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 side 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 recipe), which is very similar but is easier because you to chop up the cabbage into bite size pieces 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. (I also have a vegan kimchi version of this recipe, too!)
For me, this kimchi recipe has the traditional flavor I am looking for. It 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.
To make this kimchi we need to first soak the cabbage in a salty brine to soften the leaves (some people swear by sea salt but I always use Kosher salt in all my Korean dishes). Then lactobacillus bacteria can do their work and convert sugar into lactic acid, which preserves the cabbage and changes the flavor over time. But you don’t have to wait for the kimchi to ferment before you enjoy it, you can eat it right away and keep eating it as it ferments and eventually goes sour. Then it’s perfect for dishes like kimchi-jjigae and kimchi stir fried rice.
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 kimchi-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 (aka glutinous rice flour)
- 2 tablespoons Turbinado sugar (or brown or white sugar)
Vegetables:
- 2 cups Korean radish matchsticks (or daikon radish)
- 1 cup carrot matchsticks
- 7 to 8 green onions (scallions), chopped
- 1 cup chopped Asian chives (buchu), optional (substitute with 3 green onions, chopped)
- 1 cup water dropwort (minari), optional
Seasonings and spices:
- ½ cup garlic cloves (24 garlic cloves), minced
- 2 teaspoon ginger, minced
- 1 medium onion, minced
- ½ cup fish sauce
- ¼ cup fermented salted shrimp (saeujeot) with the salty brine, chopped
- 2 cups red pepper flakes (gochugaru)
Directions
Prepare and salt the cabbage
- If the cabbage cores stick out too much, trim them off with your knife over your cutting board.
- 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 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, give them a final rinse, 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
- In a large bowl, 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. If you’re using a sealed jar with a lid, be sure to open it once a while, let it breathe, and press down on the top of the kimchi.
- 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.
Maangchi's Amazon picks for this recipe
It's always best to buy Korean items at your local Korean grocery store, but I know that's not always possible so I chose these products on Amazon that are good quality. See more about how these items were chosen.
Hi Maangchi!
Sadly, I am allergic to onions, green onions, chives, leeks, and garlic (or anything in that family). Is there anything I can substitute those ingredients for (although I know they are essential) such as adding more ginger?
It’s pretty hard to replace the flavor of alliums (onion etc.)
I’d definitely try some chopped celery and extra carrot to boost
the flavor a bit.
Maybe experiment with a small amount of citrus and an aromatic oil too.
Perhaps some nice herbs just to boost that flavor up.
These are things I do when making pasta sauces for a friend who is
intolerant to alliums and it works quite well.
I haven’t actually tried it with kimchi, give it a go on a small batch and see.
The other thing you can try using is Asafetida (sorry don’t know the correct spelling)
That’s the way I say it and the Indian store know what I mean :)
It looks and tastes a bit like garlic powder and is used sometimes in Indian cooking.
I don’t think it’s an allium but you might want to research it a bit more…
Hi! I know Buddhist monks don’t eat any of the alyum because of religious reasons, but they still make kimchi, so maybe you can find out how they manage.
Hi, Maangchi ssi!
Do I make saewoojeot for kimchi the same way i would prepare ojingeo like in your other kimchi recipe? I like saewoojeot.
Thanks,
Ima
Hi. Is it a must to put fermented shrimp ? Is there anything else to substitute the shrimp? As I don’t have it selling in my country :(
no, fermented shrimp is optional. Skip it if it’s not available. The kimchi will still turn out delicious.
I’ve used the dried shrimp most asian grocery stores have.
I chopped it fine and added some fish sauce to make it into a paste.
I did this because I realized I had no fermented shrimp AFTER I’d started salting the cabbage. Turned out nice!
But as Maangchi says, the shrimp is optional.
I also have made it without fish sauce or shrimp for my vegetarian friends, and it’s still delicious, just doesn’t quite have the oomph! that the authentic version does.
Can you add water to the recipe to make more juice?
Hi Maangchi,
Why don’t you just do dry salting instead of pre-salting?
You could mix the rub mixture with 3% salt (of total weight) and rub that into the leaves… It would make the process much faster and you don’t lose precious cabbage juice either. I’m writing this from Hungary. We make sauerkraut called savanyú káposzta with that method. Love the site! Looking forward to buying the book. Would love to see more dessert recipes.
Hi Maangchi, is it ok to salt my cabbages overnight?
Also, if i were to make the amount of kimchi to bury in my backyard, is it ok to consume it even in hot summer? Thanks!
Yes, you can salt cabbage overnight. “if i were to make the amount of kimchi to bury in my backyard, is it ok to consume it even in hot summer?” I don’t think it works well. Under the ground, the temperature will still be hot during the summer.
Hi Maangchi! I’m Vivian from Malaysia. I’m wondering how much seasoning do I need to put if I’m only using one cabbage for kimchi?
I was also wondering that. There are only 2 people in my family and I would like to make kimchi that fit our taste buds. But I don’t need to make 6lbs of it. Is there a recipe for 3lbs or smaller? Thank you! (-:
U just need to divide the quantity accordingly. Slightly more than recommended recipe no issue. Beware of fish sauce and salted shrimp. Add less and taste if it’s not Saltish to your taste u can add more. Don’t make it too Saltish as it will slow down the fermentation process
Hi Maangchi,
I couldn’t find fermented shrimp that were whole but I did find a shrimp paste made out of fermented shrimp. Do you think it could have the same effect? Thanks!
yes, use shrimp paste. It will add more flavor to your kimchi!
Hi maangchi! I made some kimchi 2-3 days ago. It’s already tasting sour but it’s not liquid enough, anything wrong (did I overcook the paste)? And is there anyway to make it not so sour? My brother loves it, but he said so sour and spicy that he can’t eat a lot, lol!
(I put the kimchi in warm place for 2 days, and then kept it in the fridge)
I also made the sesame peanut candy and walnut permission, so good!!! My mom brings it to school, her friends all love it and they finished all.
See full size image
Your kimchi sounds like it’s too fermented. There is nothing much to fix sour kimchi. But you can make kimchi pancake, kimchi stew, or kimchi soup. The kimchi will run out fast! Not enough kimchi juice? Check out my answer in the forum that I made a while ago. https://www.maangchi.com/talk/topic/not-much-kimchi-juice-2 You made gotgamssam and kkae-ttangkong-gangjeong! You must be good at cooking!
Yes！！ It’s starting to be much more juicy than before after 3 days.
Thanks Maangchi!
I’m just interested in cooking :). I’m studying in a culinary school which is mostly French style, but I love Korean foods, lol. I went to Korean restaurant all the time when I dine out with friends, kkkkkk.
Kimchi Pancake is delicious！ I love scallops, so I pan-fried it and added to the pancake.
See full size image
Wow, scallops! It’s upgraded kimchi pancake! : )
oops, you might need that photo :)
See full size image
First time I’ve watched you videos – cute!
And informative of course :)
Although I’ve made this a number of times now, I think I’m using the wrong radish.
I assumed it was daikon but it appears the Korean one is a little different.
Still tastes great with the daikon, so no big deal.
Just a question about the chilli paste. The lovely young girl at my Korean store doesn’t have much knowledge but said people use the 2 items in the photo for kimchi.
I’m using these at about 50/50 for my chilli content.
Am I performing a cardinal cooking sin by doing this and if I only need one, which would you suggest.
Again the kimchi tastes great to me so it can’t be too bad, but perhaps far from authentic,
Next I’m going to try a few of your other recipes.
But my house will not be without kimchi ever again :)
Cheers
Do you think instead of putting the paste in between every leaf, I could just cut it and mix it all together with the paste?
That’s a great question! Yes, the kind of kimchi is called mak-kimchi. Check out the recipe here. https://www.maangchi.com/recipe/easy-kimchi
Thank you, can I still use the shrimp instead of the squid?
i don’t know soya sos … how to do it plaes tell me i’m from algeri
Hi Maangchi,
Amazing website.. and you are simply awesome.. you remind me of what my daughter usually says to me that I cook with love.. but now I think you are much more of a fine example of that phrase! :)
I have a question, since this will be my first attempt to prepare Kimchi, I can’t find the fermented shrimps.. is it okay to add fresh shrimps? I have already added the shrimps in salted water and left in the fridge for couple of days.. is it necessary to leave them for a week or more? Is there anything else that I need to add?
Much appreciate your response.
I’m no expert so if Maangchi replys to you, follow her suggestions.
You can make a nice kimchi without using shrimp at all.
I’d have used dried salted shrimp and chopped them fine.
I can’t see any reason you couldn’t use the salted fresh shrimp chopped finely though.
You may miss out on the extra flavour from the fermented shrimp but it will still taste good.
Thanks.. :)
Can I leave out the fermented shrimp? if not, what can I substitute it? Thanks Maangchi.
Hi, Maangchi, this is the 2nd time i made kimchi from your recipe. the 1st time that i made was came out so good! I like it very much.
But, now when i make it again, why my kimchi taste sooooo sour in just 2 days? Please help me!! :'(( what did i do wrong? Didn’t i wash the salt properly? And can we do something to make it less sour?
Btw, Maangci is the sour of the kimchi is ok for person who has stomach/gastric pain problems?
Thanks
Indonesia is a hot country. Next time just leave it in room temperature for 24hours and then put it in the fridge. The acidity in kimchi is ok for those with gastric problem. Maybe the chili could cause discomfort.
Hi Maangchi, I’m planning a Gimjang party as a housewarming theme for my new house. My guests can take the fresh kimchi home as gifts when they go home. When is the traditional time for Koreans to make Gimjang? Thanks!
“My guests can take the fresh kimchi home as gifts when they go home.” It sounds great! : )
Traditionally Gimjang (Winter kimchi) is made from November to December because the kimchi will be eaten during the cold winter.
Thank you for your reply! It’s mid-autumn already here in Australia. By the time the house is ready, it’ll be winter and the party can start! Yay!
Hi Maangchi, I’m trying to organise a kimchi-making party as a house-warming event to celebrate the purchase of a new house so my guests can take their fresh kimchi home. When do people in Korea get together to make make kim-jang? Thank you.
Hi angchi，I really like eating kimchi but my mother don’t like the smell of garlic. Is it ok to make kimchi with less garlic or even without garlic at all. Thank you
Hi maangchi, pls reply me Asap.
I did it yesterday, and I added too much fish sauce. Now I taste it a bit salty. What should I do now???
Many thanks.
I would add more radish to the kimchi. Just cut a few radishes into disks and insert them into the salty kimchi. The radish will absorb some salt from the salty cabbage.
Thanks a lot maangchi.
I love u and ur receipt soo much
This comment is golden.
I made a batch where I think I didn’t wash the cabbage well enough and it was way salty.
I thought of trying to “correct” it but didn’t know what to do and I ended up throwing it in the compost.
Of course the radish soaks up the flavours and helps to balance it back out.
Maangchi – great advice!
Hello, Maangchi i love korean food and it’s the tierd time i make the kimchi. But for this time i would like to try this method. Befor i had use the easy to make kimchi method.
I have one question in the vegan option you use miso. I have bothe the japanese miso but Doenjang is the same? Or is good to? Or is better japnese miso?
WOO!! I like this recipe! SPICY!!! Little too much fishy sauce, but good nonetheless… Thank you!
Thank you so much Maangchi…
I love this recipe… I leave out the fish products, because my husband doesn’t like the taste. I put one Nashi pear in matchsticks, also, and some soy sauce.
We have soba noodle soup with kimchi and eggs, every morning for breakfast.
Lately I have made mak kimchi more often, because we use it quickly. I love to open the fridge and smell the sour kimchi after 3 days.
I always make the porridge, because the flavour is a bit different if it’s not there, and it doesn’t stick well.
I always bring some to the lady who sells me the gochugaru… she says she is lazy, and she just buys it, but she gets excited when I bring her some… she says I am like a Korean lady, getting happy about good kimchi. We have it for lunch together, when I bring it.
Thank you so much for your perfect recipe!
Yes, it sounds like you are a Korean lady just like your neighbor said! : ) Thank you for sharing the story!
Hello Maangchi!
I wanted to make kimchi but my boyfriend bought the gochugaru in powder instead of flakes.. Is it a problem? Can I replace the hot pepper flakes by hot pepper powder in any receipe?
Thank you!
No problem. Hot pepper powder is made with the same Korean hot peppers but finer than hot pepper flakes.
Thank you Maangchi!
So do I have to use less quantity since its finer?
It’s up to you. I usually use hot pepper flakes when I make kimchi.
THANK YOU MAANGCHI! I made this recipe with green cabbage (Yangbaechu Kimchi) but with porridge unlike the ’emergency’ kimchi recipe. It is the best kimchi I have ever had, even better than what I have bought from the store (and so much cheaper)!
A tip for kimchi novices: when I first made my kimchi and ate it fresh, I thought there was something wrong because it seemed too bland compared to kimchi I have tasted in the past. I ended up adding WAY too much salt and ruined it! The second time around I followed the recipe closely and let it ferment out of the fridge for 2 full days. Wow… SO MUCH flavor comes from the fermenting! My second try turned out perfect. I recommend letting kimchi ferment first before adding more salt if you think it is bland. I also used a can of sardines instead of shrimp… sounds a bit gross maybe but the flavor turned out great.
Thank you for the tips!
Have made kimchi quite a few times in the past but about to try your recipe.
Do you know if the water dropwort is sometimes sold as “chinese celery” ?
It’s the only item I’m having trouble sourcing.
The online images of minari look the same as the “chinese celery” so I might just give it a try anyway.
Thanks for the recipe.
Cheers
Gerry C
Yes, I looked it up online. It looks like the same as minari (water dropwort). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_celery By the way, you can skip water dropwort. The kimchi will still turn out delicious.
Hello Maanghi – I made this recipe with abouut 7 pounds of cabbage. Unfortunately, the kimchi had a “chemical” taste and smell. I think it is possible that this taste is coming from a plastic cooler I used for salting the cabbage. It was clean but maybe a bad kind of plastic. Do you have any suggestions for what type of large (5 gallons or so) container to use for salting and mixing?
For plastic, I advise using Lock&Lock containers. It’s a Korean brand and commonly used in Korea.
Hi junkka,
I totally agree!
I started with “Good&Good”, which seems to be the same, and bought a few sets of “Lock&Lock” recently. The price varies, it’s not easy to find a good deal, but totally worth it!
Bye, Sanne.
Hello Junnka and Sanne,
Thank you for the Lock & Lock suggestion. I am looking for a container of about 20 liters and it doesn’t look like they make one that big. Cambro makes a polycarbonate container of that size but it is quite expensive.
With warmest regards,
Andrew
Hi ajcollins3@comcast.net,
They do – 21 litre, about 40-45 $ per unit.
Maybe there are better deals; that’s what I’ve found right now.
Bye, Sanne.
Hi Sanne,
I found the one you are talkking about but it is $96 on US Amazon! They have a “Lustroware” 4.2 gal. (16 l) for $26 – that should be big enouugh.
Thanks again for you help,
Andrew
Hi Andrew,
I had no idea that the HPL896 is that expensive in the US!
On amazon.de, it’s only 33.33 to less than 35 Euro (weak Euro, strong US-Dollar; therefore, about the same in your currency at the moment!) – free shipping in Germany. Shipping from here to the US is horrendously expensive!
Do you happen to know someone who travels to Germany and knows someone here who would order it for that person? Or buy it in a store, we’re lucky here: http://www.locknlock.de/haendlersuche.html
Same question goes for Korea, but I don’t know the prices there… Meshil-pyeong from 25 to 30 litre are quite cheap there, though (man [10.000] won), I use those for mul-Kimchi and large amounts of maneul-jangajji.
But I agree: 16 litre should be large enough.
Bye, Sanne.
Hi Sanne,
Here is what I just purchased: Lustroware 4.2 gal. + 2.9 gal. both for $33. Seems like a good deal.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EVZW9WW/ref=sr_ph?ie=UTF8&qid=1426606701&sr=1&keywords=lustroware+4.2
With warmest regards,
Andrrew
Hi Andrew,
seems like the tree’s getting a little deep now…
I agree; looking good!
Bye, Sanne.
After finish making the kimchi how do I keep so that it teste very nice
The definition of ‘nice taste’ for Kimchi can vary greatly. Some people prefer them fresh, some people like me like them aged and sour. If you would like to keep the taste, you must try to minimize the exposure to air. It’s better to preserve them in large batch, in a single container and only open it when you need it. I normally take about a week’s worth every week.
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.
Hello maangchi.. I am your new friend.. Im looking for kimchi recipe and i find your brilliant video and recipes..
I have a question, Why we have to use rice flour paste? Is it gonna help the cabbage with the fermentation?
Thank you Maangchi
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
Hi Maangchi,
You just have to spread the leaves so that they look like a fan, spread the filling and wrap it all up again, using the outer leaves to pack it up nicely.
Nowadays, I prefer mak-kimchi – and that’s easy to mix anyway.
Bye, Sanne.
Hi! New here, and loving it!! I’ve always wanted to make Kimchi so this is wonderful Thank you! :)
Although I do have a few questions. I was looking for Fish sauce online and came across 2 Korean types? One was made form (Myul Chi)? Anchovy and the other (Kanari)? Sand Lance.
And if Anyone could answer where I could buy Gochugaru online, I’d be very thank full Thank you :)
http://www.hmart.com/shopnow/shopnow_newsub.asp?p=846034004047
I found one! Is this good? Thanks
Yes, good! : )
Hi DY,
For Kimchi, usually it’s 멸치 젓. But it doesn’t matter much.
Bye, Sanne.
Hi:)
I had made my second batch of kimchi around one month ago and it has been stored in the refrigerator. I just found out that the leaves of the cabbage went very soft and the smell is quite bad…is this kimchi still okay? Can someone please reply me soon!!Thank you very muchh
Hi monkeyloveskorea,
Define “smell quite bad” – my katmul-kimchi doesn’t smell like roses, either ;-D, but it *tastes* delicious.
Remove the uppermost layer, remove and toss moldy leaves, if any. No mold, no problem. This layer is still good for recipes that require “shin” (*very* well-aged) kimchi.
Submerge the deeper layers in their brine and see to it that they stay submerged!
Good luck! Bye Sanne.
I made Kimchi for about 8 years and experimented. I didn’t really have a recipe per se, more of a general idea of how much salt, how much porridge, how much red pepper flakes (et al) to use. This meant that sometimes the kimchi was exceptional – other times just edible.
Your recipe fixed all that. It solved my proportions problems as my wife mentions, I have big hands when I cook. I love to add layers to add texture and flavors. Things like Asian pears or oyster are always nice but I never knew up much or how little. Thanks to you and your informative website I am saved and now make kimchi like a rock start – all the time every time.
Thank you for making this available as food should be enjoyed both while we eat it and prepare it.
Warmest,
Brian Krecik
Hi Maangchi,
This is my first to make Kimchi wanted to try for a head of cabbage, can I know the salt still using 1/2 cup to salting the cabbage? Thanks.
Hi Maangchi,
I’m very first to kimchi, I only use one head of cabbage to do a testing.
Should I still using 1/2 cup of salt to salting the cabbage? Thanks
Cabbages are all different sizes and weights. You need to weigh your cabbage first and divide the ingredients. This recipe is for 6 pounds of napa cabbage. Good luck with making good kimchi!
Thanks Maangchi for the recipes, is delicious ^^
Hay Maangchi, we have Cincalok in Malaysia, which is fermented small shrimp looks like 세우젓, Cincalok is a little salty and has a pungent smell, I’ve seen people using Philippines’ Bagoong Alamang as a substitute to Cincalok. We eat it as a banchan like a sauce or Sambal, but I make a sweet, spicy, sour dipping sauce with to eat with spring rolls as a Vietnamese heritage. Do you think it’s the same? I’ve never tasted 세우젓 as it is or in Chinese 김치.
Hi AMYC98, I’m from Singapore. Ive added cincalok to my kimchi paste to make my kimchi. It works! Very tasty result. Cincalok is slightly different in flavour to the Korean fermented shrimp but difference is subtle. It’s my ever-ready substitute to raw oysters!
Hello Maangchi,
Is there a substitute for salted shrimp sauce so I can make this recipe as well?
Thanks in advance!
You can skip salted shrimp. The kimchi will still turn out delicious. Good luck!