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 napa cabbage (3 to 4 heads of medium napa cabbage)
- ½ cup Kosher salt
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 Sunday, June 22nd, 2014 at 9:44 pm.
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
Jul 16th
Jul 6th
Jun 23rd
Hi, Maanchi.
Long-time admirer, first time commenter. I’ve been meaning to make homemade kimchi for years now; I saw your original recipe about 4 years ago and it sounded amazing.
So, I went to the market, bought 10 lbs of napa cabbage and everything else (They even had buchu and minari!), and went home to get started. It was a long process, but honestly, I’ve never had better kimchi in my life, and don’t even mind the enormous container of it in my fridge. I’ve been eating it with almost every meal since, and I’m looking forward to making more once this batch is gone!
I really appreciate you sharing your knowledge with us. You make fantastic food.
Hi, my friend!
I’m very happy to hear that you eventually made your own kimchi and it turned out very delicious!
Let me first say I think this is the first time I have ever written to a blog before…. And I have NEVER made anything Korean or anything like this EVER. Your recipe looks awesome and my fiance’ is so excited as he loves Korean food. I have a couple of questions, as I was supposed to make this today, but am still too nervous. I have watched your FAQ and these are not listed- I am sure I am not the only one with these questions! I sure hope you can respond soon…
1. I am using one LARGE cabbage that weighs almost 6 pounds. I will be cutting my cabbage into pieces. Some recipes call for soaking your salted (cut up) cabbage in water overnight- then rinsing thoroughly the next morning- what do you think about this- is it necessary? How long do you soak before salting?
2. I only have Red Pepper Powder, will this work as a replacement for the flakes? How much should I use?
3. If I make the paste the night before, will it be ok sitting/marinating in the fridge overnight?
4. How do you store it? Do you use small glass jars or one big gallon jar? I have read that if you put the lids on tight for the glass jars they can explode- what do you recommend?
ALSO- if I wanted to use Korean Hot Peppers that I have grown in my own garden – how many should be used instead of the flakes???
and i may have missed it- what do you do with the porridge??
1. If it’s not my recipe, it’s hard for me to give advice on it. I suggest you follow mine and your kimchi will turn out wonderful!
2. Yes.
3. It will work but it’s better to make the paste fresh.
4. Glass or plastic or Korean onggi are all fine.
Manngchi, my kimchi making is on day 2 now, my porridge is not a paste, very watery. After I arrange my cabbage in a glass bottle, it become very watery even in day2. Is this normal. Will my kimchi turn out to be ok?
yes, it sounds like your kimchi will turn out delicious with lots of brine.
Hi Maangchi, my kimchi has been rested in fridge for 4days already. When can I start using it? How long can it be kept in fridge? I worry it will turn bad!
You can eat your kimchi right after it’s made. Kimchi never goes bad but usually its peak fermentation takes 2 weeks in the fridge. Check this out, please. https://www.maangchi.com/talk/topic/how-long-can-i-keep-kimchi
Hi Maangchi, Thank you so much for the delicious recipes of Kimchi. This is my 1st try. It turn out to be so so delicious. The only different is, mine not look as red as yours.
I just take a piece of kimchi for pancake.
I like it so much. I nearly finish the whole pancake by myself.
I am going to use the kimchi for fried rice tomorrow.
Since i have a batch of kimchi, I guess i am going to eat it everyday with your other kimchi recipe.
Thanks………
Hi Maangchi, really your food recipe are very delicious and mouth watering :) today I am trying to make kimchi through your told recipe :)
Hı Maangchi, Greetings from Turkey… yesterday i made kimchi and İt’s really delicious. Your recipe is really basic and tasty. But my biggest problem is sesame oil…it is very expensive in turkey Unfortunately so which oil can i use for other recipes ?? Thank u ….
Hi Maangchi, I want to know after kimchi fermented, how long it last until its unable to eat? or rotten?
Hi Maangchi! Thank you so much for the recipe and the video. This was the fourth time I have ever made kimchi, each time I’ve used different recipes. I have an allergy to seafood, so I’ve never been able to eat kimchi at a restaurant or made traditionally. It’s been fun to experiment and try different variations all leaving out the shellfish and the fish sauce. Your recipe is unique and taste is the best and my family agrees. We all enjoy it and will be using your recipe from now on.
For anyone else who may have a similar allergy, this recipe tastes great without the fish and shrimp too!
Thanks again. :)
Thank you so much for your nice words. I’m very happy to hear that you love this recipe. Good luck with your Korean cooking!
hi maangchi……
Annagaha-seo…i am new joinee to your club…
I am an Indian , and been very found of the Korean Delicacies and love
the way the Korean recipes are prepared….I saw and loved your recipe of ggriyanchim and kimchi jijigae…..i love it a lot….thanks for your great
contribution to explore the Korean recipes from our home..
would be following up with you always…Thanks
Is there a way to use fresh red peppers instead of pepper flakes?
Hi Maangchi,
Can I use fine Korean sea salt for the tongbaechu kimchi? Do I use the same amount? Thank you!
Korean sea salt is good to use to salt cabbage, but I think you may have to use more.
Hello Maangchi, may i know why does the sauce seems to separate after i storing it for an hour? The sauce seems to be divided into two, with a layer of liquid at the top.
Hello Maangchi!
Thank you for sharing all your great recipes! I’m currently living in Seoul and they have helped me a lot with cooking with the local ingredients.
I’ve tried this kimchi recipe and it turned out pretty good but not perfect (according to my taste anyway…) I find the the balance between the spiciness and the sourness to be a little off; in other words, I find that the spiciness overpowers the sourness. It’s not too spicy mind you, just not sour enough I guess. Any idea why that is? Maybe I used too much kimchi paste? It seems like there will be a lot left over once I’m done eating the cabbage…
In that regard, I’d also like to know if it’s possible to re-used the left over kimchi paste (not the left over fresh one, i mean the already used one that’s left in the container when all the kimchi has been eaten)
Thank you~
Hell Marimo,
It will get more sour as time goes on. Koreans have many different recipes for kimchi, you can keep experimenting and modifying until you get it how you like it.
I never use the kimchi paste leftover in the container, but you can try something and let us know about it.
good luck with your kimchi making!
Hi Maangchi, thank u so much for your recipe. I followed your recipe many times without measuring. I mean i didnt measure how many salt, pepper,… sometimes it’s too salty, or sweety, especially too much juice. I have no idea whether my questions be ever raised, hope yo get your answer. 1.How many ml/g equal yo your cup? I dont have a cup or tablespoon like u, so i dont know how is enough. 2. With a small amount of salt like that, i think cabbage is still so fresh, a lot of water contained. Is it good to make kimchi? 3. I saw that u make a little sweet rice pouridge, is it enough to cover cabbage? Again, how many ml/mg of sweet rice powder and sugar? 4. If i make too sweety rice pouridge by chance, how can i fix it? Look forward to hearing from u soon. Thanks in advance, Maangchi! *BOWING*
Hi, Irisiu
My 1 cup is 240 ML. I had never measured my food before I started posting my recipes online. But ever since I started sharing my recipes, I found that using measurements is necessary.
In order to make good kimchi, I think you need to start by getting measuring cups and learning how to measure the ingredients. It takes time and patience but you get better and faster over time.
hi maangchi unnie can u tell me why u use kosher salt instead of coarse sea salt? every video i watch in korean they all use the coarse sea salt to make kimchi. also if i want to use the coarse sea salt from korea how much should i use for ur recipe and do i have to do anything different? sorry for lots of questions last question can i use both salted shrimp and fish sauce i like this taste how much should i use for ur recipe? thank u maangchi unnie ur recipe have help me cook so much yummy korean food i don’t know what i would do without ur help i have very bad stomach and korean food is the only kind of food i can eat without being sick so thank u so much u help make me not sick anymore.
I used to use coarse sea salt when I made kimchi in Korea. But these days I use fine kosher salt to make all of my recipes because I found kosher salt is easier to find than coarse sea salt.
You can use sea salt if you want but I don’t know how much to use in this recipe.
Good luck with your Korean cooking!
Dear Maangchi,
i like your recipes very much.
I already cooked many dishes from your site for my husband. He is hangug saram and he likes them a lot.
but kimchi …..
can u pls tell how many ml is the cup u use?
Hi tatis,
Since Maangchi lives in New York, she uses American cups for measurement – 240 ml.
I do know your problem – especially when it comes to the amount of rice! I have a Cuckoo … ;-)
Bye, Sanne.
yes, sanne is right. It’s 240 ML. Happy cooking! Sanne, thanks a lot!
Hi Maangchi,
You’re welcome! Pounds, ounces, liquid ounces, quarts, geun ;-) – I’m used to convert all that to the metric system.
Cups are difficult!
And: Thank you!
Btw: @tatis: further up any recipe-page, to the right, just above the photos – Maangchi has put a wonderful weights-and-measures-converter there, initially set to from Cups to Liters …
Bye, Sanne.
Thank you so much for this recipe. My husband is Korean-American and he loves traditional Korean foods like his mother makes. I am white and have only in the last few years been exposed to Korean foods. My husband loves your Kimchi :) and your other recipes at least give me a good start to making food for my picky husband. Thanks so much.
I’m glad your husband loves your homemade kimchi! Good luck with your Korean cooking and happy family! ^^
This is my first time making kimchi. I usually buy mine. This is the best kimchi I’ve ever had. Your recipe is amazing! Thank you so much for the video. It was a huge help! :)
I’m so glad to hear that your kimchi was a success! Congratulations!
Hello Maangchi 언니..My name is 유리..First, I would like to thank you for sharing
your delicious 김치 recipe..I have been making my own Kimchi since 2009 by following
your recipe..I love doing it and everyone likes the the taste in my family..
It does take sometime to make kimchi, but it’s all worth it since I will have my delicious
homemade kimchi for the following several months, and I can use it to make everything
like kimchi stew(김치찌개), kimchi pancake(김치파전), Kimchi Fried rice(김치볶음밥), Kimchi tofu and kimchi gimbap (김치두부 and 김치김밥)^^ I made Kimchi today because
my husband is coming back from Korea today, so he won’t feel homesick when he eats kimchi^^ Thank you for your updated version and this recipe is even better than the previous one and takes less time..I love it^^*
Take care and I hope you develop more and more authentic Korean recipes^^
wow, it sounds like you are a kimchi master!
“My husband is coming back from Korea today, so he won’t feel homesick when he eats kimchi” You are such a warm hearted lovely wife! I would like to taste your kimchi someday. : )
Maangchi, thank you so, so much for this fantastic recipe! I never write reviews, but this recipe was so good, I had to tell you :). I’ve always been too intimidated to make kimchi because my mom’s kimchi is so good, and it seems like there are so many factors that affect how well kimchi ferments and tastes. But your recipe looked so good and was well-explained that I decided to give it a try. WOW! Seriously the best kimchi I’ve ever had. Even my mom admitted it was better than hers, and my dad couldn’t stop eating it. He never says anything he doesn’t mean, and he and my mom both said it was better than the kimchi they used to eat growing up in Korea :).
I’ve made this twice so far: first time exactly as your recipe is written, and the second time with a couple minor changes my mom suggested for personal taste:
(1) I personally like really crunchy kimchi, so I salted my cabbage for almost 5 hours to remove as much water as possible. When I salted it for just 2 hours the first time I made it, it ended up a little mushy. Salting it longer made it SO crunchy even weeks later :).
(2) After salting, I rinsed each leaf thoroughly probably 6 times because after rinsing just a few times, the leaves still tasted really salty to me.
(3) My kitchen is really warm during the summer, so it only took 12 hours for my kimchi to ferment! The first time I let it go for 24 hours before putting it in the refrigerator, but then it got too sour within a few days. You weren’t kidding when you said a warmer environment will speed up fermentation!
Other than that, I didn’t change a thing :). The seasoning is absolutely perfect! Best kimchi ever! Thank you again so much!
Congratulations! Clap clap clap! : )
It might be hard for us to find sweet rice flour here in Finland. Could you make porridge from almond or coconut flour? Trying to figure out some other alternatives. Thanks.
How about using plain flour?
hello ms.maangchi…i love your vids…i am living in shinjuku tokyo near in korean town in shin ookubo place,about 10 minutes by bicycle or less than 2 minutes by riding a train…in yamanote line…i tried eat kimchi so many times…every restaurant has different kind of flavor, i really enjoyed it but i dont like too much sour…one of my favaorite kimchi is kimchi with fresh crabs (watari gani:japanese crab) and sometimes have a kaki shells or oister shells, but this is too much expensive….can you make a video how to make of this….if possible…can i add more shrimp paste and a little bit more sugar…hope your kindly response and let me thank you in advance…more power……from akira japan (shinjuku_altaboy@yahoo.co.jp)
I can almost picture how you reach to Korea town by bicycle or by train because your description is so real! Yamanote line must be subway, yeah? “can i add more shrimp paste and a little bit more sugar?” yes, of course you and modify the recipe to your taste.
Hi Maangchi,
I’ve made your Kimchi a few times, and this last time was the second time that it went mouldy :(
What did I do wrong to make it go mouldy? It only really happened at the bottom, thick part go the cabbage (the stem).
The Kimchi was left out for about 2 days after making it, and since then it’s been in the fridge the whole time.
How can I stop it from growing mould?
Thanks!!
Hi, i am not maangchi, but i would like to share some of my experience with u .. H
1. The cabbage didn’t salt well.
2. All container or jar for kimchi’s, make sure it’ls clean enough (not allow to hav oil in it, if its contain even a tiny oil it’ll will cause ur kimchi moldy)
put more salt on bottom part bcos it is hard.
when u choose big napa cabbage u hav to split into 4, so that it will easy to sprinkle evenly n it’ll will well pickled.
For me i like a small napa cabbage so i am just need to split into 2, easy when sprinkle and salting.it’ll will save some time when salting too.
Making kimchi, The most important is the cabbage must well pickled (salting) if u salt well ur kimchi guarantee good.
This is my experince of making kimchi, hope it’ll help u. Good luck ! 🍀
Thank you very much!
I’m going to make a new batch soon and will make sure I follow your tips!!
You’re welcome, good luck ! ;)
I’m in the process of making this one. I can only find “chinchalok” to replace the salted korean shrimp. Hope the outcome is is good. :)
Hi Maangchi!
I can’t find any Hot Pepper Flakes anywhere, what do you think i can use to substitute it. I’ve been using Cayenne Pepper but its not the same. Any ideas? Thanks!
i want to ask you can i make the saeujeot by myself ??? and how is the way to make it ? thank you a lot
Hi Maangchi! ^^ I want to try out this one, using regular cabbage instead of napa since there is no napa cabbage over here, but we’re also a very small 2 people family, and since it’s first time I don’t want to make too much, is there any chance to know what would be the measurements of the ingredients if I use one regular cabbage instead? thank you! :)
yes, yes! Check out my emergency kimchi recipe. https://www.maangchi.com/recipe/yangbaechu-kimchi
Just made a batch of this and it is already tasting amazing! I might need to be enrolled in a Kimchi addicts group soon! :)
I am just wondering if there are replacements for fish sauce and the shrimp if you wanted to make a strict vegan version.
Thanks so much for the recipe.
Congratulations. It sounds like your kimchi was well made. You can use soy sauce (soup soy sauce) instead of fish sauce or make your own vegetarian fish sauce. Check out vegetarian fish sauce recipe posted by one of my readers. https://www.maangchi.com/talk/topic/vegetarian-fish-sauce-for-kimchi
Hi Maangchi,
I do love all your recipe in here and i have tried to make nappa cabbage kimchi. And i love fresh kimchi too. But my question is after several days store in my refigerator, my kimchi stated to taste bitter. Is it always taste like that when you store it for long time?
Maangchi I can’t find salted shrimp where I live T-T What do you suggest as a replacement?
Maaaaangchiiii!!! Yesterday was my first kimchi making day. :) my little kimchis are resting now and getting their beauty sleep! My husband has high blood pressure, so we’re excited to eat kimchi that has less salt and preservatives than the store-bought.
We love your vids!
Howdy, from Texas :)
I hope your kimchi fermented well and delicious! Good luck with your Korean cooking!
Hi Maangchi :) I made this delicious kimchi last weekend and it came out sooo good! I used dried fish strips (wild salmon). I put the fish strips between the cabbage leaves. They became tender and soft. So delicious! I can’t stop craving this kimchi…Thank you for this wonderful and healthy recipe!! Lots of love from California! ~Mona
Hi Mona,
oh, salmon worked well? great!
Hi Maangchi!
I made this today and used paste instead of flakes… You think it will still turn out good?
How do you like your kimchi? I have never used hot pepper paste in my kimchi but some of my readers let me know their kimchi made with hot pepper paste turned out good. I think hot pepper flakes are still better than hot pepper paste.
Hi maangchi! I’ve have store bought kimchi with has alr been cooled. I wanted more kimchi juice to make kimchi soup. So can I leave it in room temperature again to let it ferment? Thank you! Your ans would really help me
Hello Maangchi! I’ve been following your website for sometime and love your recipes and great energy! Your pajeon was delicious, and I also use your toasted seaweed recipe quite often now. I had kimchi once with a friend and it was delicious but (being a teenager) I never had it again since my friend moved away and my immediate family dislikes most Asian cuisine. I want to thank you for giving me the opportunity to make this dish myself with this delicious sounding recipe, and I plan to make it this week with my aunt while she’s in town. I’m so excited, and I again wish to thank you for your amazing recipes! I plan to be eating plenty of kimchi this summer! :)
I’m very excited for you, too! Good luck with making good kimchi with your aunt!
I am 71 and have never tasted kimchi but while reading about it I was overwhelmed by the most amazing craving. I have researched the recipes online and watched the videos and have assembled 5 recipes, but this is the one I will be using. In order to get most of the ingredients I will have to make a 100-mile round trip to Gainesville, FL, because I live in the middle of a very rural, agricultural county (but it doesn’t sell Napa cabbages!) in North Central Florida. I have several friends who LOVE kimchi and I have promised to make enough to share with them. I think kimchi is the true sharing dish one could make and I can’t wait to taste it. Then I am going to make some pork rolls. Thank you so very much for not only your recipes but the wonderful videos. I feel as if I am right there with you enjoying the little “tastes” (I caught you!) and it makes my mouth water. So, many thanks once again.
I’m so impressed by your enthusiasm about making totally new food in your life! Check out a list of Korean grocery stores in Florida. https://www.maangchi.com/shopping/us#FL I hope your kimchi making turns out a huge success and all your friends who taste your kimchi give you lots of compliments! Please update me. : )
Can you give a recipe for a smaller portion of kimchi ? Cos I live alone and it would take me ages to finish that 6 pound of kimchi n I don’t have much space to keep that much kimchi either. Maybe for 2 head of napa cabbage how much of ingredient I would need to make the paste (seasoning, spices, porridge). Thank you.
Why dont you divide all the ingredients that show on this recipe by 2 or 3?
I made it, tried it and loved it so much! Thank you very much. However, I’m now smelling like kimchi because when I opened the jar, it “exploded” like opening a champagne bottle. This was due to the fermenting process.
Hello Maangchi. Does anyone ever use mussels for their kimchi?
Yes! You could just chop up the fresh mussels and add it to the paste! It tastes awesome!
Maangchi, i was wondering about my napa cabbage. So i salted each layer like you said, and i rinsed it about 5-6 times. But when i tasted a piece of the cabbage, it tasted salty. I was wondering if that was normal? Or is there a problem with the amount of salt, and i should rinse it more?
Hi Anna,
Did you measure 1/2 cup salt for 6 pounds of cabbage? If so, your kimchi will turn out good.
I followed the recipe, but it turns out that i just needed to rinse my cabbage a few more times. Anyways, thanks for replying Maangchi!
I’ve made a bunch of your recipes in the past but my favorite (and my family’s) is by far kimchi. When I was in the Air Force, my supervisor’s Korean wife use to bring kimchi in for us every day for lunch. Now I get to make it myself. I make a fresh batch each month and we eat it with everything…from breakfast to dinner and as a snack during the day. Thank you so much for sharing your cooking skills with us.
Great! You make your own kimchi on a regular basis!
Hi Maangchi, what is the refrigerated shelf life of kimchi? Thanks!
You can store kimchi in the refrigerator for months and months because kimchi never goes bad but ferment. As time passes, the kimchi will get more sour in the refrigerator because fermentation continues. I make kimchi usually every other month. Fresh kimchi will start fermenting in 2 weeks in the refrigerator.
Instead of using napa cabbage, could I use the ordinary cabbage instead?
yes, you can. You may like my emergency kimchi (regular cabbage kimchi): https://www.maangchi.com/recipe/yangbaechu-kimchi