The first time I had kimchi, it was so intensely spicy that itfelt like I was coughing out of my eyeballs.But, despite the shocking rush of intense heatand strongfermentedsourness,I found myself reaching for more,taking bigger bites, and putting it on almost everything that came out of the kitchen.Soon, I was fantasizingabout kimchi all the of thetime. Fast forward a few years, andI was psyched to find jarred kimchi at my local supermarket. But, thenwhen I got home and opened the jar, I wasdisappointed thatit smelled alotlike feet. I shrugged off my hesitation (some cheeses smell like gym socks, and they're awesome!) and took a huge bite. The store-boughtkimchi was…well, kinda gross.This experienceprompted me to look into making my own homemadekimchi. If you don't already know, kimchiis the ultimate Korean staple. I reallywanted to go authentic with this, so I went on a hunt for a Korean grandmother with a family recipe going back generations.Lucky for me (and now all of us), a Refinery29 colleague, Sarah, called up her grandmother in Koreaand got this delicious recipe, whichhas beenhanded down over fivegenerations. (OK, fine! Her grandmother lives in NewJersey and she created the recipe herself, but she was born and raised in Seoul, and she is a real-life Korean grandma.) The point is thatI made it at home and the results were excellent —even better than what I had at my local Korean restaurant.A few words of advice about thisrecipe: — It takes time,so go into itexpecting a project, and be patient.
— I recommend getting some of the harder-to-find ingredients online and having them delivered to your door. Less stress for you.
— Get some latexgloves to mix the cabbage and the spices. Otherwise, your hands will get stained and your skin might start to burn off. (I learned this the hard way.)
— Make sure you allow the kimchi to ferment at room temperature. If you put it in the fridge, it won't work.Read on for the complete recipe, and get excited to start putting kimchi on everything.
Homemade Kimchi
Ingredients
2 cups of water
2 heads of Napa cabbage, quartered
4 tbsp of salt and1 to2 tbsp for sprinkling
1 radish, matchsticked
1/4onion, sliced
2 tbsp of salted shrimp
2 1/2cups of Gochugaru (Korean red chili pepper flakes)
2 tbsp of sugar
2 tbsp of apricot extract
1/2 pear, matchsticked
15 cloves of garlic
2 pieces of ginger(about the same size as a garlic clove)
15 scallions, thinly sliced
1/3cup of fish sauce
5 tbsp of rice flour
Instructions
1.Cut cabbage into fourths. Mix
15 cups of water and the 4 tablespoons ofsalt in basin/large bowl. Place cabbage in saltwater
until thoroughly soaked, about 10 to15 minutes.
2. Take the cabbage out and
fan out the leaves, sprinkling the remainingsalt in between the layers. Transfer to another
basin and pour the leftover saltwater over the cabbage. Let sit to soften. Flip the cabbage after two hours so that it softens evenly.
Let sit for another 2 to3 hours. Total wait time should be about 5 hours.
3.While step 2 is
happening, start making the seasoning/paste for the kimchi. Combine onion,
ginger, garlic, and a little bit of water in a mixer and blend well so that itbecomes
a paste.
4.Then, in a pot over the stove,stir the rice flour with the 2 cups of water and warm
over medium heat, stirring all the time. Bring to a boil while stirring, then let
stand it stand for 1 to2 minutes to thicken and become glutinous. Combine with
the onion, garlic, and ginger paste and mix together well.
5.Add in thechili flakes, fish sauce, salted
shrimp, apricot extract, sugar, and pinch of salt,and blend together well.
6.Chop radish, scallion, and pear into thin strands and cut
scallions into 3 cm pieces.
7. Take some of your paste and, with your hands (preferably in
gloves), coat the radish, scallion, and pear until they are evenly coated.
8.Rinse cabbage to remove any salt and dirt (you might have to do
this about threetimes). Position the cabbage upside down,so that the water can drip out of the
leaves. Leave it in a colander to drip anddry for about 10 minutes.
9.Lift the cabbage layers
one by one and spread the chiliseasoning all over the cabbage (again, using gloves).
10. Put all the coated cabbage
pieces into a large jar or plastic container and make sure everything is
coasted evenly with the seasoning. Put saran wrap over cabbage before closing
the lid so that the mixture doesn't dry.
11. Leave jar out in room temperature for at leastone fullday
to ferment and then put in therefrigerator. Depending on personal kimchi taste
preference, wait as necessary before enjoying.
