Nowadays, kimchi is not only a famous dish in South Korea but also popular all over the world. With a delicate combination of spices that stimulate the taste buds, it is sure to make you fall in love. Let’s cook with TasteVN and discover how to make this snack now!
1. Korean Napa Cabbage Kimchi
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Preparation
15 minutes
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Cooking
30 minutes
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Difficulty
Easy
Ingredients for Korean Napa Cabbage Kimchi Serves 4
Napa cabbage 1 kg Green onion 1 stalk Chives 1 bunch Garlic 1.5 bulbs Korean chili powder 5 tablespoons Fish sauce 3 tablespoons Sugar 8 tablespoons Coarse salt 200 gr (1 rice bowl)
Tools needed
Ingredient images
How to prepare Korean Napa Cabbage Kimchi
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Prepare the Napa Cabbage
After buying the Napa cabbage, separate each leaf and wash them thoroughly.
Then, place each leaf into a bowl, alternating by sprinkling salt evenly over each leaf so that each cabbage leaf is evenly coated with salt all around.
Next, let the cabbage rest and marinate for about 6 hours until it becomes soft, then take the cabbage out and rinse it thoroughly to remove all the salt.
Tip: To achieve a moderate saltiness in the kimchi, after salting the cabbage, you should rinse it with water.
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Prepare the remaining ingredients
After washing, cut the green onions into pieces about 1 finger length and then split each piece in half.
Wash the chives and cut them into bite-sized pieces of the same length as the green onions.
Peel the garlic and put it in a blender, blending at high speed until the garlic is minced, then scoop it into a bowl.
Next, add 8 tablespoons of sugar, 3 tablespoons of fish sauce, and 5 tablespoons of Korean chili powder to the bowl of minced garlic, then mix well until the ingredients are combined.
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Pickled Napa Cabbage
After washing the napa cabbage, squeeze it to remove excess water, then gradually add the napa cabbage, green onions, chives, and the kimchi marinade mixture into a bowl.
Mix all the ingredients well so that they blend together, then transfer into a glass jar, seal tightly, and place in the refrigerator for 3 days before using.
Tip:
- To keep the kimchi fresh and crunchy for a long time, make sure to squeeze out all the water when preparing the kimchi!
- If you want the kimchi to ferment faster, after placing it in the glass jar, you can leave the jar outside in a dry place away from sunlight, and it can be ready to eat in 1 – 2 days.
- The speed of fermentation will depend on the temperature; the hotter it is, the faster the kimchi will ferment.
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Finished Product
The Korean napa cabbage kimchi will have a beautiful red color once completed. It has a tangy and spicy flavor, and its crunchy texture is often enjoyed with family meals or as a dipping vegetable for hot pot, … all of which are delicious and very appetizing.
2. Korean Napa Cabbage Kimchi (recipe shared by a user)
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Preparation
3 hours
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Cooking
1 hour 30 minutes
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Difficulty
Easy
Ingredients for Korean Napa Cabbage Kimchi (recipe shared by a user) Serves 4
Napa cabbage 2 kg Korean chili powder 8 tablespoons Glutinous rice flour 1 tablespoon Carrots 2 pieces White cabbage 1 piece Chives 100 gr Ginger 1/2 piece (large piece) Garlic 1 bulb Onion 1 bulb Fish sauce 14 tablespoons Roasted white sesame a little Coarse salt 1 cup (rice cup) Sugar 7 tablespoons
Tools Needed
How to Choose Fresh Ingredients
How to Choose Fresh Carrots
- When buying, choose medium-sized carrots that are straight and tapered towards the end, with smooth skin, firm to the touch and slightly hard.
- Good carrots will have a bright, deep orange color, and the green tops should be fresh and tightly attached to the body of the carrot.
- Avoid buying carrots with wilted tops, bruised bodies, slimy parts, or dark spots, and those that feel soft when pressed.
How to choose fresh and delicious white radish
- To make kimchi with the right flavor, you should look for Korean radish. Good radish will have a fairly large, firm, heavy body and a bright skin without any veins. Additionally, the top of the radish will have a light green color.
- You should choose radishes that still have their stems and roots to ensure freshness.
- Avoid choosing radishes with rotten stems but shiny skin, as these are likely to have been injected with preservatives.
- Moreover, do not choose soft radishes because these are usually old and wilted.
How to choose delicious ginger
- When buying, choose ginger roots that are small and moderately ripe so that when pickled, the kimchi will have a stronger ginger aroma and taste better.
- Do not choose ginger with dry, rough skin and little moisture in the flesh because these are old ginger roots (harvested a long time ago), which are very fibrous and bitter, making dishes less appealing.
How to prepare Korean napa cabbage kimchi (recipe shared by users)
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Preparing napa cabbage
After purchasing napa cabbage, use a small knife to cut the cabbage in half or into quarters, then wash each leaf thoroughly and place them in a basket to drain.
Next, flip each cabbage leaf over, sprinkle salt evenly from the stem to the leaf, and place it in a basin, pouring 1/2 cup of water over it.
Then, use a basket to press the cabbage down and place a cutting board on top to hold it in place, allowing the cabbage to marinate in salt for about 2 and a half hours. After that, remove it, rinse several times with water to remove the salt, and let it drain for about 1 hour.
Tip:
- To avoid tearing the kimchi leaves, do not rub the salt too hard.
- To ensure even absorption of salt, every 30 minutes during the marinating time, flip and turn the cabbage over once.
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Prepare the other ingredients
Wash the carrots and white radish, peel them, and cut them into thin strips. Wash the garlic chives and cut them into pieces about 2 finger lengths long.
Peel the onion and cut it into small wedges. After washing the ginger, use a spoon to scrape off the skin and slice it thinly. Peel the garlic.
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Making kimchi salt sauce
First, add 1 tablespoon of glutinous rice flour and 350ml of water into a pot, stir well to dissolve the flour in the water, then cook over medium heat for about 4 minutes until the mixture boils, then turn off the heat and let it cool.
Next, put garlic, ginger, onion, and 150ml of the cooked water into a blender, blend until smooth at high speed, then pour the mixture into a bowl.
Finally, prepare a bowl and add carrots, chives, radish, and the blended mixture of ginger, garlic, onion, and glutinous rice flour into the bowl. Season with 7 tablespoons of sugar, 14 tablespoons of fish sauce, and 8 tablespoons of Korean chili powder.
Mix all the ingredients together to complete the kimchi salt sauce.
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Kimchi Salt
First, place the napa cabbage into a bowl, wear gloves, and turn each leaf over to spread the sauce evenly covering the napa cabbage leaves. Then roll the cabbage back up to prevent the sauce from spilling out.
After you have finished spreading the kimchi sauce, put the salted kimchi into a plastic or glass container, seal the lid tightly, and place it in a cool area to ferment for about 1 – 2 days before you can enjoy it.
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Final Product
The napa cabbage kimchi after salting will have a mild spiciness from the chili powder combined with the sour and pungent flavors of ginger, onion, and chives. The napa cabbage is crunchy and appealing.
This dish can be enjoyed with white rice, paired with soup dishes, and beverages, all of which are extremely delicious. Now, let’s get cooking!
How to choose fresh and delicious chives
- You should choose chives that are bright green, with firm and crispy leaves, not wilted, and with young stems.
- Additionally, when buying, you should use your hands to snap a stem of chives to check. If it snaps easily and the stem breaks crisply, then it is freshly harvested and delicious.
- On the contrary, if you find the stem of chives tough and hard to snap, then it is old, and you should not buy it!
How to choose delicious fresh napa cabbage
- You should choose freshly harvested napa cabbage, evenly sized, firm to the touch, weighing about 1.5 – 2kg per head.
- In addition, delicious napa cabbage has a light green color at the tip and gradually turns bright white from the stem to the root.
- Avoid selecting cabbage leaves that have a dark green color, as these leaves are old, not sweet and crunchy, and their nutritional content is lower than that of firmer leaves.
- Moreover, you should not choose napa cabbage that is too large or has bruised leaves with dark spots, as these will not make good kimchi.
Where to buy Korean chili powder?
- You can buy Korean chili powder on the e-commerce site bachhoaxanh.com or at major supermarkets or grocery stores nationwide.
- When buying, make sure to choose Korean chili powder that is well-packaged, intact, without any dents or scratches.
- You should also pay attention to the expiration date printed on the packaging to avoid mistakenly buying expired chili.
- If you have time and want to ensure the quality of your dish, you can also refer to the method of making Korean chili powder at home from TasteVN.
How to store Korean napa cabbage kimchi
- After the kimchi has been fermented for the right amount of time, place the kimchi in the refrigerator refrigerator to consume gradually.
- To keep the kimchi clean and preserve it longer, you should sterilize the container or glass jar before adding the kimchi for fermentation.
- When eating kimchi, you should take a sufficient amount to eat. If you do not finish it, you should not put the kimchi back into the container as this will cause the kimchi to spoil and mold more easily.
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Thus, TasteVN has revealed to you the how to make Korean napa cabbage kimchi that is crispy, delicious, and spicy, to enjoy in daily meals. Wishing you success with this dish!
*Source of recipe and images shared from Facebook: TuyetNhung Tran
