Kimchi is a staple of Korean life and many Koreans include it in their meals three times a day. You can eat it by itself, or use it in so many different Korean recipes. When Koreans make kimchi, they make an effort to make the best kimchi possible and include many regional ingredients.

Today I will show you how to make a traditional-style kimchi with oysters, and we’ll also make radish kimchi (“kkakdugi”) with the same kimchi paste, which saves us from having to make these two kinds of kimchi separately. This is how I make kimchi and kkaktugi, because I need both in my house, but you might be interested in my “easy kimchi” (mak kimchi) recipe if you don’t have a lot of time, or in my kakdugi recipe if you want to make only kakdugi, or make my traditional napa cabbage kimchi recipe by itself if that’s all you need. Also, if you don’t like oysters, you can leave them out.

Many people think you have to wait for kimchi to be fermented before eating, but personally I prefer to eat fresh kimchi, as soon as I make it. And I like to make stew (kimchi-jjigae) out of older kimchi.

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Cut the cabbages in half, and then slit each half through the core, but not through the rest of the leaves.
  2. Soak each piece in cold water and sprinkle salt over the each leaf , and then set it aside for 2 hours.
    *tip: the stems should get more salt than the leaves
  3. Peel 2 kg of Korean radishes and cut them into 1 inch cubes. Do this by cutting them into several disks, and then cutting horizontally, and then vertically. Put them in a big bowl and sprinkle them with ¼ cup of kosher salt. Then set these aside, too.
  4. 2 hours later, turn the pieces of cabbage over so they get salted evenly. Turn the radishes as well.
  5. Another 2 hours later, you will see the cabbage look softer than before, and it should have shrunk.
    *the total salting process will take 4 hours
  6. Rinse the salted cabbage and radish with cold water 3 times.

kimchi_salting

Making Kimchi paste:

Make porridge

  1. Put ½ cup of sweet rice flour and 3 cups of water into a skillet and mix them up. Then cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly.
  2. When you see some bubbles, pour ¼ cup of sugar into the porridge and stir one more minute. Then cool it down.
  3. Place the cold porridge into a big bowl. Now you will add all your ingredients one by one.
  4. Add  fish sauce, hot pepper flakes, crushed garlic, ginger, and onion
    *tip: it’s much easier to use a food processor.
  5. Add green onions, Asian chives, and radish.
  6. Add  2 cups of frozen oysters, but this is optional. (I found out lots of people can’t eat them.)
  7. Mix all ingredients well.

Are you ready to spread our paste on the leaves and make your kaktugi?

* I recommend you wear rubber gloves so that you don’t irritate your skin.

  1. Spread the kimchi paste onto each leaf of the cabbage, and make a good shape out of the leaves by slightly pressing with both hands.
  2. Put it into an air- tight sealed plastic container or glass jar.
  3. Mix your leftover paste with your radish cubes to make kkakdugi.
    kimchi

You can eat it fresh right after making or wait until it’s fermented. Put the Kimchi container at room temperature for 1 or 2 days and keep it in the refrigerator.

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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1,111 Comments:

  1. Hi maangchi! I was wondering if the ingredients and procedures are the same for making green onion kimchi (pa kimchi)?

  2. Maangchi New York City joined 8/08 & has 12,045 comments

    Hello,Linda,
    The reason I use fresh oysters is that I like the flavor of oysters in fresh kimchi. If you don’t like it, just skip it. : )

  3. Anyong haseo, Maangchi,

    I’ll be trying your kimchi recipe soon, but a quick question: what is the purpose of adding the oysters? Is to help with the fermentation process? Is this a common ingredient in kimchi? I don’t recall smelling an ‘oyster’ smell in the kimchis I’ve had. Just curious. Thank you!

    Linda

  4. La fille des montagnes (surnom anonyme)

    I made your Kimchi for the first time. It was a gift for my friend who lived 11 years in Kuwait and eat it a lot. Well, I made it more spicy than usual… But it tasted like her souvenirs. She was so happy, she even called her father… Thanks soooo much! You helped me doing one of her alltime best birthday gift!

  5. shut up or I will poke you to death with my bow

    Hi Maangchi,
    Just to let you know that after fermentation, my kimchi tastes so GOODDDDDDd, even better than kimchi that my mom bought in the grocery store, she loves it so much
    thank you Maangchi,
    I love youuuuuu

  6. Maangchi New York City joined 8/08 & has 12,045 comments

    May,
    I’m sorry to hear that your kimchi is too salty.
    I would fix this way if it’s still fresh kimchi.

    1.Chop some cabbage or radish into bite size and put it in a large bowl.
    2.Add hot pepper flakes, minced garlic and mix altogether.

    3.Mix the bland kimchi with your salty kimchi.
    4.Wait unitl it ferments.

    * Turn over your kimchi with a spoon on and off over time to mix it well.

  7. Hi Managchi,

    I make my kimchi too salty, I think put too much fish sauce. It there anyway i can do or add on to make it less salty, because I dont normally eat kim chi with rice, I just eat it like that.

  8. Maangchi New York City joined 8/08 & has 12,045 comments

    hi,shut up … : )
    You got good napa cabbage and everything looks perfect! I will link your website to my blog now.

  9. shut up or I will poke you to death with my bow

    Hi Maangchi,
    I already made the kimchi using your recipe
    here are some pictures that I took, I am still waiting for the fermentation
    but so far, it looks right to me :)

    http://www.xanga.com/world_of_geekgal

  10. Maangchi New York City joined 8/08 & has 12,045 comments

    Mei Leng,
    It sounds like your kimchi making is already successful! Congratulation.

  11. hi maangchi,

    i’ve posted a comment, but not sure whether it got through? Just to let you know that the kimchi and kaktugi which i made (for the 1st time!) following your recipe looks and smells wonderful! it has a deeper and richer flavour than store-bought and restaurants. is it supposed to taste like that? thanks for the recipes! :)

  12. Hi maangchi,

    i’m very glad to have stumbled upon your blog as i love cooking new dishes! your recipes are easy to follow!
    i’ve been longing to make my own kimchi as it’s expensive to buy it in malaysia. i just followed exactly how you did it (both kimchi-fresh & fermented, and kaktugi). The results look and smell wonderful! Taste-wise, it’s slightly different from restaurants and store-bought; mine has a richer & deeper flavour. Is it suppose to be like that? How should good kimchi & kaktugi taste like? I’m going to post this in my blog soon!
    i’ve also tried kimchi and tofu jigae using other recipes, so i’m going to try yours soon! :) Thank you maangchi!

  13. Maangchi New York City joined 8/08 & has 12,045 comments

    Luthien
    I’m glad to hear that you alreday made oisobagi twice so far! Yes, it’s very easy, istn’t it?

    Remove the white stuff(mould) and the top layer of the kimchi and eat the rest. You can make kimchi stew(jjigae) with the sour taste kimchi.

  14. Dear Maangchi
    I’ve been living in Seoul for 4 months and was ecstatic when I discovered your blog. I’ve made oi sobagi twice and it turned out quite well, so I no longer buy it in Lotte! Thanks!

    I haven’t tried making kimchi yet but noticed that the ones I’ve bought fresh would have white stuff on it when left long in the fridge. Does this mean the kimchi has gone bad? It smells quite strong and not as nice as when newly purchased. Can you do something with it or should I throw it away?
    Luthien

  15. Maangchi New York City joined 8/08 & has 12,045 comments

    Hi,Sophia
    I approved your comment, but for some reason, it does not appear in the comment section.
    I’m sorry to hear about your bitter radish kimchi. That’s strange! I
    am not sure whether or not the bitter taste came from the radish.

    And also add 1/2 cup of sugar following my written recipe on my blog.
    There is not much difference between 1/4 cup – 1/2 cup sugar.

  16. Maangchi New York City joined 8/08 & has 12,045 comments

    Hi,Anonymous,
    Your kimchi with no bubbles is ok. There is nothing wrong. Just press it down with a spoon not to let air comes in.

  17. Hello Maangchi,

    I made Kimchi three days ago and they smell really good! but i had different results for my kimchi for the fermenting. I made two jars, one is stuffed all the way to the top in a glass jar and the other one is filled only half way in a plastic jar. Two days later, the one in the glass jar had a bunch of bubbles while the one in the plastic jar does not have any bubble at all. Do you know why that happened? Does it have to do with the type of jar i used or does it have to do with the fact that i opened the plastic jar before the end of 2 days?

    Thank you!

  18. and how can i fix the bitter taste if possible? thanks again ^.^

  19. hi maangchiiii

    i quartered the recipe for the kimchi paste to make just kaktugi, bc i had leftover radish from the jja jang myun. i didn’t put too much salt on the radish when i let it sit overnight [it was too late to wait for 4 hours]. could this be a reason why the kaktugi is sooo bitter? or did i just choose a bad radish?

    ps. is it 1/2 cup of sugar or 1/4 cup of sugar for the paste? you wrote 1/2 on the blog and 1/4 on the video so that confused me a little [i went for the safe amount of 1/4 cup]

    thanks again maangchi!

  20. Maangchi New York City joined 8/08 & has 12,045 comments

    Jim,
    Yes, don’t give up making kimchi as long as you like it a lot.
    I’m looking forward to your update your kimchi making! Yes, kimchi is addictive. : )

  21. Hi Maangchi. I started making kimchi last year and I gave up after a couple of batches. I can make it in my sleep now after seeing your video and using the right ingredients. It is the most addicting food I’ve ever eaten. A must with just about every meal. Thanks
    Jim

  22. Maangchi New York City joined 8/08 & has 12,045 comments

    minmin,
    No, I never use fruit juice in kimchi paste, but I’ve heard about it.

  23. Hi maangchi~!

    I really enjoy looking through your recipes.I’ve learnt alot and I can’t wait to start making them~!By the way I read that some koreans actually add fruit/fruit juice? to their kimchi to create an unique taste.Is that true?Thanks!

  24. Maangchi New York City joined 8/08 & has 12,045 comments

    Hi,anonymous,
    Yes, use less than half amount of ingredients in the recipe. Thanks,

  25. hi maangchi
    I’m going to make kimchi today, but I just want to make it in small portion( use 1 cabbage only instead of 2), can I reduce into half all the ingredients in kimchi paste….
    thnx

  26. Maangchi New York City joined 8/08 & has 12,045 comments

    Hi,Anonymous,

    Ths small salty shrimp is fish sauce. I sometimes use it, too. : )

    I add oysters in kimchi because I like the flavor. If you don’t like it, skip it. Use shrimp sauce or fish sauce.

    The salty shrimp sauce is called “sae woo jeot” (새우젓). You can suprise your mother-in-law by saying it later when she makes her kimchi. : )

    Just like your mother- in- law, I had never measured before I started this cooking blog and videos.

  27. Hi I was looking for kimchee recipes and I saw your video. My mother-in-law is korean and makes kimchee almost exactly like yours but never measures so I don’t have an exact recipe and I like to measure. I was wondering though she uses small salty shrimp instead of the oysters, can you substitute and how much would you use?

  28. Maangchi New York City joined 8/08 & has 12,045 comments

    oh, ok,
    then I can guess they made kimchi stew with pork and just mix the leftover stew with rice. We sometimes eat that way.

    • David Heinzen& has 2 comments

      Hi Maangchi,

      I was wondering about this too. I have enjoyed kimchi bokkeum ever since I first fell in love with Korean food. I think the kimchi bokkeumbap looks good, but it’s not the same. The kimchi bokkeum I love has pork, kimchi, rice cakes, tofu, green onions, and gochu chang (I think) and usually has a little sauce. It is served with steamed rice.

      David

  29. Hi Maangchi,
    thank you for your nice reply. I had already seen the recipe for kimchi bok keum bap. I just thought it might be something different since the food at my shop is not with stir-fried rice but with normal cooked rice and it contains pork (and of course kimchi). Do you have any idea what this might be?

  30. Maangchi New York City joined 8/08 & has 12,045 comments

    Hi,Philipp,

    Thank you for your nice message.
    I posted a written recipe for kimchi bokkeum bap on my blog.
    Check it out.To make this, your kimchi should be fermented. (sour taste)

    http://blog.maangchi.com/labels/Kimchi%20stir%20fried%20rice.html

  31. Dear Maangchi,
    I totally love your blog and your recipes on youtube. I already made some kimchi and it was fantastic. Thanks to a Korean shop in my area in Munich it is no problem at all to get all the ingredients.
    Now my question: At my Korean shop they offer something which they call “kimchi bokkum” which is kimchi with pork and rice. It tastes fantastic and I was wondering if you had a recipe for that?
    Again, thanks for your fantastic recipes. I am on a weight loss program and your recipes work great for that.
    Best regards,
    Philipp

  32. Maangchi New York City joined 8/08 & has 12,045 comments

    Hi, Ange,
    Thank you for sharing the photos of your dishes. I will link to it from my blog. Thank you!

  33. Hi Manngchi,

    As promised few days ago, here is the link to the pictures of the Kimchi and Soybean side dishes I have made on the weekends.

    They taste delicious, better than the from the restaurants.

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/21148158@N02/

    Cheers

    Angela

  34. Maangchi New York City joined 8/08 & has 12,045 comments

    Kiyon,
    Please don’t give up making kimchi later. It’s smart to add radish in your salty kimchi. I am sure your next kimchi making will be successful. BTW, in order to make misugaru (multi-grain powder), you have to wash, steam, and dry all the grains and take them to a Mill. Unfortunately I can’t find any mill here in Toronto.

  35. maangchi, thank you for your reply. I didn’t leave a comment or emailed to you thru Youtube. I guess someone else had the same problem of salty kimchi. I added some slices radish and green onions but the taste is not that great now. I think kimchi is less salty though.
    Can I request some Korean food for you to make? I would like to learn how to make Misugaru or Sunsik garu, you know the powder that we can pour with water to drink in the morning. The ones I get at Korean store doesn’t taste good so I would love to learn how to make this.
    Thank you for your advice.

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