Hello everybody!
Today I’m going to show you how to make classic, spicy, traditional napa cabbage kimchi called tongbaechu-kimchi, a.k.a. baechu-kimchi or pogi-kimchi. But this dish is so common and iconic among Koreans that we simply call it “kimchi.” When people talk about kimchi, this is the dish they’re referring to, despite the fact that there are many kinds of kimchi in Korean cuisine, and many made with napa cabbage, too.
Over the years I’ve posted recipes for a few of them, but I’ve never made an in-depth video for making tongbaechu-kimchi! I’ve made a video for mak-kimchi (easy kimchi), which is very similar but is easier because you to chop up the cabbage first, and I’ve made an ultra simple yangbaechu-kimchi (emergency kimchi). Many years ago I even posted a recipe showing how to make baechu-kimchi with kkakdugi in one batch. But until now, I’ve never posted the most classic and traditional napa cabbage kimchi.
This kimchi uses the whole cabbage leaf, which makes it more labor-intensive than the other ones on my website, because you’ll need to take time to spread the spicy paste leaf by leaf. It’s more work, but this is the traditional style and if you can make this kind of kimchi well, you can consider yourself good at Korean cooking.
As I mention in the video, my mom used to make kimchi from 200 heads of cabbage! This was kimjang kimchi, made with her friends at the beginning of winter, and meant to last until the spring. 3 to 4 of her friends would come over and help her chop vegetables and most importantly, spread the paste on the leaves. This always needs to be done by hand. They would bring their own rubber gloves, and spend the day talking and laughing, and always had pollock stew or beef radish soup for lunch. They had a lot of fun!
At the end of the day they would take some kimchi home with them, but my mom would get all the rest, which lasted my whole family through the winter. And when my mom’s friends needed to make their winter kimchi, my mom brought her gloves over to their houses and helped them, like they did for her.
In the video I also show you how to ferment it in a traditional onggi. Using an onggi is not mandatory, but for those of you who have one already, this is how you use it! If you don’t have one, just use a BPA-free plastic container, or a glass container.
I answer many other frequently asked questions about kinchi-making in this video:
I hope you enjoy the recipe, and if you love kimchi, I encourage you to make your own kimchi at home. It’s delicious, easy, and a fun thing to do!
Ingredients
Makes about 8 pounds (3.6 kg) of Kimchi
For salting cabbage:
- 6 pounds (about 2.7 kg) napa cabbage
- ½ cup Kosher salt (2.5 ounces: 72 grams)
For making porridge:
- 2 cups water
- 2 tablespoons sweet rice flour (glutinous rice flour)
- 2 tablespoons turbinado sugar (brown or white sugar)
Vegetables:
- 2 cups radish matchsticks
- 1 cup carrot matchsticks
- 7 to 8 green onions, chopped
- 1 cup chopped Asian chives (buchu), optional (substitute with 3 green onions, chopped)
- 1 cup water dropwort (minari), optional
Seasonings and spices:
Directions
Prepare and salt the cabbage:
- If the cabbage cores stick out too much, trim them off.
- To split a cabbage in half without shredding the densely packed leaves inside, first cut a short slit in the base of the cabbage, enough to get a grip on either half, and then gently pull the halves apart so the cabbage splits open.
- Cut a slit through the core of each half, 2 inches above the stem. You want the cabbage leaves to be loose but still attached to the core.
- Dunk the halves in a large basin of water to get them wet. Sprinkle the salt between the leaves by lifting up every leaf and getting salt in there. Use more salt closer to the stems, where the leaves are thicker.
- Let the cabbages rest for 2 hours. Turn over every 30 minutes, so they get well salted. From time to time you can ladle some of the salty water from the bottom of the basin over top of the cabbages if you want to.
- After 2 hours, wash the cabbage halves a few times under cold running water. Giving them a good washing, to remove the salt and any dirt. As you wash, split the halves into quarters along the slits you cut into earlier. Cut off the cores, and put them in a strainer over a basin so they can drain well.
While the cabbage is salting for 2 hours, and in between the times you’re turning it over, you can make the porridge:
- Combine the water and the sweet rice flour in a small pot. Mix well with a wooden spoon and let it cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes until it starts to bubble. Add the sugar and cook 1 more minute, stirring. Remove from the heat and let it cool off completely.
- Pour cooled porridge into a large mixing bowl. Add garlic, ginger, onion, fish sauce, fermented salted shrimp, and hot pepper flakes. Mix well with the wooden spoon until the mixture turns into a thin paste.
- Add the radish, carrot, and green onion, plus the Asian chives (or more green onions) and the water dropwort if you’re using them. Mix well.
Make kimchi:
- Spread some kimchi paste on each cabbage leaf. When every leaf in a quarter is covered with paste, wrap it around itself into a small packet, and put into your jar, plastic container, or onggi.
- Eat right away, or let it sit for a few days to ferment.
On fermentation:
- The kimchi will start fermenting a day or two at room temperature, depending on the temperature and humidity of your room. The warmer and more humid it is, the faster the kimchi will ferment. Once it starts to ferment it will smell and taste sour, and pressing on the top of the kimchi with a spoon will release bubbles from beneath.
- Once it starts to fermented, store in the refrigerator to use as needed. This slows down the fermentation process, which will make the kimchi more and more sour as time goes on.
Posted on Sunday, June 22nd, 2014 at 9:44 pm.
Last updated on September 11, 2018.
Tagged: cabbage kimchi, 배추김치, Gimjang kimchi, how to make kimchi, 포기김치, 통배추김치, kimjang kimchi, korean food, Korean kitchen, Maangchi's Korean cooking, napa cabbage kimchi, pogi kimchi, tongbaechu kimchi
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Hi Maangchi! I’ve been trying your recipes lately, and have enjoyed them immensly. Thank you!
I have a question about my kimchi. I just finished it tonight, and noticed it doesn’t quite look like everyone elses. My kimchi isn’t submerged in red liquid. It seems to only cover the bottom of the jar. Is that bad? Does more liquid come after it ferments, or did I do something wrong? Please let me know if it looks incorrect!
It’s my first time making kimchi, but I followed your recipe exactly! (Except for the chili amount, and yet it was still too spicy for me sadly…)
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Heii Maangchi.
Is there anything you can use insted off fermented salted shrimp (saeujeot)?
I can’t find it, in any store I visit, here in DK?
Plz. help.
Regards
DK.sj
You can skip it or add a little bit of soy sauce. It will still turn out delicious!
OMG! Thank you so much for this kimchi recipe! I’ve alwaus wanted to make kimchi. I made it yesterday for the first time and we couldn’t stop eating it since. It’s a long and tedious process but it’s all worth it! Fresh kimchi is so yummy! Friends and family have been asking on how to make it so I’ve shared it with them.
I can’t wait to make more of the dishes from your video.
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Hi… I try to make this but it taste weird and abit bitter. Can advise? Thanks .
Forst time to make kimchi for my family. And I am very happy that it is not only my family who liked it but also my husbands co-workers. Now it I am no longer making it just for us. Now it is also my small business. Thank you For this recipe.
Thank you Maangchi for the tasty recipes! Right now i’ve prepared my next one kimchi! it’s very delicious!
Last night i intended to make a kimchiguk for dinner but i came home much more later than expected from an after work party… really hungry so I bought a pizza on my way home and began to eat it just after i closed the door.
This all cheese pizza was great but my craving for kimchi was undeniable, I couldn’t help thinking of the kimchi in the fridge, perfectly fermented after 2 months (for me sour kimchi is the best!) so i quickly chopped 2 leaves and ate it with the cheese pizza and a bit of green tabasco …
It was incredible !!!!!
The acidity of the kimchi has a wonderful effect on hot parmigiano and gorgonzola!
I can’t describe it but i can tell you that my eyes widened :)
I definatly have to try this combination with other strong cheeses !
We ate fusion pizza in Korea a few years ago. The one with baechu kimchi in place of tomato sauce was the best!
OMG !OMG ! Now I’m sure !
I made a « raclette », a dish consisting essentially on a specific cheese melted under a grill, served with potatoes and varieties of cold cuts.
I put kimchi on the table to eat with the raclette and it turned out amazing !
Then i associated it to a maroilles (a typicall cheese from the region i come from) and this time again, amazing !
Sour Kimchi and strong, aged cheeses are positively good friends.
We have here more than a thousand types of cheeses and some of them really go well with either butter, fresh lettuce or even fruits like grapes or quinces, I have now a new association to propose.
Next time i have invited guests, kimchi will be available on the cheese platter !
Hi maangchi ,i have try making kimchi .i make small batch .this is my first try making kimchi .i love how detail your video ,recipe and tips note how to changes the ingredient if hard to find .it really help me .love to try other recipe .
Hey Maangchi!, I can’t find sweet rice flour where I live. Is there anything I can substitute it with ? :)
You can use all purpose flour! She mentioned it in the video ^^
I made this recipe for the first time a couple months ago and since then it’s become such a staple in my kitchen. I use it as an ingredient in so many different foods and I love it on its own as well. It’s so delicious and I don’t know what I would eat if I didn’t have it anymore! I just finished making enough to last me a couple months!
Hi,
This is my first time making kimchi. I started with only one napa cabbage (instead of 4), and instead of weighing the cabbage I just adjusted everything by dividing by 4. The cabbage I used is a bit bigger and I think the paste may not be enough. The kimchi has been fermenting for about 17 hours now. Can I add more paste now? Would it make a difference (better or worse)??
See attached picture (it’s been fermenting for 17 hours)
Thanks,
Amir
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Hello, I wanted to ask u that can I use table salt instead of kosher salt and soya sauce instead of fish sauce and kashmiri red chilli powder instead of gochugaru? Plz let me know!!!
Dear Isha, you can leave out fish sauce but soy sauce can’t be a replacement for it, also because soysauce contains a lot more salt than fish sauce and as such I know of recipes where they have used soysauce. But be careful about the salt content. You can replace red chilli powder with one available.
Hey. Norie from NYC here. I watch all of your videos on Youtube and use your recipes all the time. I made this Kimchi yesterday. Checked it today and it smells and looks great. I am huge fan!
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