Hi everybody! I’m introducing “mak-kimchi” to you today! It’s made with napa cabbage (baechu in Korean), pre-cut into bite size pieces, so you can serve it without cutting. This way of making kimchi is really time saving compared to making whole cabbage kimchi. But the taste is exactly the same as whole cabbage kimchi because the ingredients are the same! So I am translating “mak-kimchi” into “easy kimchi.” I hope this recipe makes your life easier! : )
Since I posted my whole cabbage kimchi recipe in June 2007, so many people have surprised me with their kimchi related stories and questions. A lot of my readers make their own kimchi on a regular basis and they email me the photos of their delicious kimchi! Some people modify the recipe to their taste and some people add more ingredients to invent their own kimchi!
For example, Julie made vegan kimchi. She skipped fish sauce and used a little soy sauce and salt instead. Smart! Isn’t it? Some people like Reinier, James, Sylvia, Clyde, Sara make kimchi on a regular basis. They say, “oh, my kimchi runs out, I will make it this weekend.” If any of you reading this might want to be included the list of people who make kimchi on a regular basis, please email me. I will include your names here. : )
I’m surprised to see all these mouth-watering looking kimchi photos!
But as you know, the kimchi recipe was not using exact measurements. You remember? I said, “use 2 medium napa cabbage and 2 radishes.” The size of cabbage is actually huge by American standards! ; ) And the amount of kimchi paste you need to make is for both cabbage kimchi and radish kimchi. Some people only want to make only cabbage kimchi. They sometimes ask me, “Maangchi, can you tell me how much salt do I have to use for only 1 napa cabbage?”
How can I know?
I didn’t measure when I filmed the first video recipe years ago. : ) Anyway, whenever I was asked the similar questions, I felt kind of bad and a little bit guilty and I always thought I should post a more accurate kimchi recipe.
Here you go! : )
So this recipe will be for a total beginner. Just follow the recipe step by step. This recipe is mine that I have been using for my kimchi for decades and popular among even my Korean friends.
If you want to use whole cabbage kimchi, you can check my whole cabbage kimchi recipe and this easy kimchi recipe, then you will figure out what to do. Only difference is how to handle cabbage: cutting , salting, and how to put or mix the kimchi paste with the cabbage!
Did you see how many questions and answers were made for my whole cabbage kimchi? So far 831 comments! These questions are the most frequently asked, so I’m letting you know this.
FAQ
Q: Maangchi, do I have to make porridge to make kimchi? If I don’t want to use porridge, what shall I do?
A: No, you don’t have to. Some people don’t use porridge, but I always make porridge to make good kimchi paste. Porridge helps hot pepper flakes, fish sauce, garlic, ginger and all spices mix together. Otherwise, the kimchi paste will be too thick to put it between cabbage leaves easily. So you can use sweet pear juice instead of making porridge if you want. I sometimes use pear to make kimchi paste, too.
Q: Why do you give a shower to the cabbage before salting? : )
A: If you sprinkle salt on cabbage directly without pre-soaking in water, the salting process will take too long: this is “osmotic pressure.”
Q: Maangchi, kimchi never goes bad? How come there is some white stuff on the top of my kimchi?
A: If you keep your kimchi properly, it won’t go bad months and months. Don’t forget to press down the top of kimchi in the container with a spoon whenever you take some. It will prevent your kimchi from being exposed to air. If you see the top of your kimchi already has white stuff (mold), remove the top layer of the kimchi and you still can eat the rest of the kimchi.
Q: Maangchi, you used squid this time! Last time your kimchi was made with raw oysters! My other Korean friends never use oysters or squid.
A: Kimchi recipes vary from region to region, so some ingredients will be different. You can follow a few different recipes and choose the best recipe that suits your taste.
Q: I’m interested in adding raw oysters or squid in my Kimchi, but afraid that it might go bad so that I may have a stomachache.
A: You should use very fresh oysters or fresh frozen product, then it will ferment along with your kimchi.
Q: Ok, Maangchi, can you tell me how to make the salty, fermented squid for kimchi?
A: Choose about 300 grams (⅔ pound) of very fresh squid. Then:
- Remove the guts and backbone and rinse it.
- Add 3 tbs kosher salt and mix it with a spoon.
- Put it in a container or glass jar and keep it in the refrigerator for a week.
- Rinse the squid thoroughly until not slippery and drain it (you can skin it if you want).
- Dry the squid with paper towel or cotton and chop it up.
- Add it to your kimchi paste!
I answer many other frequently asked questions about making kimchi in this video.
Ingredients
- 10 pounds baechu (napa cabbage)
- 1 cup kosher salt
- ½ cup sweet rice flour
- ¼ cup sugar
- water
- 1 cup of crushed garlic
- 1 to 2 tbs ginger, minced
- 1 cup onion, minced
- 1 cup fish sauce
- salty, fermented squid (see FAQ, above)
- 2½ cups Korean hot pepper flakes (gochugaru) (to taste)
- 2 cups leek, chopped
- 10 green onions (diagonally sliced)
- ¼ cup of carrot, julienned
- 2 cups Korean radish, julienned
Directions
Prepare the cabbage
- Trim the discolored outer leaves of the napa cabbage.
- Cut the cabbage lengthwise into quarters and remove the cores. Chop it up into bite size pieces.
- Soak the pieces of cabbage in cold water and put the soaked cabbage into a large basin. Sprinkle salt.
- Every 30 minutes, turn the cabbage over to salt evenly (total salting time will be 1½ hours).
- 1½ hours later, rinse the cabbage in cold water 3 times to clean it thoroughly.
- Drain the cabbage and set aside.
Make porridge
- Put 3 cups of water and sweet rice flour in a pot and mix it well and bring to a boil. Keep stirring until the porridge makes bubbles (about 5 minutes).
- Add ¼ cup sugar. Stir and cook for a few more minutes until it’s translucent.
- Cool it down.
Make kimchi paste
- Place the cold porridge into a large bowl. Now you will add all your ingredients one by one.
- Add fish sauce, hot pepper flakes, crushed garlic, minced ginger, and minced onion.
*tip: it’s much easier to use a food processor!
- Wash and drain the salty squid. Chop it up and add it to the kimchi paste.
*tip: how to prepare salty squid is posted on the FAQ above!
- Add green onions, chopped leek, Korean radish, and carrot.
- Mix all ingredients well and your kimchi paste is done.
Action! Mix the cabbage with the kimchi paste!
- Put the kimchi paste in a large basin and add all the cabbage. Mix it by hand.
*tip: If your basin is not large enough to mix all the ingredients at once, do it bit by bit.
- Put the kimchi into an air-tight sealed plastic container or glass jar.
You can eat it fresh right after making or wait until it’s fermented.
You can eat it fresh right after making or wait until it’s fermented.
I usually put all my kimchi in the fridge except for a little bit in a small container. I like fresh kimchi, so this way the kimchi in the fridge ferments slowly and stays fresh, while the smaller container ferments faster and gets sour. I use this sour kimchi for making things like kimchi jjigae where sour kimchi is better. Then, when the small container is empty, I fill it up again with kimchi from the big container. It takes a little management, but experiment and you’ll get the hang of it!
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.
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 just wanted to say a huge thank you for putting all of your lovely recipes online for free. I’m embarrassed I have not said anything sooner as I have used your recipes for mak kimchi and radish kimchi for a long while now. I have even had requests lately to start making the recipes for some of my friends. I always tel them I found the recipes on your lovely website.
Thank you for sharing!
Meagen
p.s. I just purchased your book and cannot wait to read it.
Hi Maangchi! Can I use gochujang for make kimchi/?
Well,made my first batch of kimchi today, with instead of squid i used salted shrimp. not too happy with it so far, way too salty for me and i don’t know if i can fix it.
See full size image
Your kimchi looks good to me but it sounds like you added saeujeot (salted shrimp) too much. When it ferments, the taste will be better though. We have talked about salty kimchi on the forum and I gave a tip. Check this out, please. https://www.maangchi.com/talk/topic/kimchi-fermentation
Thank you. It produce 1 1/2 gallons of kimchi, so i let half gallon set out on counter and ferment. its bee 5 days and is starting to taste better. I did not drain the saeujeot or rinse it. Just threw it and the liquid into the batch. next time i’ll rinse it good and then throw in. I understand the need for salt. But my doctor is quite upset with me about my salt intake. LOL. FYI i have lost about 20 lbs now by incorporating some of the recipes into my diet along with a new diabetic med.
This batch did make some Excellent stir fried Pork and fried rice. I’ll tell ya one thing about your recipes. I can eat on one meal for almost a week. So i typically make a dish and use some once in a day for a meal along with other dishes i like
hi maangchi! thank you for the recipe! i’ve made it twice now but i’m having an issue, and i’d love some help troubleshooting it if you don’t mind.
i think the first time i made the kimchi, i accidentally doubled the amount of fish sauce, and this resulted in kimchi that has a very deep, umami flavor. it’s not unpleasant but i like my kimchi a little more sour, SO i made kimchi jiggae and made a new batch of kimchi.
so this time i used the regular amount of kimchi but i also forgot the tiny shrimp. my kimchi fermented super fast. i thought diluting it with new kimchi might slow it down, so i made a new batch of diakon kimchi and mixed it in. the sourness slowed down, BUT now most of my napa cabbage is soft while the diakon is crunchy and perfect. i’ve had to freeze most of it to make kimchi jiggae with later :\
am i right in thinking that the second batch became sour faster and got soft due to less salt in the recipe? maybe because i forgot the shrimp?
is it okay to add more fish sauce to the jars at this point, or would that cause a problem?
Please check this out. https://www.maangchi.com/talk/topic/kimchi-fermentation
already did — i guess my main question was, would adding more fish sauce have halted the process?
i made a new batch though. i made this one with 25% more fish sauce and two extra tbsp of shrimp to make it extremely salty, then strained out the sour brine from two jars of the old kimchi (i didn’t want to waste it and i wanted to get a head start on fermentation since it was so salty). this batch is perfect.
Me and my friend Paolo love the way you cook..hehe Btw your make up is amazing too.. It’s very kampat hehe
Hello Maangchi,hope you are good?
I tried to make egg muffins.
Hello maangchi, I finally made mak kimchi after planning for so long. But I ended up putting too much garlic!! So all I can taste is the garlic! I’ve left it outside on the counter for the last 3 days and even though the garlic taste has reduced its still very much garlicky!! Is tbere a thing I can do? I feel like the salt is less too since I didn’t add squid or oysters I only added the amount of salt you added during the salting process directly to the kimchi. Should I add more salt? I feel like I can’t taste anything but the garlic when i eat!! Please help-I was so excited to make the kimchi cause I had been planning to make it for months. Can I add more fresh vegetables and kimchi paste made withour garlic to this batch? It’s already fermented 3 days on my counter (today first time bubbles came when I opened). Please tell me what to do!! Thank you so much!!!
You made kimchi for the first time! That’s great! If the kimchi turns out too bland, add some salt. You can add salt anytime. When the kimchi ferments, strong garlic smell will tone down.
Maangchi, thank you so much for your response. But other than letting it ferment – isn’t there anything else I can do to reduce the garlic flavor? I can’t eat it fresh at all cause the garlic taste over takes everything. I’m so disappointed in myself. :( will adding some more cabbage after washing in salt and water reduce the garlic taste?
You might try making a partial batch of kimchi without garlin, and mix7it together. I would think that should dilute the garlic flavor. Good luck!
Hello again Maangchi! Now I have a lot of kimchi! I really want to make things like kimchi stew and kimchi fried rice which needs well fermented kimchi. Can I keep the kimchi on the counter for a while to hasten the ripening and not have to wait for a couple months in the fridge? If so how long is it OK to keep on the counter? and then how long should I keep in the fridge for the great ripe flavor? Thank you!
Hello Maangchi! Thank you so much for all your recipes! I’ve tried so many and loved it! My favorite still has to be dakgalbi and we love the addition of kkaenip. I’ll be making this kimchi recipe soon and was wondering if I could leave out the oysters/squid? I can’t seem to find fresh seafood near me and would prefer not to risk a stomachache :) Thank you so much!
Maangchi. I bought hot pepper powder instead of hot pepper flakes. Can i still make kimchi with the powder? I was planning to make it tomorrow! :( thanks!
Yes, you can use hot pepper powder instead of hot pepper flakes when you make kimchi. Only difference between flakes and powder is how finely they ground. But you might have bought hot pepper flakes because I sometimes see English translation on the package is wrong. Check out this page for more in-depth explanation. https://www.maangchi.com/ingredient/hot-pepper-flakes
Hello Mannchi! In this recipe you do not state the kind of salt you are using? Is it kosher salt or sea salt from Korean stores? Coarse or fine? What kind of salt should I use? Maybe someone can recommend? Thank you so much!
I use kosher salt. Check this out, please. https://www.maangchi.com/blog/using-salt
Thank you so much Maanchi! I like Kosher salt too for the very same reasons and for making cooking simpler. This makes it all easier!
Hello!
I have made your recipe 2x in the last 2 weeks as a surprise for my (Korean) boyfriend’s birthday. The first time, I used a little too much garlic (leave it to an Italian, ha!) but after a week, the garlic mellowed. However, it did have a carbonated effect / taste, so I think I did not ferment it properly in the beginning.
The second time around, I made the paste perfectly (he said the color was good, and the taste) and no fizzi-ness, however, I used a different salt (a kosher / coarse salt, instead of the fine sea salt I bought at the Korean grocery store) and we think this made the cabbage too salty (because the sauce is not salty, just the cabbage after taste). But he said the direction I’m going in is right.
So this time I am making another batch this week, so he can take it to his mom.I have two questions:
1)When you first soak the cabbage, how long do you actually soak it for in water, before you put it in the salt?
2) This time I am going to add fish sauce. Which brand do you recommend? I haven’t used fish sauce the last 2 times because I was worried it would be too fishy, but I am ready to try it.
Thank you! Your videos helped tremendously!! (I also made Miyeok Guk for his birthday last week!)
With love,
The Italian Kimchi Wannabe Chef :)
I forgot to mention that the second time, after I finished making the kimchi, I did not refrigerate it right away. Instead, I left it out on the counter and then put it in the fridge the next morning. I think this helped greatly to avoid the carbonated effect from the 1st time.
In case maanchi does not get to respond to you, this is the one she recommends on this site:
https://www.maangchi.com/ingredient/fish-sauce
This brand is very popular at my local Korean market and gets a lot of shelf space, and stacks of crates at the ends of aisles, too! Three Crabs
Hi Maangchi. I hope you can answer this question.
The last time I went to my local Korean market to purchase ingredients for mak kimchi, I couldn’t pass up a package of radish kimchi that the ladies make. (I was so hungry and ate my fill in the car!) The Korean ladies there make all kinds of great kimchi, pancakes, salads, all the good stuff!
So, I then went home and made my batch of kimchi, and since I had juice left over from the store-bought, I put about a tablespoon of the sauce in each of my 8 quart mason jars. In just a few days the kimchi was bubbling and over-flowing the jars! It was so carbonated it was like “eating” a cola! My question is, do you know, as a Korean “insider” if the people who make fermented kimchi for sale in the markets use a starter culture, like a packet of lactobacillus and other cultures? My kimchi has never, never been so well-fermented than this last time when I added juice from “their” kimchi. Take care! Love you!
Hi Maangchi, can I use fresh hot peppers for kimchi instead of hot pepper flakes?
Yes, you can.
Grind the fresh peppers until creamy and mix with garlic, ginger, fish sauce and follow the recipe. You don’t need to add porridge.
Maangchi! I have been making this recipe for more than 7 years and I still keep coming back to it. Thanks for turning the world onto Korean food (and good kimchi).
Ravi!
It’s been a long time I heard from you! I’m happy to hear that you have been making your own kimchi for years! Didn’t you say you are a vegetarian when we ran into each other at an event in Brooklyn a few years ago? I’d like to taste your kimchi someday!
Hi Maangchi.
I am still enjoying making your mak kimchi! Today I went to the Korean market to purchase supplies and since it’s Friday, the Korean ladies were there selling their pre-made kimchi and I just had to buy some to eat in the car. It was sooo good!
I used three very large heads of napa, one large radish, an apple, and all the rest. I left it salting for two hours, then mixed it up and put it in the same size plastic box that you used in your 2010 video. (I usually use about 5 quart-sized Mason jars, but all were in use today.) I was surprised that the cabbage reduced to only fill that large box a little more than half way! Next time, four heads of napa in my cart! These three weighed about 10 pounds. Even though I’ve been doing this for some years now, the shrinkage always surprises me. This picture isn’t exactly artistic, but I want to prove to you that I do make kimchi!
Imagine all the people who think of you fondly when eating their own home-made kimchi! As always, thank you for your wonderful videos, recipes, and instruction so freely offered. I still love your cookbook and it owns an honored place on my shelf.
See full size image
Here’s a newly made batch of easy kimchi. It’s gonna make my whole apartment stink, but I believe it will be tasty. I’m just gonna let it ferment for few days and then it’s time for tasting. Yummy!
Here’s a picture.
See full size image
Upside-down kimchi jars in the photo but it still looks delicious! : )
Hi Maangchi! I’ve made the second batch of kimchi. I have let it ferment for 2days at room temperature. Now the kimchi taste very very sour. What should I do now?
Hi Maangchi! I’ve just made my own kimchi for the first time. Can’t wait to try :) At the same time, I can’t stop my hands from reaching the container. While I’m letting it ferment at room temperature, am I suppose to leave it alone? Can I open the cover or taste it during this process?
See full size image
You can open the container anytime you want. It looks good! Congratulations!
Thanks Maangchi :)
It’s been at room temperature for 30hours and I think it ferments well as it turns sour already. Do u think It’s time for me to put it in the fridge? My country temperature varies from 27 to 34 celcious. Oh dear!! My kimchi is not salty enough Hahaha
You can add salt any time if it turned out bland. Once your kimchi turns sour, you should transfer it to the fridge. Or keep it in the fridge right after making your kimchi.
Wonderful! Your videos are very informative. I had a hard time understanding many other videos. My first batch came out great. Although I have only tried supermarket Jared Kimchie. Just finished second batch and it’s even better. Thank you!
I am make it just for myself. Do you have a cut down recipe? Or can the extra Kimchie paste be saved? Much thanks!
Some leftover kimchi paste can be frozen for future use. Or you can add to some stew or soup like doenjang jjigae. https://www.maangchi.com/recipe/doenjang-jjigae
Good luck with your Korean cooking!
Hi Maangchi!
i had recently tried out your kimchi recipe, and it turned out great! thank you for giving such wonderful recipes!
my question is that you mentioned about adding salted squid in your kimchi recipe, which i did, but my parents aren’t very fond about raw squid being add into kimchi haha. so, if i didn’t add the salted squid, will it affect the taste of the kimchi? thank you :)
i love your site so much! learned a lot! gamsahamnida! and fighting!
Can I use soy sauce instead of fish sauce? Will the amount needed be the same? Can I also put in there apples?
Yes, use soy sauce and salt. You can always do some experiments and modify the recipe to your taste.
Hi Maangchi, i would like to ask if I were to use all-purpose flour instead of sweet rice flour, do I still have to add sugar when doing the porridge?
hi maangchi..
i think i didn’t soak the cabbage in the salted water long enough, and now after 5 days the cabbage still taste ‘raw’, while the turnips and carrots are ok. what can i do now? thank you so much….
Just finished my 3rd batch of kimchi! I always leave the small container on the counter for a couple days and but the big one in the fridge. It is so delicious! I had just enough sour kimchi left for kimchi jigae and bindaettok, two of our favorite new dishes! The anchovy stock makes the jigae so yummy! Thank you for all your wonderful recipes!
See full size image
Thank you for sharing your amazing looking kimchi photo and the story! Your comment will help those who visit my website for the first time. Yes, as long as you make your own kimchi, you could make tons of different kinds of delicious Korean dishes. Happy cooking!
Hi! I’m making kimchi and I soaked the cabbage in salty water instead of dry salting. How do I proceed from here? Is it the same salting time?
Hi Maangchi!
I finally had the courage of trying your Kimchi recipe :) However, I am not really sure, since this is my first time..when I made the kimchi paste, it’s too salty. I think it’s because of the fish sauce :( Should it be the normal taste? Will the saltiness change after it ferments?
You’re response would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Yeah, kimchi paste should be salty. If your kimchi is not salty enough, the cabbage will go soggy easily. How do you like your kimchi now? When it ferments, it tastes less salty.
It turned out really good! My Korean friends really liked it :) Here it is!
See full size image
Thank you for sharing the photo! It looks so tasty!
Hi Rizza, I’m Kris from Davao. Would just like to ask, how long did you ferment your kimchi? Did you ferment in the ref or at room temp? This is my first time making kimchi. I’m excited to make my own but also really nervous about the fermentation part. Will appreciate your help. Thank you!
Thank you so much for sharing your kimchi recipe. Made a batch the other day and it came out wonderfully (did 2/3 with cabbage and the other 1/3 with baby bok choy).
See full size image
Thank you for sharing your delicious kimchi photo! Baby bok choy kimchi sounds great!
I made my first kimchi :D I bought too much carrots and radish and made too much kimchi porridge so I decided to make radish and carrot kimchi
Does it look like it has too much paste?
See full size image
wow, I love your juicy kimchi! When it ferments, it will be very tasty.
Thank you, Maangchi ^^
It’s been almost three days since I made this and it smells amazing. The cabbages taste a bit bitter but the carrots and radishes taste really nice, especially if eaten with meat.
Thank you for the recipe :D
Ms Maangchi, I need help. I made kimchi the first time today and until I finished, I forgot to wash and rinse the salted cabbage again before mixing them with the paste. So now they are very salty. Is there any way to save these cabbage (save me, actually)? Or I completely screw up :(
The kimchi will be not only salty but not clean.
But if I were you, I wouldn’t throw it away. When the kimchi ferments, take out some, wash and rinse it in cold water. Strain it and eat it. It will taste good enough. If you make kimchi stew, wash it before using and add more hot pepper flakes and pepper paste.
Thank you so much for replying! I will try wash it like you suggested. It is fermenting right now. I think I will make another batch next weekend, this one can be considered trial.
It is not clear to me why the kimchi is not clean (like you said). I washed the cabbage a few times, and then did the salting process, but after that I forgot to wash and drain it and went straight to mixing it with the paste. Thus it was only clean cabbage and salt, why is it not clean?
Hi Olismom, I’ve over-salted my fermented foods a couple of times. As long as the cabbage was clean here are my remedies:
1. Add more of the main veggie to your ferment to dilute the effect. In this case cabbage. The unsalted cabbage will pick up and continue the ferment begun by your original cabbage.
2. If not too terribly salty (ferment and taste) eat with unsalted rice or noodles. Since these are blander they will dilute the saltiness.
3. Use as a soup or stew base. Dilute with other veggies, liquids, rice, meats or tofu. Maangchi has delicious recipes for these, just skip the soy, fish sauce or other salty ingredients.
Good luck!
She thought it wasn’t clean because she thought you followed her method exactly. She salted the cabbage first then washed/rinsed them 3 times, but you washed your cabbage first then salted, which is opposite from what she did.
It’s probably better to follow Maangchi’s method to salt first then wash/rinse so that you don’t have to wash/rinse twice and you won’t forget to rinse out the salt because you’ll know that you need to wash the cabbage clean first.
I don’t have fish sauce can I use home-made anchovy paste made with salted anchoveis please?
I don’t have radish so can I use apples (of which I have about 60 trees………..)
Can I use beetroot in the kimchi?
The cabbages, carrots, onions, ginger, scallions and garlic are home-grown by me………….
Do I need to exclude the air from the container with a airlock when you say use an airtight container – I don’t have one of those………..
Sorry, lots of questions for a 1st-timer………..!!
You can make homemade anchovy paste? I’d like to know the recipe!
Replace some ingredients with the ones available and do some experiment to make the best kimchi.
You can use any container with a lid. Press the top of the kimchi down with your hands or spoon to protect your kimchi from being exposed to too much air.
I just mash down the salt anchovies taken from a jar (in Oil – use the oil for other things) and use that. I made the kimchi and used 1/2 an apple in the paste – it tastes delicious raw – but I’ve only tried a little as I am wary after a very bad re-action to fermented water kefir a while back!!!
Just waiting for the dishwasher to finish cleaning my large sweet jar so the kimchi is just waiting in the fridge in a bowl. I have jars within jars to hold the kimchi under the brine, cleaning in the dishwasher…………………..
I’m very curious about your recipe. Do u really use apple to replace radish? Did u add beetroot too? Can u please tell me the outcome. I would love to try out your recipe. Today I’m experimenting making Kim chi with pineapple.
I made this recipie about a year ago without the squid. It is sealed in a ball jar and hasn’t been opened. The top is flexing out and the cabbage is discolored. Is this still useable Or will I kill myself if I eat it. I loved it fresh and passed it around to people that love it. I’d hate to throw it out? I was thinking of making some Kimchi bokkeumbap with it.
I love this site. Thank you for your effort.
Yes, remove the top layer of the discolored kimchi and you still can eat the rest of the kimchi. Good luck with making delicious kimchibokkeumbap!
annyonghasseo maangchi, im a big fan >.< i have question, if i want to make small amount kimchi, like just one small size nappa cabbage, how many onion,garlic,and hot pepper flake i should use? kamsahamninda (i guess it means thank you but am i write it wrong?)
Hi Maangchi,
I have been successfully making Kimchi (mostly from Napa cabbage) which I have left for ages to become nice and sour! But after one day or so, the Kimchi was nice, but not yet really sour though! I have had Kimchi in Korean restaurants that seemed to be self made, really fresh and still crunchy, but yet sour and tangy! How do they achieve that? Especially for cucumber Kimchi, as my cucumbers get soggy very quickly once they’re salted!
Can you give me some hints?
Hi Maangchi!
I recently just tried your easy made kimchi recipe. And Im lovin how easy and fuss free this recipe is!
My kimchi turns out a lil bit salty, maybe I put a too much fish sauce and the color is not as red vibrant as normal kimchi, cause I can’t find Korean hot pepper flakes. :(
Anyway, just wanna ask you, why is my kimchi gravy turns out to be sticky after one day of letting it sit outside on room temperature?
Does it means it turns bad?
After this batch, I will try to make a new batch next week. This is my first time making kimchi. And I really really love your blog!!
Thank you Maangchi :D