Vegetarian napa cabbage kimchi is not only crispy, delicious, and attractively tangy and spicy, but it’s also very easy to make, isn’t it? Let’s get cooking right away with this dish through 2 suggested recipes!
1. Vegetarian napa cabbage kimchi
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Preparation
40 minutes
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Difficulty
Easy
Ingredients for Vegetarian napa cabbage kimchi Serves 4
Napa cabbage 500 gr Salted napa cabbage 100 gr Mustard greens 100 gr Finely chopped carrot 50 gr Minced ginger 50 gr Korean chili powder 20 gr Spicy chili powder 5 gr Chopped fresh chili 5 gr Chili sauce 50 gr Common spices 10 gr (sugar/vegetarian seasoning/fish sauce….)
Tips for choosing fresh ingredients
Tips for choosing good napa cabbage
- You should buy napa cabbage in season, most plentiful and delicious from September to April the following year. During this time, cabbage will be very tasty, with fresh, thin white leaves, thick stalks, not too rough or full of pests.
- Choose fresh cabbage heads with a light green color at the top and gradually bright white from the body to the root. Do not choose cabbage leaves that are dark green, as these are older, not sweet and crispy, and their nutritional value is lower than that of younger, firmer cabbage leaves. Avoid cabbage leaves that are bruised or have brown spots on them.
- Do not choose cabbage that is too large; select medium-sized, firm heads, as they will be better for making kimchi.
- Choose fresh napa cabbage that is uniform in size, weighing about 1.5 – 2kg per head. The leaves should be thin and green. Thick leaves take longer to soak up the sauce, and the fermentation process takes more time. When applying the sauce to the cabbage, thick leaves may not absorb the seasoning well, resulting in less tasty kimchi.
How to make vegetarian napa cabbage kimchi
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Prepare the ingredients
Cut off the excess leaves from the napa cabbage, then hold the cabbage under running water and gently wash the leaves clean.
After that, soak the napa cabbage in saltwater for about 15 minutes to clean. Rinse with clean water and then place the cabbage in a bowl as shown to drain.
Add 50g of sugar, 50g of vegetarian seasoning, 100ml of fish sauce, 5g of salt, 50g of chili sauce, 5g of chopped fresh chili, 5g of dry chili powder, 20g of Korean chili powder, 50g of minced ginger, 100g of salted napa cabbage, 100g of pickled mustard greens, 50g of carrots, and stir the mixture well.
Tip: You can rinse the salted napa cabbage and pickled mustard greens with cold water to reduce the saltiness; do not rinse them too many times to avoid losing their saltiness.
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Mix the kimchi
Stand the kimchi upright in a bowl, use your hands to gently separate the napa cabbage leaves, then spoon the prepared sauce mixture into the edges of the napa cabbage leaves.
Gently rub the sauce evenly onto the leaves and between the leaves so that the cabbage absorbs the seasoning.
Then gently squeeze the napa cabbage with your hands.
Place the marinated napa cabbage into a clean (glass) food container, keep it dry and cover it tightly, and let it ferment for about 10 – 15 days at room temperature (warm, hot) to turn it into kimchi.
After 15 days, you can take the kimchi out, cut it into about 3cm pieces, and enjoy.
Tip
- Letting it ferment for about 1 month will make the kimchi taste better.
- If you want the kimchi to sour quickly, add a little more sugar!
- Do not ferment in the refrigerator because the napa cabbage will not ferment properly.
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Finished Product
Kimchi made from napa cabbage is not only crunchy, delicious, and pleasantly sour and spicy but is also very easy to make, isn’t it? You can eat it directly or use it as an ingredient to cook other delicious dishes, all of which are very appealing.
2. Kimchi from Napa Cabbage (Recipe shared from Tiktok Vegetarian Kitchen XANH)
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Preparation
20 minutes
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Cooking
20 minutes
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Difficulty
Medium
Ingredients for Kimchi from Napa Cabbage (Recipe shared from Tiktok Vegetarian Kitchen XANH) Serves 3 people
Napa cabbage 1 kg Daikon radish 1 root Carrot 1 root Chives 50 grams Apple 1 fruit Onion 1/2 bulb Ginger 1 piece Leek 1 piece Chili 5 fruits Leftover rice 1 cup Sugar 1 cup Korean chili powder 1/2 cup
Tools Required
How to Choose Fresh Ingredients
- You should choose carrots that are bright orange in color, with a shiny, smooth skin and no roughness.
- When holding the carrot, those that feel heavy and firm are good carrots.
- You should also choose carrots that are of moderate size, not too large and not too small.
Image of Ingredients
How to prepare vegetarian Napa cabbage kimchi (Recipe shared from Tiktok Vegetarian Kitchen XANH)
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Prepare the Napa cabbage
Fresh Napa cabbage after purchasing should be cut in half and then cut 1/2 of the bottom part, as illustrated. After that, wash it several times with water and let it drain.
Then, separate each leaf of the cabbage and sprinkle a little salt into each leaf.
Finally, marinate the Napa cabbage until it wilts, bending it as illustrated, then rinse off the salt with 5 – 6 rounds of water and squeeze out the excess.
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Prepare other ingredients
You peel the carrots and white radish, wash them clean, and then cut them into thin strands that are easy to eat.
Peel and wash the leeks and cut them into short pieces about 2 – 3 finger lengths.
Similarly, you also peel the apple and cut it into small pieces. Peel the onion, wash it clean, and cut it like wedges.
You take 1 piece of ginger, peel it, and slice it thinly. Wash the chili peppers and cut them into small pieces.
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Blend the kimchi mixture
You successively add 1 stalk of leeks, 1/2 onion, 1 piece of ginger, 5 chili peppers, 1 prepared apple, 1 cup of sugar, 1/2 cup of Korean chili powder, 1 cup of leftover rice, and 1 cup of filtered water into a blender and blend until smooth.
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Mixing the kimchi
You prepare a large bowl, add 1 white radish, 1 shredded carrot, and 50 grams of chives. Pour the blended sauce over and mix well.
Next, add the prepared napa cabbage and evenly coat each leaf with the sauce.
Then, place the kimchi into a glass jar, and put the remaining mixed ingredients on top of the kimchi, then seal tightly.
To ferment the kimchi, you should leave it at room temperature for 12 hours before it can be used.
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Final Product
Vegetarian napa cabbage kimchi after completion has an eye-catching color along with a very distinctive aroma of napa cabbage. When enjoying, you will feel the crunchy texture combined with a spicy, sour, and sweet flavor intermingling, creating an incredibly appealing dish.
Tips for making napa cabbage kimchi at home
- Korean chili powder can be purchased at spice shops or on e-commerce sites like Tiki, Shopee, Lazada, etc. Or you can also make it yourself at home.
Tips for successful execution:
- Store kimchi in a sealed container in the refrigerator’s cool compartment. If stored properly, it can last for 1 month.
- When taking kimchi, you should use clean, dry chopsticks to avoid damaging the kimchi.
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Vegetarian napa cabbage kimchi is delicious and really easy to make, isn’t it? Let’s get in the kitchen and make this delicious dish for your family. Wish you success!
*Refer to images and recipes from: YouTube channel Diệu Pháp Âm & Bếp chay XANH
