Korean Kimchee

Submitted by Theresa Thunderbird

"My dad got this recipe from a Korean lady when he was in korea about 28 years ago.My mom makes it really really hot by adding more pepper but I like it with less."

 

• Ready In: 48hrs 30mins
• Ingredients: 5
• Yields: 1/2 gallon
• Serves: 5-6

ingredients

• 1 head cabbage
• 1⁄4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1⁄2 cup salt
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 cups water (to start with)

directions

1. Chop or slice cabbage into bite size pieces.
2. Put in a large bowl.
3. Add salt to about 2 cups water.
4. Stir to dissolve; pour over cabbage.
5. Add more water--enough to cover all cabbage and let stand overnight and all the next day.
6. Drain & rinse cabbage.
7. Add about 1 cup water the garlic and pepper flakes.
8. Let stand 2 more days then put in the fridge to chill and then eat.

Reviews

[Theresa Thunderbird]

Fancy cabbage and peppers could be used in this recipe but rember it came from a korean lady living in korea,She did not have those ingredients. This is the orignial recipe they used to bury in the ground to ferment. Not everyone likes it the way you do howard. To each his own.

 

[Howard1]

As a person who's spent a considerable amount of time experimenting with kim chee, reading it, and eating it, I'm sorry to say that this recipe is grossly deficient in several respects. The most obvious one is that you *must* use Korean red pepper flakes--not the stuff you get anywhere else. IOW, no pizzeria red pepper flakes, or any other kind. Second, the recipe calls for *nappa* cabbage, not "regular" cabbage. In fact, regular cabbage seems to take an extraordinarily long time to ferment--and fermentation is the key to kim chee. I will try to remember to post my own recipe for kim chee, which is not hard, but gives vastly superior results to the results you will get from this recipe.

 

[KookieMomster]

I frequent a Korean restaurant in Syracuse NY. They make their ow Kimchee, very much the way this receipt describes. I asked them once, and they use redily available locally grown produce, including peppers. If nappa isn't available, they use whatever good cabage is. If cooking were such an exact science noone would do it. Just enjoy what you make, with what you can make it with. -Ang :)

 

[ssinderella]

Theresa--I love this!! I did not get "korean" red pepper flakes nor did I use nappa cabbage. I used a mixture of Bok Choy (which is what 90% of the kim chee I have eaten seems to be made from) and regular cabbage. I used the red pepper paste and it is just awesome--I just wish I had made more..

 

[Marla Swoffer]

I'm not a kimchee connoisseur, but I do know good food when I eat it. This recipe fit the bill! During the second round of fermentation (step 7), I had to add about 4 cups of water (rather than one) to cover the cabbage. I also decided to cover the bowl with plastic wrap. I put 1 1/2 T red pepper flakes because we like it spicy, and that's just how it turned out! Thanks for posting this recipe.