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 maangchi, I made kimchi yesterday but it taste and smell like onion dan ginger. Taste a bit bitter like I am eating onion. It doesn’t teste like kimchiWhat should I do to make it better? Thank you Maangchi.
Hi.
Same happened with me once in the past (although not with Maangchi recipe).
I suggest you use less green onions next time. Just use half of the amount suggested here in the recipe. Green onions vary in their strength and “onion taste”. You must have used a really strong one.
Thank you Maangchi for one of the best kimchis we’ve ever tasted.
We eat out at Korean restaurants a fair bit,
but your kimchi recipe gave us a greater appreciation of the deep and rich kimchi flavors that we’ve never before tasted.
Thankyou! :)
Question: How do you prevent kimchi from going moldy? I made a batch and divided it into 3 containers – one of these went moldy (green mould) on top. Could condensation have caused this? Concerned as I will be making another big batch soon.
It’s great you like my kimchi recipe! : )
Regarding moldy kimchi, here is the answer. Check out my making kimchi FAQ: https://www.maangchi.com/recipe/easy-kimchi
“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.”
Maangchi hi I was wondering can I make the hot pepper flakes in my home because there is no near grocery store in my area so can I get the red pepper and dry it?
HELP!!
I forgot to rinse the salt off my cabbage. Everything was so pretty too. I added some radishes as I remembered you suggesting one time, but I am afraid my beautiful kimchi will not be editable. What can I do? I was thinking finish the process and add some more cabbage, unsalted, and allow it to soak up the juice, but I am not sure. HELP, please.
Can I use rice flour rather then sweet rice flour? How much do need to put fish sauce if I don’t add salted shrimp?
I’d (and am using) all purpose flour if you dont have the sweet rice flour. As for fish sauce, I put an extra 1/3 cup in (or 1/4 if you want it a bit less salty). My kimchi has always turned out great doing those measurements. Hope this helps :D
Thank you
I halved this recipe but otherwise did it exactly as written. It is, hands down, the best Kimchi I have ever tasted. I ate some of it fresh and it’s been in the fridge for a week now. I definitely prefer it well fermented, but it was still delicious fresh. I’m fermenting it in an old cookie jar I got from my parents. The salted fermented shrimp made a big difference compared to other recipes I have tried.
I had a bunch of leftover radish so I made cubed radish Kimchi with this same paste. It is really good!
Hi,
I would like to make kimchi but I don’t have a food processor. What should I do? Can I just mince the onions, garlic and ginger?
Do you have a blender? It would work the same.
If not, you need to find a way to make the mincing very very fine. In the food processor, my onion is almost liquefied.
Hi Maangchi,
I would love to prepare kimchi but I am vegetarian, may I replace the ” fish sauce
and the fermented salted shrimp” with something else????
thanks!!!!
How about using soy sauce instead?
Thank you very much!!!!
The kimchi turns out great. I am ready to make the next batch with oysters. Read through the replies but did not find the answer.
Can you use canned oysters instead of fresh. Fresh only shows up in the U P Thanksgiving time.
We usually make 2 gallons of kimchi at a time.
We always use fresh or frozen oysters. Why don’t you use frozen oysters sold at a Korean grocery store? https://www.maangchi.com/ingredient/frozen-oysters
No local Korean in Upper Peninsula Michigan by me.
I buy in Louisville Ky when down their. Great Korean grocery store.
Was just looking for a sub. Might have to wait.
Hi Maangchi!
I made kimchi 4 days ago. It turned out great. I would make this again. I was told the kimchi I made is salty. Must be the fish sauce. To me, I find it’s really good. I find using right amount of ingredients by following the recipe is what makes it delicious. If I omit or use less ingredients than what I’m instructed, i think it might not turned out good.
Is there a way to make it less salty? If so what would you recommend?
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Hi lacus817! Try adding a little sugar into your fish sauce! This will reduce the saltiness. I’ve tried it multiple times and this results in less salty kimchi ;) It’s relatively hard for me to get the korean fish sauce / anchovy sauce so I always resort to either thai fish sauce or Vietnamese fish sauce. They are way saltier so I just add sugar to bring it to the korean anchovy sauce taste. Worked perfectly fine for me :D Give it a go!
Hello Maangchi! This is my first time attempting to make a Korean dish, I’m super excited. Today is day two of fermentation. When I released the bubbles, I noticed my kimchi has a strong fish odor and taste. I used finely ground shrimp sauce instead of Saeujeot. The Korean grocery store didn’t have Saeujeot. How can I lessen the strong fish taste? My dog doesn’t seem to mind the fishiness!
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Maangchi,
I have been making your kimchi for two yeas now, getting closer to your exact recipe every time, and it keeps getting better. I’m waiting for the cabbage to finish salting as I write this and just wanted to take a minute to thank you for teaching me to make one of my favorite foods!
Maangchi I did the kimichi today I know that it doesnt taste and look red as yours because the red pepper flakes are not available in my area so I used pepper flakes that is red brown so do I have to put it in the fridge or keep it out to ferment?
Hi, I make kimchi quiet a lot so I can answer your question. Once kimchi paste is applied to the cabbage, you have to let it start to ferment at a room temperature, depending on the temperature and humidity time varies, but generally speaking 2 days is enough for fermentation to start. Taste and smell it, you have to see that bacteria has begun to grow, it has to be pungent, sour and alive. Once you transfer your kimchi into the fridge, fermentation continues but at a slower rate. I think it is the best after a couple of weeks fermenting in the firdge, it has a sharp sour taste that wakes you up.
Thanks alot
Hi… I did my first time making kimchi, but when it was fermentating (around 2 days) there are so many water came out from the jar. But I didn’t open the lid because I am afraid to make mistake that affect the fermentation process. Then after 2days I open the container, my kimchi is “dry” I mean there is should be some water right? I think that all the water had come out. Which part I did it wrong? Thanks before
Hi maangchi!
I love kimchi and would like to try making it today!
But i dont have kosher salt, can i subsitue it with normal salt?
Yes, you can. Check this out, please. https://www.maangchi.com/blog/using-salt
Hi, keep in mind that in case you did not know, Kosher salt is pure salt, that is sodium chloride, and “normal salt” I think you mean, is Iodized salt. I have read that using Iodized salt, since it has iodine in it, can impart unpleasant flavors and cause unexpected colors with the food. One example is when using iodized salt to brine meat. It can make the meat appear disturbingly pink and have an off taste. I agree that Kosher salt is best, and one can also use “Pickling salt” but be careful to use LESS pickling salt than one would use Kosher salt because the grain size of the Kosher salt is so much larger, you could accidentally use too much pickling salt, which resembles table sugar in grain size and texture. I hope this helps!
“Kosher salt” just means to make it kosher, i.e. to draw out blood.
Sea salt is the best to make kimchi.
Hi Maangchi!
I’m having a problem with my kimchi! Can someone help me? I made kimchi using this recipe for the first time. I put it all in a big jar and left it out on the counter for 36 hours to start fermenting. The jar filled with juice that the cabbage released and the kimchi that was submerged in the juices looks and tastes great! However, the kimchi that was above water level has a stronger sour smell and the red pepper past that used to be red turned yellow?! What did I do wrong?
It sounds like your kimchi is well fermented. Give the kimchi good mix, press down, and keep in the fridge.
Hi Maangchi!
I already prepared your kimchi recipe and and as my girlfriend as me we love it! But I’ve got a question. Once you’ve prepared it how long can you conserve it in the fridge cause the flavour is changing by the time mando we’re worried if could it be dangerous.
Thank’s
Don’t worry much about it. As long as you keep your kimchi in the fridge, it will be safe. Check out my kimchi FAQ video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3aZ3nBMtNU
Hello Maangchi,
I made kimchee for the first time using your recipe 2 days ago. I used grated Asian pear instead of the sweet rice flour porridge for the binder and left out the buchu, minari, and sugar. It turned out FANTASTIC! I am so pleased and happy with how delicious it turned out and so is my family!! Thanks so much for sharing your recipe!!!
Hello maangchi, I make this kimchi yesterday. But I don’t have fish sauce in hand at the time, so I’m using soy sauce instead. And I can’t find korean radish in stock in my market so I use daikon instead. Also I put in lots of carrots, buchu & spring onion. Can’t wait to taste my kimchi. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Can you leave kimchi on the counter top for 2-3 days to jump start the fermentation?
I would say yes. I left my container of kimchee out on my kitchen counter for 2 days and kept it covered with a dish towel. It turned out FANTASTIC!
Thanks, Kim. I did the same (well actually had the lid on it) and it tastes quite tangy! lol I didn’t get sick from eating it so I figured it was fine but thought I’d ask. :)
Hi Maangchi!
I want to sincerely thank you for this recipe! I make kimchi since many years ago and tried many of its variations before but I find kimchi made as per your above recipe as absolutely the best one.
Here below is my recent bunch of kimchi. We simply can’t get enough of it!
Thank you again!
Max
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Hello Maangchi,
I’m your huge fan from Vietnam. Luckyly, I made Kimchi follow your recipe and it tastes good. But I still have a question.
Can I use 1/4cup fish sauce instead of 1/4cup saeujeot because I can’t find fermented shrimp paste in my country?
I hope you’ll answer my question. Hope you always be happy.
Yes, you can replace salty fermented shrimp with fish sauce. Yes, I’m trying to be always happy! Thank you! : )
Thank you for replying me. You made my day. Love ya!
Maangchi, you’ve made this household SO HAPPY! Kimchi is a favorite around here, and now I can make it for everyone. This looks, smells, and I’m certain will be wonderful. We’re letting it ferment for a couple of days before testing, but I can’t imagine anything but amazing with the included ingredients. Thank you, Maangchi, you have a new fan. :)
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Your first line makes me totally happy! : ) Congratulations!
I can’t believe made kimchi for the first time in my life! It taste so good and easy to make from ur recipe maangchi. Thanks! ♥
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You made awesome looking kimchi! I’m sure it tastes so good, too! Congratulations!
Hello Maangchi!! I am a huge fan and I just made your kimchi recipe. It turned out fantastic! Just like the kimchi we have at our favorite Korean restaurant. It was not nearly as hard to make as I thought it was going to be. We were not able to find the salted shrimp so we use shrimp paste in oil (3tbps innstead of the 1/4 cup of salted shrimp).
Thanks for all that you do!
Thank you so much! You’re the best. I have made my own kimchi with your help, though I only used a tiny bit of red pepper flakes because I didn’t want it to be very spicy. So it’s not very red ^_^
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Maangchi, tomorrow me and my friend are planning to make this napa kimchi (twice the portion), oisobagi, gochusobagi, dubu jangajji, and sigeumchi-namul… Too ambitious? Is it possible to make pear kimchi? It sounds good in my head…..
Hello Maangchi
I have tried your kimchi recipe, but unfortunately I bought wrong chilli. I used “Taeyangcho gochujang” but the kimchi can still be eaten. Taste so sour. I have question about how should I ferment the kimchi, should I put it in an airtight container? Because My friend said that the kimchi should not be exposed to air during the fermentation process, is it true? So what I did is close the jar with thick plastict make sure that it is airtight. Then after 2 days I open the lid then put it in the refrigerator. But it tase so sour. Next time I will try to make it, what should I do? Is it okay that the container is not airtight?
Thank you so much…
You have to use hot pepper flakes instead of hot pepper paste to make kimchi. https://www.maangchi.com/ingredient/hot-pepper-flakes
You can open the kimchi jar anytime but whenever you open and serve it, be sure to press down the top. Check this out, please. https://www.maangchi.com/talk/topic/kimchi-in-glass-jars
https://www.maangchi.com/talk/topic/kimchi-fermentation
Hi Maangchi, I made your kimchi tonight and it’s fabulous! The only thing I did different was that I chopped the cabbage into bite size pieces. I plan on giving it to my friends and family. They will love it, too! Thank you for a great recipe, video and pictures.
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Your kimchi looks great! Happy new year~
Looking at the jars of your kimchi in the photo makes me feel cozy and satisfied! I can see your happy family through the jars filled with your lovely kimchi!
Hi everybody! I made this kimchi batch last night and tasted it today it was perfect. Thanks to your great recipe Maangchi! I added a cup and a half of hot pepper flakes since i like medium heat. If you don’t have radish, make sure the cabbage leaves aren’t salty before adding the kimchi paste. If you have extra kimchi paste, just add it on top of your kimchi like i did here!
Happy cooking!~
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Congratulations!
A total success for me. Thank you Maangchi !! Love you loads….
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Your success makes me happy this morning! Congratulations, kimchi maker! : )
I just make kimchi today use your recipe,just change a little to suit the spicy taste only,is first time do.i just ferment it about 5hrs coz i at malaysia ,the weather is much more humidity and quite warm.i will see how the taste after few day.thank you for sharing.
Maangchi, HELP!
I cooked too much porridge. My cabbage shrinked after soaking it with sea salt. :(
What can i do with the remaining porridge?
Thank you.
Cabbage shrinks after soaking it with salt, because salt draws water out of it, makes it soft and easy to make rolls out of it. The amount of salt needed is just a small pinch between each leaf, and after 2 hours it will become soft enough for you to roll. So applying ample amounts of salt is unnecessary. And there is no such thing as too much porridge, porridge is a body of your kimchi, it will become a fermented paste that is great on its own, or as a flavour enhancer of your favorite dish. Sometimes I just take a few spoons of paste from my kimchi jar, without cabbage, and mix it into rice or pasta. Mix all your veg, garlic, ginger etc. with your porridge and use it all for your cabbage. Your cabbage could be swimming in it and that is absolutely fine.
I made Cabbage Kimchi using the recipe in your cookbook. Can’t wait to try fresh tomorrow. Very easy to make from the recipe.
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It looks awesome! Juicy and crispy kimchi! I’m sure you loved the taste!
I made this Kimchi a few days ago. Due to food allergies, I had to leave out the fish sauce. I decided to try the kimchi today and it’s starting to get a little sour. It was delicious, but I can only imagine it will taste even better over time. Thank you Maangchi. I’m in love with all of your recipes.
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Your kimchi looks very tasty! Congratulations!
Hi Maangchi! Thank you very much for this recipe! I’m from the Philippines and I have always wanted to make my own kimchi but couldn’t because well I don’t know how and there are no ingredients available. I recently found a korean mart near our house and bought some ingredients there. though they didn’t have the fermented shrimp. Instead I bought “Fresh Alamang” that’s the small shrimp in our market and just fermented it in salt for a week… also tried your fermented squid… didn’t know if it would turn out ok. But it was actually really good… hehe… so I made the kimchi with your recipe but I made a mistake with the amount of garlic. I thought it wouldn’t be ok because it had that bitter after taste when I first tasted it. But I read here that I should ferment it a bit first. So I left in a shaded area of the house overnight (its very humid here) and when I tasted it again when I woke up it tasted great! I’m really Happy! My brother and I really love korean food… I’ll try cooking spicy rice cake next since I bought some gochujang. Again Thank you!
After upwards of 8 years or so of trying to make kimchi off and on, and failing every time to get it right, I finally stumbled onto this video, the first one of yours I ever watched, recently. I’ve become a huge fan and now I not only have a batch of kimchi fermenting away under my sink, I plan on making doenjang-jigae tomorrow night for dinner to have with it! Thank you for sharing your knowledge and skill with us, Maangchi!
UPDATE: I busted out the kimchi along with some rice, for dinner, tonight, and it was fantastic. Sour and just spicy enough. I may have let it stay under the sink a bit too long, but I like it anyway. I’m happy! 감사합니다!
I have made this twice alone and once with a friend. I don’t always have all the ingredients, but with the cabbage, carrots, spring onions and seasoning I have had homemade kimchi in my fridge for a year. Love this recipe!
The picture is of the kimchi I made Wednesday. It was bubbling away Thursday after work and is now resting in the fridge.
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Hello Maangchi!
I lived in Korea for a few years, fell in love with kimchi, and finally decided to try making it myself. However, my kimchi tastes very strange. It has an unusually bitter aftertaste. I could not find saeujeot, so I used Thai shrimp paste with bean oil, and instead of buchu, I used Chinese flowering chives (garlic chives). Could these two substitutions be the cause of the odd flavour? Otherwise, I followed your recipe EXACTLY… or so I think?!
P.S. I love your website and your cookbook ~ thank you! ^_^
Hey, I think buchu is another name for garlic chives, so it may have been the shrimp subsitution.
When it ferments, it will taste better. We have talked about this topic on the forum. Check it out, please. https://www.maangchi.com/talk/topic/slightly-bitter-kimchi
Thanks Maangchi! This is my 1st time made kimchi. The seasonings and spices taste very nice. Im so happy that finally i can prepare homemade kimchi. Now i’m going to ferment it.
But i got a question about the cabbages. I accidently sprinkle double volume salt in the cabbages. So after 2hours, i tried to wash many times but the cabbages are still taste very salty. Is this normal or is about the amount of salt i put?
Thanks again!
When the kimchi ferments, it will taste better. But if you like to fix it, cut some radish into disks and insert them into the salty kimchi. That’s my way to dilute.
Check this out, please. https://www.maangchi.com/talk/topic/kimchi-fermentation
Hello maangchi !!! 안녕하새요 my name is Feli 배소린 im 14 years old i love everything about korea especially cooking !! So i went to korean grocery store yesterday and brought so much so i decided to make KIMCHI !!!! And i made it !! Now i waiting for it to ferment THANK YOU SOO MUCH !!! 사랑해요 감사합니다 !!!
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