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.
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dear maangchi,
before this i check your kimchi recipe you used pear and apple instead of porridge..so where the recipe and the video show you making it? coz i wanna used that recipe to make my kimchi..hope u will give me the recipe.. ^^
thanks.
Dear Maangchi,
I made your Mak Kimchi last night with a few modifications (added seafood stock to the rice porridge instead of using water and I used Bagoong Alamang, preserved salted shrimp instead of salted squid). It was fantastic, pure ecstatic bliss to see everything coming together, to eat fresh kimchi right out of the basin. Now I’m eagerly waiting for some of it to ferment so I can try making Kimchi jjigae. Had been thinking of making this recipe for months, and finally got down to it. Thanks so much!
Great news! Cheers!
Dear Maangchi,
I can’t find sweet rice flour around my place.Is it possible to use normal rice flour?And more thing, I wanna use soy sauce and salt instead of fish sauce, but I also wanna add salted fish.Is it okay if I combine all these ingredients together?Will my kimchi come out well?I’m really looking forward for your reply.
Sweet rice flour is glutinous rice flour. I’m sure you will be able to find it in your country. If not, use plain flour. ” I wanna use soy sauce and salt instead of fish sauce, but I also wanna add salted fish.Is it okay if I combine..” You can do some experiments to suite to your taste.
Hi Maangchi,
So far I’ve made 3 of your recipes, easy kimchi, jjajangmyun, and kimbap, and they turned out restaurant quality! Most of the time when I try recipes I get the feeling of “oh, that’s not quite the taste that I aimed for” but when I make your recipes, it’s always “that’s exactly what I wanted!” Thank you so much for this great website from where even not-so-good cooks like me can make delicious dishes!
Thank you for your update! Happy cooking!
Hi Maangchi,
I love your recipes.
But I have one question to your kimichi recipes.
You used 10 pounds of napa cabbage.
What is taht weight in kilogramm.
I have no idea…
Hope you can help me
yes, 10 pounds is about 4.5 kilograms
Hi Maangchi! can you make this kimchi with gochujung paste if you don’t have any hot pepper flakes?
Hot pepper paste (gochujang) has its own strong flavor, so the kimchi made with it won’t be tasty.
Hi Maangchi,
I’ve got Vietnamese Fish Sauce, can I also use this or do I have to look for korean sauce?
Yes, I love to use Vietnamese fish sauce.
Dear Maangchi.. I have been using your kaktugi kimchi for my kimchi for sales. I would like to try this today.. I have 3 orders which has been postphoned for quite sometime since I have no helper (my daughter which always do all the cutting has gone to college.. so mom a bit lazy to do all the chopping :))..
I bought all the item just now.. and saw this mak kimchi recipe. I also bought some “bird eye chillies” which I wanted to try and put it whole in the kimchi to get that “ummmpph” hot kick. Will post the pict if its ok.
Thanks Maangchi
Great great! I hope your kimchi business is successful.
i have made my kimchi n its has nice red colour.. but becos of the birds eye chillie it became too hot…aigooo .. i put it too much
Hi Maangchi,
Due to health reasons I cannot eat flour or fruit, so that eliminates the rice flour and pear juice option when making the porridge. Do you have any ideas of what I could use to make the porridge?
If you suggest that I dont make the porridge do you have any tips to make the Kimchi work without the porridge?
Thankyou so much
I would make anchovy stock.
Check out my spicy rice cake recipe. The amount of anchovy stock will fit to this recipe.
https://www.maangchi.com/recipe/ddukbokkie
It says, “In a pan, pour 4 cups of water and add 7 large dried anchovies after removing their heads and intestines. Boil the water for 10 minutes over medium heat.”
When it cools down, use it instead of porride. Good luck with making delicious kimchi!
Hello, I am gathering ingriendents to try to make this this weekend, i could not get ahold of course red pepper, only fine red pepper. Is this ok to use or will it not work correctly?
yes, fine red pepper will be fine. : )
I’ve made about 5 batches of easy kimchi now which all the kids have loved. A big thank you!! The last was requested by my 11 yr old after she took a container of kimchi in for her class. Now she wants some for her teacher……..My question is, I recently bought some Korean Anchovy sauce… I was wondering what the ratio to fish sauce was in your recipe???
You mean anchovy fish sauce? If so, anchovy fish sauce is a kind of fish sauce. The recipe calls for 1 cup fish sauce for 10 pounds napa cabbage.
“my 11 yr old after she took a container of kimchi in for her class. Now she wants some for her teacher..” aww, so cute! I hope the teacher will love the gift!
Thanks Maangchi! I have so many dietary restrictions, Korean food is easily adapted to suit my needs and your recipes all rock me. I’ve been making between five and ten lbs of kimchi about once a month for like six months now, it’s amazing and really reminds me of my favorite Korean restaurant back in San Francisco. I like it so much better than the store bought King’s Kimchi I can find around here, and it’s MUCH cheaper!
” I’ve been making between five and ten lbs of kimchi about once a month for like six months now..” Great news. I can imagine you are busy making stew, soup, pancake,..with your kimchi! Homemade kimchi is the best!
i currently live in atlanta, ga where i have no problem getting my korean food fix. i will be using this recipe soon because come august we will be moving to a very small town in kentucky where ill be lucky if they sell napa at the grocery store. ive already told my husband i was gonna be stocking up on red pepper paste, sesame oil, and other supplies before we move. im thankful to you for this site so that i can continue to get my kimchi and other korean cuisine fix!
“”I’ve already told my husband i was gonna be stocking up on red pepper paste, sesame oil, and other supplies before we move.” haha funny! I would do the same thing! I hope there are some good Korean grocery stores where you are moving!
Hi Maangchi,
Due to some diet restrictions for my health I cannot eat any flour or sugar. Do you have suggestions on what I can use to replace the flour and sugar?
Maybe I could use Baking Soda instead of the flour and just leave out the sugar part?
THanks for the great recipe!!
Skip both of them and your kimchi will be fine.
I have made this recipe twice now and it just gets better and better each time.. The first time i let it ferment in the fridge for 6 months with no interruptions and when i got to it it tasted so good my family finished it in a week and half! I just finished making another batch.. Not sure how long this one will last but i will be making this recipe on a regular basis from now on =]
Hiii Maangchi
I love KIMCHI!!! and I was wonder if I use about same size of one napa cabbage in this video…should i use the same amount of kimchi paste in this video or should I use half of what you using to make kimchi paste for one napa cabbage…
Thanksss maangchiii =)
Hi maangchi, after 1/2 yr of time looking at this recipe.
Finally today, I’ve made it! I didn’t have a food processor so hope it work out since I just chopped and minced it ><".
And skipped some ingredient too. Thanks maangchi
wow, you made it! Congratulations!
Hi Maangchi,
I was wondering if I could freeze some kimchi? I like to make a big amount at once and my fridge isn’t big enough to store it all. I figured it would be ok to freeze it, since in the old days they stored it in jars in the frozen ground, haha. Maybe I’m wrong? What do you think? :)
No, I wouldn’t freeze freshly made kimchi. Keep your kimchi in the fridge. If you really want to freeze some, wait until it ferments, but the texture of kimchi will be different from usual kimchi.
Lol sorry, Red pepper flakes and Red Pepper paste :P Cant find that here and grocery stores wont order it for me…
I’m sorry to hear that. Yeah, Korean ingredients are not available everywhere. But check out if your area has Korea town or not. If so, I’m sure there will be a Korean grocery store.
Sadly no it doesnt…the closest place is on the Mainland in Vancouver where there’s an Asian town… I’d have to take the boat over there. So far i found already made Kimchi here but its not the same as making your own :P
I have the same problem, none of my local grocers carry Korean products! (The nearest Korean town area is over 300 miles away!) I would suggest http://www.hmart.com. <3 I regularly order red pepper flakes and paste from them. :D (http://www.hmartca.com for Canada.) They can be spendy, but they ship 1 lb of the red pepper powder for about $5 (pre-shipping) so if you order a lot it can balance out. I really like Chung Jung Won Soonchang Gochujang (paste) and Tae Kyung Gochugaru (powder). I have problems with the Canadian website but if you call I'm sure they could arrange to ship should you have the same problems. :3
Hey Maangchi!
I just love Kimchi so much, and i could buy hot pepper paste in the big city, but now i’ve moved back home to our small little Island… Do you know any online sites for buying Hot Pepper Paste??
If not, i would love to pay you for some! i have paypal :)
Kayla.
can’t you tell me what is squid n korean radish??
Squid : 오징어, ojingeo
Korean radish: 무우 (무): mu woo (mu)
hope it helps!
Hi Maangchi,
I want to ask about something. How can i make less kimchi for only 2 person? my dad doesnot like the kimchi smell very well and home refrigertor are small. Cant stuck too much and because got home food stall veggie to stuck in. Then what should i do?
Check out my yangbaechu kimchi. I use little amount of regular cabbage in the video. Replace the cabbage with napa cabbage. https://www.maangchi.com/recipe/yangbaechu-kimchi
Thanks
Hi Maangchi!
This looks so good! I’ve been trying out a lot of your recipes and they are very good, although I’m not sure if I’m doing them all right since I’m not a good cook and don’t have most of the exact ingredients >.<
I really want to learn how to make this type of kimchi, but I'm the only one in my house who likes kimchi and I don't want to make the full amount of 10 pounds like here. That looks like a lot in the video!
For someone who usually just gets one or two medium-sized napa cabbages, what measurements would the rest of the ingredients have to get the same taste? Last time I tried this I got 2 glass jars out of half a napa cabbage, but it didn't taste so good because I did all the measurements wrong :(
Thank you so much for showing all these recipes in such detail!
” since I’m not a good cook and don’t have most of the exact ingredients..” You are a good and avid cook!
” I’m the only one in my house who likes kimchi and I don’t want to make the full amount of 10 pounds like here” Check out my emergency kimchi recipe. You can replace cabbage with napa cabbage in the recipe. It’s very easy to make. https://www.maangchi.com/recipe/yangbaechu-kimchi
Let me know the result if you make it.
Thank you very much!!
I ended up doubling the emergency kimchi recipe because my napa cabbage was big, and it turned out great! I’m really happy with how it turned out!
It’s a darker red than in your pictures, is it because of the hot pepper type I’m using? I used chili powder because it was the closest thing I could find.
Thank you again!! I mentioned you on twitter with low-quality pictures, but I’ll wait until I have a better camera than my cell phone to post them here ;)
Looking forward to trying all sorts of korean recipes!
I have made kimchi before but this recipe sounds better than the one I have been using. I went shopping at my local Asian marker yesterday and have all the ingredients ready and am heading for the kitchen. I am leaving the squid out because my Japanese wife doesn’t like squid, isn’t that strange? LOL
I am making a batch of fermented squid for my self. I love it and what I have been buying is a bit expensive.
Thanks for the recipe!
Yes, you can skip squid because it doesn’t affect the taste of the kimchi much. Did your kimchi turn out good?
good job i love it i’m going to the market and i’m gonna search for this kind of cabbage and raddish i’m gonna try it
Great! Happy cooking!
maangchi, I wanted to know what the difference is between using leeks like in this recipe or using the asian chives in the other kimchi recipe?
not much difference. You can use Asian Chives (buchu in Koreanb) alone or you can use the both leeks and Asian chives in your kimchi.
If I not use radish to making kimchi ??
yes, you can skip it but radish makes your kimchi more delicious.
I think you can also use white radish (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daikon) – you can easily get it in Poland, unlike Korean radish. ;-) I used it for my kimchi and it tasted great! Maybe Maangchi could say how much those two kinds differ in taste?
P.S. Maangchi! Thanks for your great recipe! My first box of kimchi (made from two napa cabbages) got eaten in no time! Tomorrow I’m going to make another batch. This is seriously one of the best things in the whole world!
Also, kimchi pancakes – 짱!
awesome news! : )
hi maangchi,
i’ve tried your recipe and it come out great. it just that i think i put too much garlic ;) and not enough hot pepper flakes coz the spiciness is just nice. i like spicy food, can i add the pepper flake even the kimchi is fermented already?
hmm, I wouldn’t do that. Use more hot pepper flakes in your next batch of kimchi.
Thank You Maangchi.
I did enjoy this mak kimchi. The instruction is very easy to follow . I changed squid to oysters (the very small ones) and it did really go good to your recipe. I am still reading some more, and really have such a great moment while following your instruction. Surely everyone feel the same See me in some more of your features. Thank you……..
awesome! Cheers!
im in cebu, philippines and im trying to find hot pepper flakes we tried doint it with the indian hot pepper but it was just too spicy is there any local brand or any substitute for the korean pepper?
We have already talked about this topic on the forum.
https://www.maangchi.com/talk/topic/indian-chili-good-enough-1
https://www.maangchi.com/talk/topic/chili-powder-versus-red-pepper-powder-or-flakes
hope it helps you. Leave your question on the forum if you want. https://www.maangchi.com/talk/forum/general-discussion
i was wondering how long does the kimchi last for?
check this out please. We have already talked about the topic. https://www.maangchi.com/talk/topic/how-long-can-i-keep-kimchi
Yum yum yum! I’ve made this twice now, it’s so surprisingly easy!! Now I don’t have to buy kimchi anymore ^-^. Thanks so much for sharing your recipe for easy kimchi :)
Maangchi….
I cannot find hot pepper powder or hot pepper flakes…
but I got fresh Korean Hot Pepper here…
What should I do?
I have do a little experiment that I didn’t make a porridge and I grind the fresh pepper, but the paste seems thinner than your paste…
can you help me maangchi..?
Please, and Thank you…
hi…may i know wether chilli flakes & chilli powder is it d same?if i don’t have d flakes can i use d powder instead?
thx..:)
The answer is here! ^^ https://www.maangchi.com/talk/topic/chili-powder-versus-red-pepper-powder-or-flakes
Hi….. I love korean dramas. I fall in love with korean culture. I going to make kimchi with this recipe. Some friends of mine wants to eat kimchi. You have save my life. I didn’t found a well explain recipe like these one. Thanks a lot.
Great! Let me know how your kimchi turns out!
Thank you thank you for this recipe! I first had Korean food when this cute guy took me out for a meal like he remembered from childhood. Now we’re just returning from a visit with them to show off our new son (cute like his daddy!) and they were all very impressed that this white girl that married into the family can keep the fridge stocked. I was even quizzing THEM for recipes! :)
It sounds like you impressed your in-laws a lot! I’m very proud of you! They must have been impressed with not only your cooking skill but also your attitude about learning the culture.
Unnie~~~ i cant find korean radish for the kimchi paste…
Any idea what can i use to replace???
Use daikon radish. If you can’t find daikon, skip it then. Add more green onion and carrot.