchi! It looks and tastes great! ^^ 감사합니다 !
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And of course you were right, it still tasted good without shrimp. I made half of your recipe. I did not use gloves and I trusted that I can make it. So there was stinging sensation in between my fingers after finishing making the kimchi but it only stung for an hour. All’s good!
Hello Maangchi! Thank you for the awesome recipe! It was really easy to follow and tastes amazing !
한국학 선생님이 도 아주 잘 만들었다고 했어요. ^^
How does it look?
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Thank you for showing us your kimchi photo! It looks great!
I’m happy to hear that you got some compliments from your Korean teacher!
Hi Maangchi!
I was just wondering if you can substitute the turbinado sugar for another kind?
Yes, use white sugar.
I made your kimchi and I absolutely love it! I can’t wait to make more of your recipes.
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Wow, your kimchi looks perfect! I’m very happy to see such delicious looking kimchi!
I want to use your kimchi recipe but I’m not entirely sure that I got the correct pepper flakes. If you could tell me, is this okay to use this.
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Yes, you bought right hot pepper flakes.
Hi Maangchi!
I love your videos and website. I’ve made kimchi twice before using this recipe (and it was amazing!) – however I only did 2 heads of cabbage at a time and therefore halved your recipe. However, this time I did 3 heads (3kgs) and did your exact recipe (however I omit ginger and squid). I was very excited to have LOTS of kimchi on hand – however, after 3 day ferment I tried my kimchi and it’s waaay too fishy and garlicky I also find the kimchi is much softer than usual and has kind of lost its texture.
Did I simply over-flavour? Or is my kimchi not right in fermenting process? I would feel very sad to throw away 3kgs worth of kimchi… but I also have a fear of “off” food.
Please advise!
Much love ❤️
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Don’t throw away your kimchi. Kimchi goes soggy when the cabbage quality is not good or it’s not salty enough. But it’s still edible. You can make kimchi stew to use it up quickly. Maybe add more salt in your next batch of kimchi.
hi maangchi, just a question, can i sit kimchi on room temperature for a week or 2? what will happen if so? i will start a small business, and for now i dont have frig to store it at first hand. can anyone help me too?
Wait until your fridge is prepared to start your business. Kimchi outside the fridge for 2 weeks will make the kimchi taste too sour and soggy.
Will my kimchi spoiled after 2weeks in room temperature? I have experimented it and it is just too sour. But i did not ate it anyway, just a bit of taste of kimchi. I definitely love your video on youtube. Awesome. I also appreciate your reply. Thank you
Hi Maangchi, remember me? We just have bought fridge and excellent I am ready for business. They have love it. Thank you for ur advice and time.
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And how long can I stand my kimchi inside the fridge? Thank you for ur responds.
Hi Maangchi, I really love this recipe. Made it for the 4th time now. But I am just curious, what is the shelf life of this kimchi recipe? I let it ferment in room temperature for 2 days and it’s now stored in the refrigerator. Hoping for your response soon. Thanks! ^_^
Hey Maangchi, This is the first time I made kimchi and it’s Super easy and tasty!! But because I’m staying in Malaysia and it’s forever hot weather. The kimchi is easy to fermented. After I made the kimchi and put in room temperature for 1 day then I store into the fridge. However, my kimchi become very sour only after 1 week? What could be the reason my kimchi become sour so fast? And also, the kimchi become not crispy after 2 weeks. Usually the kimchi can be crispy all the time, right? Is it the reason I did not drain the cabbage well after I washed?
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Hello!, Can i substitute hot pepper powder for sweet paprika or red chili powder ? I cant find hot pepper powder here. Thank you !
Hi Maangchi! I just tried your recipe and this is the first time I made Kimchi. It was simply delicious! Thanks for your wonderful recipe. Yummy! Yummy! :)
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The heads of Napa cabbage I generally find here are absolutely HUGE, 4-6 lbs each. Do you think I can safely divide one into smaller portions? Or what would you recommend?
Me and my friend made this recipe and it turned out really well for us!! I gave some to my boyfriend’s family and they loved it too. I think I’ve won their hearts =p
http://livejennormously.com/homemade-cabbage-kimchi/
I’ve written a blog about it and steps we took. The cabbage we used were way too big so we actually didn’t have enough of the paste. Oh well, I’ll know for next time =]
hello, your kimchi looks so delicious, i want to try it soon, but I’m only concern about sugar, I’m afraid if i add sugar, it will become alcoholic ferment not lactic ferment, can i skip the sugar? what do you think?
It will not ferment alcoholically, the enivornment with the cabbage and the flour-sugar base will direct the bacteria to lactic ferment. I’ve been making the recipe for quite a while and I have never discovered alcohol in the kimchi!
I just completed my first try at making Kimchi. Wow it was so delicious. It also helps me to digest. But maybe tonight I just eat Kimchi. Thank you so much for such a wonderful recipe. Mmmmmm.
Made this recipe yesterday. 5 pounds Napa Cabbage. Just very little paste left over. This is great flavor. I used my 40ºN Red Boat fish sauce. Thanks, Maangchi. I couldn’t be happier.
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I heard red boat fish sauce is also good. I should try it out someday. Looking at your kimchi jars makes me so happy this morning. I can guess you will keep filling the jars when they run out. Good luck!
Hi Mangchi,
Just wondering if it’s safe to eat kimchi and kimchi jjigae when pregnant?
Hi Maangchi! I’m new to your Chanel but wanted to let you know I love your videos. They’re so easy to follow and you’ve made me not afraid to try cooking Korean dishes. I just made this kimchi and it was super simple to make and deliciously fresh.
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Wow, you made great looking kimchi! Congratulations!
Hi Maangchi. Thank you so much for a great and easy to follow recipe and video. I made my first ever batch of Tongbaechu-kimchi (1 mild version and 1 hotter). I’m very happy with the result. Very delicious and sour. It has given me confidence to try more of your wonderful recipes.
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” It has given me confidence to try more of your wonderful recipes.” I’m so happy to hear that! The kimchi looks so tasty!
after a ton of research and sourcing the required ingredients i was able to find this recipe wich seemed like the best . my first time doing kimchi the only thing i was missing was fermented salted shrimp so i just added a little more fish sauce. really excited to try it!!!!
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