not much kimchi juice

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    • #50867
      jockc
      Member

      Your kimchi will definitely produce more juice as it ages. If you’ve only made it a few days ago, don’t worry, it’s normal for there to not be much juice. As it ferments, the vegetable will wilt more and release its juices. Personally, I prefer to eat fresher kimchi just as a banchan or with just rice and kim. As my kimchi ferments and ages, it gets nice and sour and juicy, and that is when I used it for stuff like kimchi fried rice and kimchi jjigae or just stir fry it with some samgyeopsal. It requires a little patience–or just constantly making multiple batches of kimchi–but it is worth it to wait a little for it to develop more flavor before you use it in cooked dishes.

    • #55609
      yvonne84
      Participant

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

    • #55610
      Maangchi
      Keymaster

      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

    • #77290
      Tori
      Participant

      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.

    • #80273
      Yoona
      Participant

      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

    • #90274
      Chrisalicious
      Participant

      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

    • #92420
      claubau
      Participant

      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

    • #94642
      Maangchi
      Keymaster

      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.

    • #97734
      Tee
      Participant

      Hi Maangchi,

      I JUST finished making the easy kimchi recipe. I was a bit worried because my kimchi is very thick/pasty. My cabbage ratio was off though, it’s difficult to get napa cabbage let alone nice big ones where I live.

      Something I learned, people using gloves are not wearing them for fashion.i was out and my hands are currently on fire.

    • #98494
      piiper2
      Participant

      Hello Kimchicommunity!

      I have one question about Kimchi storing and enough juice.

      I am a real novice to this as I have made Kimchi just once until yet. Fermented it in the kitchen 3 days at first until it started getting bubbly and then I put in the fridge.

      I stored my Kimchi in 500ml glass jars and I put some random ingredients and spices in it. It wasnt very spicy.

      I noticed that it wasnt producing so much brine and the bubbles were pushing the veggies over the surface so I started to regularly pushing the veggies under the surface and getting the bubbles out.

      Initially the kimchi tasted great (after 1 day in the fridge, 4 days total). Crunchy, bit fizzy, not too sour. We managed to eat about half of it in a week and then the rest started to form some pink bacterial overgrowth on the surfaced veggies (I did’t press them for couple of days). It was definitely not mold but bacteria.

      So my question would be, what did I do wrong that my batch went bad under 2 weeks? Is it imperative to keep it submerged? Does it have to be very spicy/salty? Should I add vinegar on top?

      I thought that kimchi is almost indestructible ;) I was always using high hygienic standards while making and eating it. Thanks for this great forum. Hope that you can give some tips so I can further experiment with this great dish.

      PS. I threw the bad kimchi away cause it had a bad smell too.

    • #98569
      Nayko
      Participant

      Hello Piiper2,

      I’m not a kimchi master but nappa cabbage and many other vegetables have been fermented in my kitchen since the last few years. Most of the time it’s a success (I recently finished a kimchi made 2 years ago) but sometimes it is a failure (many many success and 3 failures in my case).

      Salt is a main factor for longevity and if you follow the exact maangchi’s recipe, you can’t be wrong about this factor. Of course you can reduce the amount of salt, it will not last very long but longer than the two weeks you’re talking about.
      The bad bacteria in your kimchi must have been trapped in the jar. It was already present on the lid, on the towell used to wipp the jarr or in a ustensile, he vegetables or else …

      You opened the jar frequently in order to press the kimchi ? That could be the reason ! Don’t panic if your kimchi is not submerged permanently (if you started the fermentation at room temperature). It has to be moist, that’s for sure, but not necessarily submerged.
      I mean that if your kimchi is still moist on its surface, you should prefer to left it alone more than opening the lid. If you eat kimchi often, instead of opening the jar every day, it’s preferable to put a portion for the week out from the jar.

      Anyway, you were right to throw it away, your nose is your best friend in that case :) and the good news is that you have to make kimchi again… practicing is the better way to make good kimchi !

    • #98571
      piiper2
      Participant

      Thank you very much Nayko!

      I appreciate your tips very much, thank you for taking time to help me.
      I just finished my batch nr.2 and luckily I had the same idea about the cause of failure as you did and this time I did not open the jar at all before 2 weeks had passed. I also put more chili peppers to make it spicier and this time it turned out to be a succes!
      You gave also a good list of possible contamination causes and now I know that being submerged is not necessarily a must. Also good to know that salt plays a great role in the longevity of kimchi.
      Now I’m even more motivated!

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