not much kimchi juice

More juice will form later, if your kimchi is just a few days to a week old it is normal to have little juice.

yes, it sometimes happens. Kimchi is not juicy enough but actually that’s good kimchi. One factor is the thickness of the cabbage. If cabbage leaves are thick, more moisture will be drawn out over time, so your kimchi will be very juicy. If your cabbage leaves are thin, there is not enough moisture, so the kimchi will be dry. Regarding some of my recipes that call for kimchi juice, if your kimchi happens to be dry, never mind. Without kimchi juice, you still can make delicious dishes.

Good baechu (napa cabbage) has fresh green and thin leaves. https://www.maangchi.com/ingredient/napa-cabbage

Hi there Maangchi. I just found your website awhile ago and have been on it quite frequently. I made some kimchi from a recipe I found on a different site before I came across yours and I just had a question that I’m quite worried about. I made a mixture of Napa cabbage, daikon and scallion kimchi and the recipe told me to check it daily and press it down till the brine covers it. My question is do I still need to check it daily once I put it in the fridge and press down the vegetables under the brine as well? I noticed that the brine seems to soak in the vegetables rather quickly in the fridge and leaves them uncovered for long periods of time. I’m afraid I’ve done something wrong and I would hate for it to start molding or other things. If I do need to press it daily it seems like I’ll need to press it multiple times a day. Please help! Thank you.

I used garlic,ginger,fish sauce,gochugaru and kosher salt. Those are the only ingredients other than the vegetables. I hope that helps in figuring it out. Thank you again.

I couldn’t find napa cabbage so i used regular cabbage but it has no juice at all despite letting it ferment for a week

I have the opposite problem, my jar is already filling over after just 2 days. Do I just scoop some out and save for later, and how long does that keep for?

Best Regards

Chris

Hi Maangchi,

I have recently purchased your cookbook and made my first kimchi. Everything is fine and taste, however I also seem to have an issue with the kimchi liquid.

I left my kimchi fermenting at room temperature for 2 days. First it was producing plenty of juice. It did not only cover all the kimchi but it even poured out through my airlock.
However now after the second day when I wanted to transfer it to the fridge the kimchi seems to have absorbed almost all the liquid. It still seems to be moist but definitively not covered entirely with brine. Flavour and smell are fine.

However, I wanted to leave it age for some days and I am now afraid that it may get spoiled.

Is this normal that the brine suddendly goes from overflowing to almost non existing? Will it still be safe to age the kimchi for some time in the refrigerator?

Thanks for your guidance

Don’t worry much about it.It sounds like you made good kimchi.Squeeze the brine with a large spoon or a ladle and put it on the top so that the top layer is always juicy, which will protect the kimchi from having fungus.
You can eat your kimchi right after making it. Keep it in the fridge and start eating it. It takes about 2 weeks to ferment fresh kimchi in the fridge but you can eat it anytime. If you like to ferment the kimchi quickly, keep the kimchi jar or container on the kitchen counter for 1 or 2 days until it tastes a little sour. Then put it into the fridge and eat it until it runs out.