Hi everybody! I’m introducing “mak-kimchi” to you today! It’s made with napa cabbage (baechu in Korean), pre-cut into bite-sized pieces, so you can serve it without cutting. This way of making kimchi is really time saving compared to making whole cabbage kimchi. It has the familiar spicy, savory flavor of napa cabbage kimchi, with an easier way to prepare and serve it. So I am translating “mak-kimchi” into “easy kimchi.” I hope this recipe makes your life easier!
Over the years, so many of my readers have made kimchi using this recipe. Some have even told me they make it to sell! Every time I hear stories like these, I feel so proud and happy.
Want to make a smaller batch? A small-batch easy kimchi recipe, made with just one 3-pound head of napa cabbage, is coming soon. The recipe below is my original version, made with 10 pounds of cabbage.
If you prefer kimchi made with cabbage quarters instead of bite-sized pieces, try my traditional napa cabbage kimchi recipe.
Ingredients
A large batch made with 10 pounds of napa cabbage
- 10 pounds baechu (napa cabbage)
- 1 cup kosher salt for the cabbage, plus 3 tablespoons if preparing the optional squid
- ½ cup sweet rice flour
- ¼ cup sugar
- 3 cups water for the porridge, plus more for soaking and rinsing
- 1 cup crushed garlic
- 1 to 2 tablespoons ginger, minced
- 1 cup onion, minced
- 1 cup fish sauce
- Salted, fermented squid (optional; see “Prepare the salted squid” below)
- 2½ cups Korean hot pepper flakes (gochugaru) (to taste)
- 2 cups leek or Asian chives, chopped
- 10 green onions (diagonally sliced)
- ¼ cup carrot, cut into matchsticks
- 12 ounces of peeled Korean radish, cut into matchsticks, about 2 cups
Directions
Prepare the salted squid (optional; 1 week ahead)
- Clean 300 grams (⅔ pound) of very fresh squid by removing the guts and backbone, then rinse well.
- Add 3 tablespoons kosher salt and mix with a spoon.
- Transfer to a container or glass jar, cover, and refrigerate for 1 week.
- Rinse thoroughly until no longer slippery, then drain. Remove the skin if you like.
- Pat dry with paper towels or a clean cotton cloth, chop, and add to the kimchi paste.
Prepare the cabbage
- Trim the discolored outer leaves of the napa cabbage.
- Cut the cabbage lengthwise into quarters and remove the cores. Chop it into bite-sized pieces.
- Soak the pieces of cabbage in cold water, then transfer the wet cabbage to a large basin. Sprinkle the 1 cup kosher salt evenly over the cabbage and toss well.
- Every 30 minutes, turn the cabbage over to salt evenly (total salting time will be 2 hours).
- 2 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.
- Let it cool completely.
Make kimchi paste
- Place the cooled 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!
- If using the salted squid, rinse and drain it, then chop it and add it to the kimchi paste. The squid is optional, so you can leave it out.
- Add green onions, chopped leek or Asian chives, Korean radish, and carrot.
- Mix all ingredients well and your kimchi paste is done.
Action! Mix the cabbage with the kimchi paste!
- Add the cabbage to the kimchi paste and mix well by hand.
*tip: If your basin is not large enough to mix all the ingredients at once, do it bit by bit.
- Transfer the kimchi to a clean, food-safe container or glass jar. Press it down firmly to remove air pockets. Leave some space at the top so the juices have room to rise during fermentation, then cover.
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 dishes like kimchi jjigae where sour kimchi should be used. 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!
Serve, ferment, and store
You can eat kimchi fresh or let it ferment in the refrigerator. It will gradually become more sour. The time this takes depends on the temperature and your taste.
For faster fermentation of a batch made without the optional squid, leave the covered container at room temperature for about a couple of days, depending on the warmth of your kitchen. Set it on a tray to catch any overflowing juices. When it tastes pleasantly sour, refrigerate it. If you use a tightly sealed jar or a container, open the lid occasionally to release any built-up gas.
The story behind this recipe
I first shared my whole cabbage kimchi and radish kimchi recipe in 2007. In that early video, I used cabbage and radishes of different sizes without giving precise weights. Readers soon began asking for more exact measurements, especially when they wanted to make just cabbage kimchi. Their questions inspired me to share this step-by-step easy kimchi recipe in 2010, using 10 pounds of napa cabbage. It’s based on the kimchi I’ve been making for decades, and it’s popular with my Korean friends, too.
Take a look at these mouthwatering kimchi photos shared by my readers!
Buy this recipe's ingredients online
I really like Weee! they deliver quality packaged and fresh Korean ingredients to the continental USA. Cheaper and better than Amazon! Check them out!
Hi Maangchi,
Thank you so so much for introducing this easy kimchi recipe. I’ve tried making kimchi a couple of times before but they turned out all wrong. My husband said they tasted nothing like the kimchi he had eaten in Korea. I guess it was because the recipe was not authentic. But then I found this recipe of yours and gave it a go and awww it was so yummy, looked good as well. My new hobby now is making boxes of kimchi and giving them away to friends and relatives. Next I’m gonna try other Korean recipes here and will let you know how they turn out.
“My new hobby now is making boxes of kimchi and giving them away to friends and relatives” I can imagine how much they appreciate your kimchi! Yes, let me know how your Korean cooking turns out.
Hi maangchi,
I’ve got great news to share with you. This past Saturday I took part in a cooking contest in my school and guess what? The kimchi I made that use your recipe was a big hit. Everybody was asking me for the recipe. I love you muaaahh
Ah and I have a question regarding the Korean hot pepper flakes. I usually buy mine from a supermarket for Koreans living in Vietnam (I’m from Vietnam) but it doesn’t have the bright red color like the one I see on your video. I see at the supermarket they also have hot pepper paste. Can I use it in place of the flakes?
And is it ok to leave out the celery? My friend forgot to buy celery and so decided to go without it. I’m wondering if that will affect how kimchi tastes?
In my latest batch of kimchi I added a bit more fish sauce and sugar and my hubby seemed to like the taste better
I mean leek not celery
speaking of my experimentation with Korean dishes I’d like to share with you how I cook my own version of kimchi chigae and kimchi noodles.
One day my husband suddenly craved some noodles and he wanted his noodles to have veggies, unfortunately we had no veggies left. Then I discovered we had some kimchi that was too sour to eat left in the refrigerator. So I made kimchi noodles for him. I added an egg and a some bean sprouts. I had never expected kimchi would taste so good when it was made into soup with noodles like that. My husband enjoyed it so much.
As for kimchi chigae, my hubby said he used to eat it in Korea and it was very yummy, so I decided to give it a shot. First I bring a bowl of water to a boil, add salt and seasoning. Then I add kimchi and thinly sliced belly pork. When they are almost cooked (a few minutes)I add fresh tofu and cook for another 1 minute and remove from heat. It’s so simple isn’t it but so yummy. The days when we have kimchi chigae we don’t need other dishes just cooked rice and there we go, we get all the necessary nutrition. That being said, I still love to try your kimchi chigae recipe some time soon cuz I want to be able to make it as Koreans do hihi.
You are so creative in cooking!
“The kimchi I made that use your recipe was a big hit..” Yay! I’m very happy for you! ^^
“I had never expected kimchi would taste so good when it was made into soup with noodles like that.” agree with you
Actually I have a good recipe for noodle soup with kimchi. I will post it someday in the future.
Oh i can’t wait to try your noodle recipe. And off topic, I really like your avatar.
Hi Maangchi!
I am from Maui, Hawaii, part Korean (1/8!, Japanese and Hawaiian. My grandma (who was half Korean and half Hawaiian) was raised by her Hawaiian grandparents, she did not know Korean or much about true Korean cooking. There is a Korean influence in food here in Hawaii, but it is “Local” style…good but not the same as REAL Korean food!
While studying in downtown LA, I would catch the subway to Korea Town and try real authentic Korean food and was hooked!
Thank you to your youtube channel and this website I am able to learn more about my roots. I’ve already tried several recipes so far!
I made this about 2 months ago and it was a hit! I was able to get 7 jars worth of kimichi, so i had plenty for myself and to give to family and friends. My boyfriend had given a jar to his co-worker from Korea and she said it was perfect, real authentic, and the right consistency!! I’ve made your kimchi pancake recipe with it, and I had half a jar left so now I am making your kimchi chigae..I will post how it turns out!!
Thank you so much! I am forever a great fan of your cooking, videos, and recipes!
-Tehani-
Wow, you need many jars to give away your kimchi. It sounds like you like to share your food with others just like me! : ) Cheers!
you’re the best<3
awesome~ : )
Maangchi-noona!
I am very happy to report that I made my first batch of kimchi EVER according to your recipe! I used 5lbs of baechu instead, so I just cut the rest of the ingredients in half. I am very excited! I have plenty of kimchi juice, and the flavour is bang-on… I can’t wait for it to ferment!
Thank you for your awesome and simple recipe! Tomorrow is going to be a Korean food dinner night, and I’m going to make kongnamulguk and muwoonamul from the left over muwoo from kimchi making! ^_^!
~LMH
” I used 5lbs of baechu instead, so I just cut the rest of the ingredients in half. ” You are good at math, right? : ) I hope your Korean food dinner party goes well!
This kimchi is so tempting that I am using your kimchi photo as my wall paper for my iPhone.:-) sorry I didn’t get your permission. Hope that’s ok with you. It looks so delicious!!!
It’s very ok! ^^
I made this today and it came out PERFECT. I’ve tried making kimchi on several occasions, and it would come out too salty, but this time…. oh my god. So delicious. I also like having fresh kimchi- though i’m keeping some aside to get sour-er, so i’ll be enjoying this tonight! I’m making a big Korean-style meal for some of my friends: Rice, Kimchi, Mandu, Potato side dish, Eggplant side dish, Marinated pork belly to grill and Doenjangchigae. I’m very excited for the meal and have you to thank for all these great recipes :D
Thanks so much- I love your website.
*munches on fresh kimchi*
Benson, Benson, I made my kimchi today, too! ; )
I hope your Korean meal party turns out great! Lots of work though.
Haha- it *was* quite a bit of preparation…. But everyone had a fun time- there was loooaads of food and nobody was hungry afterward, thats for sure.
all in all- a success!
Enjoy your kimchi as well :D
Thank you for your update! Cheers! ^^
Hello…….
what can i use instead of fish sauce? will the taste still be the same?
One of my readers Mina says she makes delicious sauce that replaces fish sauce. Check out her page here https://www.maangchi.com/fans/mina-kim
“.. slice a medium-sized onion in half. add it to a pot with a kelp leaf about the size of your palm and some dried shiitake mushrooms in 2 cups water. bring to a boil. once it’s cooled down, strain the liquid into a container. you can throw away the onion and kelp, but definitely save the reconstituted mushrooms for another dish. add soy sauce to the liquid until it tastes as salty as fish sauce (meaning REALLY salty). if you don’t want the sauce to discolour your dish, use sea salt instead of soy sauce”
I’ve always been intimidated by Korean cooking. I can’t believe how easy this was to make! Although, 10 1bs. of kimchi is A LOT of kimchi. Luckily I have a couple of friends who are pro kimchi that I can share it with. I have to say, 3 week old kimchi is GOOD! I made kimchi fried rice (adding bacon) and ate quite a bit of it. Also, in the kimchi I didn’t use salted squid. I used the little shrimps. Something another Korean woman told me she used in her kimchi. I am never buying store bought kimchi again! This was a great recipe. I can’t wait to try out some more!
Hello, it’s been two days since I made kimchi and kkaktugi and there is no sign of fermenting. What should I do?
wait longer…
Thanks. Did it take a few weeks for yours to ferment? How long should I leave out a small container? I don’t want it to spoil.
First of all: thank you for this recipe :D
A friend of me send me some Kimchi from America (it was not self-made) and on the package there stood not “Mak Kimchi” (막김치) but “Mat Kimchi” (맛김치). Is there a difference between these two types or is it the same?
Thanks a lot :)
I made this last night and it worked out great! It tastes delicious and looks just like yours. It makes so much that I will be eating it for months!
Hi Maangchi!
I’ve made your kimchi recipe before and loved it, but this time I ran into a problem. I bought a cabbage at the market that was labeled as just over 10lbs. The cabbage was big, but I didn’t really believe that it was 10lbs. I made your proportions of kimchi paste anyways, thinking that the store would have weighed it properly, and it was way too much! Now my kimchi has too much paste in it.
What can I do to salvage the kimchi that is swimming in all the paste?
If i were you , i would’ve added the paste a little at a time to the cabbage , that way in case you made too much paste or not enough cabbage , you don’t have to worry about your cabbage swimming in the paste pool :D
just a thought :D
Hello :D
I’m 14 years old and I love cooking Korean food. :D Hehe~
Anyway is it okay if i just use rice flour??ONly I couldnt find sweet rice flour.
-Aida
yes, you can use rice flour or all purpose flour, too. Cheers!
Thank you so much for putting all this recipes up ^_^ they are so simple to follow it makes me feel like I’m a professional ^_^ I got one question though do you have to add the squid in this recipe or could you add something else
Thank you ^_^
no, squid is optional. Without squid, the kimchi will still be delicious. ” it makes me feel like I’m a professional ^_^” I agree with u!
Hi !!!
made this last night and enjoyed dinner with kimchi+noodles and breakfast Kimchi fried rice !!!
thanks! it was so hard to look for the pepper flakes/powder and i had to go to our (of all places) China Town to buy the flakes (somehow i had an inkling they have it as there is no Korean specialty food that i know of here in the Philippines)
pix here
http://www.facebook.com/?sk=messages&tid=1409462656137#!/photo.php?fbid=490243077798&set=a.58542342798.72422.651837798
Maangchi unni!
안녕하세요!
I just fished making this Kimchi and am now eating it with some rice…
I’m going to make radish kimchi tomorrow and I was wondering if I can use the same salty water that I salted cabbage with. Can I use this to salt the radish or do I need to use fresh salt?
With your video and tips, I am learning a lot. Thank you so much.
p.s. Can you give me a recipe/tip on how to make home made MiSu Garu (미수가루 or 선식)? I’ve researched online to look for recipe for this but haven’t had any luck.
” Can I use this to salt the radish or do I need to use fresh salt?” I would not use the salty water to salt my new cabbage. Fresh cabbage with fresh salt will make better taste kimchi.
Maangchi- Thank you for posting this. My husband loves mak kimchi and he’s going to be thrilled when I make this for him. I have a question for you. I have everything I need to make this minus the Korean radish. Can I omit it or would that throw off the balance of flavors? I don’t have squid, either, but thought I might substitute some dried baby shrimp. What do you think?
I have made Kimchi before, but used kosher salt. Is there a difference in the type of salt used?
I use kosher salt these days.
Maangchi!! I dont have any mochiko! I have white rice flour or glutinous white rice flour. Wich will work ??
thank you!
Mochiko actually is glutinous white rice flour, so just use the one you have. :)
Hello…
I want to ask…
As I see in many people when they made kimchi…
they didn’t use the sweet rice flour..
What the use of that???
If I didn’t use it… Is it okay????
Thank you
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.
I LOVE your blog and am so happy I came across your kimchi recipe. I’ve prepared it before, but never with the porridge. I can’t wait to try it and know it will definitely improve my kimchi!! I am a fan now and will return again and again!
Cheers! : )
Hi Maangchi. This is my first time here and I am so glad that I found your site! My mom was from Southern Korea- she passed away a while ago. I have been looking for a kimchee recipe for a while- like the way my mom would make it with me and my sisters when we were little. She never did the fermented squid, though. She used those little baby shrimp paste thing. Have you ever done it like that? And how much would I use? Thanks and love the site and videos!!!
Hey Maangchi!
I really just have to tell you that I love, love, love every single one of your videos; they’re so wonderful and so easy to follow! But why I’m writing this, I have a little question. I see that in your recipes you’re adding leak, chives, carrots, radish etc. to your Kimchi paste and I was wondering whether it might be a good idea to also add some celeriac to it; I really like the taste of it and the texture as well but it has an intense taste of it’s own and I’m afraid it might ruin the taste of my Kimchi and just let it taste like celeriac. :(
I’d be glad if you’d be able to give me some adive. :)
Best Regards,
Patrick. :)
hi there,
I have made my kimchi and immediately put in the refrigerator.
Then only i realize i need to put it out temperature room for 24 hours for fermentation.
So now do i need to take it out from the fridge and left with room temperature? Is it gonna spoil my kmchi?
“..do i need to take it out from the fridge and left with room temperature?” yes, take it out from the fridge now and wait until it ferments. No problemo! : )
Hi Maangchi I let the squid ferment in the fridge for three days instead of a week before making my mak kimchi, is that ok?
yes, 3 days will be ok.
Hi Maangchi I made your Mak Kimchi three weeks ago and am quite pleased with it. I made one mak kimchi with squid and one without. My mother needed the room in our spare refrigerator for holiday leftovers. She removed my kimchi from the large container it was in into several smaller containers. Now everyone is complaining about a strong odor coming from the fridge. I keep telling them it didnt go bad and not to worry. Did my kimchi go bad? What can i do about the smell?
haha,kimchi smells. It’s only natural.
Check this out.
https://www.maangchi.com/talk/topic/how-do-i-remove-the-kimchi-smell-out-of-tupperware
https://www.maangchi.com/talk/topic/keeping-the-kimchi-smell-out-of-the-fridge-and-in-the-kimchi
So i have a question about the saltiness and bitterness to some KIMCHIs. I usually by mine from a store. But i am planning to make some ASAP. You make it look so easy! However for the store bought ones is there any ways to make then less salty and bitter? Maybe thats how KIMCHI is suppose to be? hehe
Thankyou!
I found this for you on the forum.
https://www.maangchi.com/talk/topic/slightly-bitter-kimchi
https://www.maangchi.com/talk/topic/first-time-homemade-kimchi-bitter-taste
good luck with making good kimchi!
Hi Maangchi,
Besides napa cabbage and raddish, is there any other vegetable can be used with this kimchi paste? Thank you.
Where did you get your big snap-lock container?
at a Korean grocery store.
Hi Maangchi,
I have made your easy kimchi recipe (minus the squid) twice now and it is a big hit with my kimchi eating friends and co-workers. I thought 10 pounds of cabbage would make too much kimchi but I end up giving most of it away so there is very little left within a week of making it.
Thanks to you my friends think I am a kimchi expert! Good stuff.
It sounds like you are not afraid of making 10 pounds kimchi anymore. : ) One of my readers Renata from Brazil made 90 kilo grams (198 pounds) of kimchi recently. Good luck with your Korean cooking!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/maangchi/5282821619/
Maangchi my kimchi isn’t turning out right T~T
It always taste too sweet and salty and a really spicy after taste. What am i doing wrong?
“It always taste too sweet and salty and a really spicy after taste.” Modify the recipe to your taste. Use less sugar, salt, and hot pepper flakes. : )
I DON’T SEE ANY GINGER ADDED TO THE RECIPE I’VE NEVER SEEN A KIMCHI RECIPE WITHUOT IT
I use some ginger in my kimchi. Check out the step 2 to make kimchi paste. I copy and paste it for you. “Add 1 cup of fish sauce, 2.5 cups of hot pepper flakes (depending on your taste), 1 cup of crushed garlic, 1-2 tbs of minced ginger, 1 cup amount of minced onion.
*tip: much easier to use a food processor.”
Hi, I just want to know what to substitute the sweet rice flour if you can’t find it. Can any ordinary rice flour be used. Thanks.
Use plain flour or ordinary rice flour to make porridge. no problem.
Hi Maangchi,
About the squid for 3 TBS of salt how many squid do I salt with that? \
Thank you. Kimchi is amazing making it with squid this time. ;)
It’s posted on this page. I’m copying and pasting it for you.
Choose about 300 grams (2/3 pound) of very fresh squid. Then:
Remove the guts and backbone and rinse it.
Add 3 tbs 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!
Another winner! I could not believe how easy this recipe is. Now I can impress my family and friends with homemade kimchi. I didn’t add the squid and it stilled turned out sooo good. Can’t wait to try it at different levels of fermentation. Also, I salted the cabbage layer by layer so I don’t have to turn it every 30 minutes. It worked great. I had an hour and a half to do the other steps AND bake muffins! Thank you for another great recipe!
Yes, you impress me, too! “Can’t wait to try it at different levels of fermentation” haha, you are definitely a foodie!