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,
thank you so much for this recipe. The kimchi is wonderful and, kinda, an addiction :).
Daikon raddish is a bit hard to get here, so, I use kohlrabi, which is wonderfully crunchy.
Maangchi, this is my first time making kimchi, but the color turn very red like dark red color, it’s okay
sorry for typing error, is “is it okay?”
Hi Maangchi, I follow your recipe to make this traditional Napa cabbage kimchi. But I used our local Napa cabbage (smaller) & radish which is stronger flavor, not so sweet like the Korean radish.And I also can’t find Korean chili powder so,I just use our local chili powder, which is I think is more spicier than the Korean one. I reduce the amount of chili powder. It turn out quite good, and I really enjoyed my very first Kimchi. Fortunately I have a earthen jar like your onggi.
Thank you very much for your recipe, it’s easy to follow the way you did it. More power to you. Mabuhay from the Philippines.
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Hi Maangchi, I follow your recipe to make this traditional Napa cabbage kimchi. In my area is hard to find Korean Napa cappage, I use the one from China instead. And I also can’t find Korean chilli powder. So I just use our local chilli powder, which is think is more spicy then the Korean one. I reduce the amount to less then a cup of chilli powder and add in some Korean chill paste. It turn out quite good. Taste quite well.
I want to know, is it possible for me to just use the Korean chilli paste instead of the chill powder? The chill paste is more conveience to get here.
And also, I find this recipe miss out the pear juice which always mention in other kimchi recipe. It is ok for me to add in? Thanks.
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Good afternoon,
This will be my 1st making kimchi. I luv kimchi so much.
I want to make 2 nape cabbage as a start 1st.
How do I adjust my ingredients portion.
And is it a must to make to porridge?
Pls advice.
Thank you.
Hey i usually just go by weight. Sometimes 2 napa cabbage can weigh about 6 pounds if you get the bigger ones, so the recipe remains the same. Either ways even if you end up with more kimchi sauce, you could make some side dishes with them I reckon :) i bet they will be delicious!
I know there’s other ingredients in the Hot pepper paste but Can I use hot pepper paste instead of the pepper flakes in the kimchi?
No, you need Korean hot pepper flakes to make good kimchi.
I made my first Kimchi on Saturday 18th November. I bungled the recipe and used too much salt on the leaves. Luckily extra and thorough rinsing seems to have fixed that issue as well as adding an additional grated carrot. One week later and the results are a cause for celebration. Magnificent!
Things I’ll be mindful of next time and what little advice I have for first timers…
Don’t have Traditional kimchi and Easy kimchi recipes open at the same time :-) (reason for over salting)
Follow recipe closely at least the first time and watch the video a couple of times. There’s a lot communicated both visually and spoken. Maangchi is an excellent teacher.
Be patient. It tastes nice on day one but the transformation after leaving it in the fridge for 7 days was such an improvement. It tastes less than good in the period between but by day seven it’s like all the ingredients have mellowed into a new single flavour with a surprising amount of umami (sorry if there’s a Korean equivalent). It’s almost cheese like in after taste. Is that a good thing? I hope so because it tastes great.
I used glutinous rice flour (Thai) from an Asian grocer, it’s the same as sweet flour apparently.
Maybe cutting off stalk last thing before putting in container helps retain leaves when handling.
Weather was mid 20’sC when I was making it and a bit humid. I left the containers out on the bench overnight for about 26 hours and then into fridge the next afternoon. For several days there were no bubbles and I was starting to lose faith. But now, with a little patience I am the proud father of my over achieving Kimchi!
Thanks Maangchi. You’re the best!
Photo- Kimchi in stacked containers on day of making.
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First, your kimchi looks wonderful.
Second, I’m impressed with all these helpful tips you write here. Thanks for writing them! They may help a lot of people.
“Don’t have Traditional kimchi and Easy kimchi recipes open at the same time”
lol!
Thanks Maangchi. The colour looks pale in the photo for some reason perhaps reflection but they are both a nice red colour. 2 cups of chilli in these babies.
Looking forward to trying other kimchi based recipes.I’ve always only eaten it on it’s own often as a snack. One day I saw a huge delivery of this red cabbage and turnip stuff at the Korean grocer and thought that must be popular. What is it? How much? I asked. I’ve been hooked ever since.
The Korean grocer is in Brunswick St, Fitzroy where I used to buy Korean mochi, sorry I don’t know the Korean word. I love the ones with nuts in them. I think they’re walnuts or chestnuts. Whatever they are they are really good.
Maangchi, I made some kimchi today. A small problem I ran into is with the porridge. It looks thick after boiling the sweet rice water. But the thick porridge cleared up after I added the fish sauce and salty shrimp. The kimchi looks more like sitting in cabbage juice than what it should look like. Did I miss anything? Thanks a lot!
Hi Jane,
It sounds like everything is normal to me. You can press it down and mix it up a bit. After kimchi is made, water still comes out of the cabbage, this is normal.
Let me know how your kimchi turns out!
I made kimchi today! It has been 10 years I have made my own kimchi since I followed Maangchi 언니’s recipe. 정보 감사합니다❤ I started it when I was a university student and because there was no place to buy kimchi in where I studied. Today I made 총각김치 and 배추김치 in my new house with my hubby’s help because I’m currently 6 months + pregnant We love homemade Kimchi
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Both kinds of kimchi look perfect! Especially the ponytail kimchi looks crispy and delicious!
Congratulations on your pregnancy!
I tried making kimchi using your recipe. I brought some at a party and everyone enjoyed it a lot. Thank you very much Maangchi!!
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Wow it looks well made! Congratulations!
Hey Maangchi and readers i have a question what will happen if i ad igriedients like green onions more carrots and ginger to an already fermented kimchi wil it go bad?
and daikon and my kimchi was already 2 weeks in the fridge can someone help me please.
How can I make kimchi with out fish sauce and out any seafood in it? I’m allergic to seafood. And any other recipe that calls for fish sauce. if I leave it out will it taste the same?
The fermented seafood mainly acts as a starter as does yeast or sour dough for bread.
You may use traditionally brewed soy sauce or even the soaking water from shiitake mushrooms instead – adjust the amount of salt you use then.
But sea-salt is the best – I hope that’s no problem. ;-)
Bye, Sanne.
Maangchi, thank you so much for posting this recipe!
I was unable to visit my in-laws in 양평 to make kimchi during my pregnancy so I didn’t know what to do. Finding your recipes and website is a blessing. Thank you for sharing Korean cooking with the world.
I’m patiently waiting for that wonderful, fermented scent to fill the air and remind me of Korea. I’ve been craving 김치찌개 since I had my baby. I am so excited!
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The kimchi looks so good! Congratulations!
Why is my kimchi doesn’t have kimchi juice?
We talked about this on the forum, check this out!
https://www.maangchi.com/talk/topic/no-kimchi-juice
Hi Maanchi, I tried your recipe but had to modify a lot due to not finding ingredients locally. I could not find dropwort, chili flakes, Asian radish/daikon or fermented shrimp. I used red radish, fish sauce and fresh hot peppers. I did not achieve a lovely red paste, while my mix was more watery and rustic. I did coat all my cabbage and covered each batch with any remaining liquid. I have good fermentation, after a few days the cabbage has a good effervescence but it is way too crazy hot! Is there anything I can do to tone down the heat?
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Wow it looks amazing, you did a good job! As long as you added garlic and fish sauce, the taste will be good! I see you have everything packed into cute jars!
When it starts to ferment, the heat will go down. Just keep it an enjoy!
These are my Kimchi that I made yesterday.. Thanks Maangchi..
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Congratulations! Is he your son? Does he like kimchi? : )
Yeah.. He is my son.. All of my friend say he look like Korean.. He ate kimchi (in secretly I chopped it small pieces n mix in his rice). Thanks for the recipe.. It taste so nice (even its just 2 days old Kimchi)
“in secretly I chopped it small pieces n mix in his rice” haha, you are trying to make your son get addicted to your kimchi! Actually that’s what Korean moms are doing with their children.
Hi maangchi
A question the image package is red pepper powder or hot pepper flakes
Also this is a “bright red” as recommended in your video of korean grocery shopping?
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Yes, it’s Korean hot pepper flakes (gochu-garu) that you can use to make kimchi and many other dishes.
Just made another batch!!! I have put my leftover paste in the freezer as suggested, thank you. I have another question. Can I use the same recipe for radish kimchi?
I made my kimchi a couple of weeks ago, and now it has an extremely strong sour taste and smell. I think it might be because I accidentally used a spoon that I used for something else to scoop out the kimchi one time. Do you think this might have contaminated it? :(
Did you keep the kimchi in the fridge? It sounds like it’s well fermented and sour, not contaminated.
I left it in the fridge for the most part, but I took it out a lot, which might have sped up the fermentation process. Something strange that I forgot to mention was that the kimchi smelled like durian?!?!?
It might be helpful to note that I used regular salt instead of kosher salt, and the cabbage I used was already yellow when I made the kimchi.
I found out that the way my kimchi smelled was NOT how kimchi is supposed to smell. I think the main issue is that I didn’t do the salting right, which probably caused the cabbage to begin rotting. From now on, I think I’m going to stick with Korean sea salt and do a combo of dry brining and wet brining!
Thank you for the recipe, maangchi. It’s my first time made a kimchi. The freshly made kimchi is really delicious. Hope it’ll ferment well :)
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We love this kimchi! So easy to make and so very good.
I have a question about something I think you never have a problem with. When we made our third batch, the pepper flakes had lost some of their color and perhaps some of their zing as well. This was about three months after we made our first batch and first opened the pepper flakes. Is there a way we should have stored our pepper flakes to keep them “like new” longer? We just re-closed the seal on the bag and put it in the pantry.
Thanks!
Always keep your hot pepper flakes in the freezer, that will keep them best.
Thank you! We will do that from now on.
Dear Maangchi,
I’ve only recently discovered your site and have just taken delivery of your fantastic book! Thank-you!
Today I spent the afternoon making my first batch of Kimchi. I bought a large Onggi (thanks to the address supplied by your site to a Korean grocer in Melbourne that stocked them. Thanks!)
In your book you say that the kimchi should be transferred from the onggi to the fridge after 2-3 days.
Is there any benefit to just leaving it in the Onggi in my kitchen? As long as the kimchi is always submerged, should it be OK to leave out?
And one final question: do you need to put anything between the onggi lid and the pot (like cheesecloth/muslin)?
Thanks for your time, Maangchi.
All the very best to you from Melbourne, Australia.
There’s no benefit to leaving it on the counter, it will get soggy and sour because it’s too warm. It should be kept in the fridge.
Thanks, Maangchi.
Kimchi turned out amazing!!! Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful recipe!
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Hi maangchi. Greeting from Thailand.
I love your kimchi recipe to much and my customer too!!
They said, they love n very delicious.
On the pic, I added everything on your recipe.
I found n try to make the original.
That’s why everyone love it.
Thanks a lot.
Ahh!!. Fresh himchi so gooooodd!!
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hi, Maangchi
I was wondering…. you use korean radish as one of the ingrediants to make this kimchi, could I use daikon radish instead? I searched through all the shops around even went to the capital where they have Asian shops were they sell korean ingrediens as well, but I couldnt find it. so I started to wonder if daikon would do the trick?
Yes, you can use daikon if Korean radish is not available when you make kimchi. Good luck!
Made this today. Now there shall be a feast. :D
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Second time , i’m making it, i made more this time because i use kimchi a lot now ;)
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Yes, your kimchi will run out so quickly when you make kimchi stew, kimchi fried rice, and kimchi pancakes. The cute jars filled with your homemade kimchi are precious!
Oh Maangchi! I’m so excited, I made my kimchi two weeks ago ate some today and it was delicious! I made fried noodles with it. Thank you for your wonderful recipes xx
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Hi Maangchi,
Thank you for sharing the recipes. I could guarantee that yours recipes are gorgeous. My mom and brother even said this kimchi was far better that those in some restaurants.
By the way, i like the way you present the videos. I can feel that you are truly a lovely person. It’s fun watching your videos :D
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Thank you so much! The kimchi you made looks so delicious. Are there good Korean grocery stores in your area?
Thank you, Maangchi for this amazing recipe, i made it couple days ago and it came out delicious, check it out :)
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Excuse me I am also from Saudi Arabia Riyadh from where did you get the pepper flakes?
Hello! Actuallty i got flakes with me when i was traveling, have u tried Korean Food Store Store near Olaya? They have lots of stuff.
Yes I did try but I think its so expensive there its 50 sr for a package of pepper flakes !!! But its worth it and by the way your kimchi looks yummy thanks for the help☺
Hi maangchi
If my place cannot find similar salted fermented shrimp what can I do? But only can fouND this in the pictures
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That’s it! Bingo! Jackpot! ;-)
If you can’t find any of those: fish sauce works fine, but use less (about half of the amount you would for fermented shrimp) or even soy sauce.
Hi maangchi
If my place cannot find similar salted fermented shrimp what can I do?
I’ve been to Singapore, you should be able to find it easily in any Korean grocery store. Here is a list of stores in your area:
https://www.maangchi.com/shopping/singapore
Or skip it, you don’t have to add it.
Dear Maangchi
I just made this tower of kimchi I can’t wait to eat it!
I have just finished university where I was hooked on store bought kimchi so when I got home I couldn’t wait to make some of my own. Thank you so much for making the recipe so easy to follow. I had to use really crunchy apples instead of radish though since you cannot get radish or daikon where I live. It gives the kimchi a slightly fruity flavour and adds some sweetness.
I look forward to making many more of your recipes in the future (｡>﹏<｡)
Zoe
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It looks great! Congratulations!
Hi, Maangchi.
I’ve added kimchi to my meals, using your recipe. Right now I’m making zucchini kimchi using pretty much the same technique as for nappa cabbage.
Do you know if kimchi can be made with green tomatoes? I will have an abundance of them in a few weeks. Thanks so much and for your wonderful recipes.
Hi Maangchi! Today I was listening to a new podcast called The Sporkful. One of their recent episodes featured this recipe of yours! The story was about some Korean people adopted by American parents trying to find their cultural roots, and you helped them try to make Korean food as authentically as possible. Maybe you have heard about this? The link is below if you haven’t! I was very excited to hear you being mentioned.
http://www.sporkful.com/your-moms-food-pt-1-what-dumplings-mandu-cant-fix/
Thank you for letting me know!
Your excitement, and letting me know, is more fun for me than the fact that I was mentioned in the podcast!
Hello Maangchi,
Which pepper flakes brand is mild? I don’t see the label at H Mart. I appreciate if you can post a picture of the mild pepper flakes. Thank you Maangchi.
Hi Nancy,
Check this out please: https://www.maangchi.com/ingredient/hot-pepper-flakes