Grandma’s Kimchi
- 1 head of medium napa cabbage
- 2 tablespoons sea salt
- 3 green onions
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1/4 cup Korean chili flakes (gochugaru)
- 6 cloves of garlic
- 1 tablespoon ginger, peeled and chopped
- 1 tablespoon salted fermented shrimp (saeu-jeot) – optional
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- Cut cabbage into 1″ slices, wash and spin dry. Lightly salt the pieces of cabbage with salt (2 tablespoons). Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
- Drain cabbage of excess water (do not press down on cabbage)
- Blend into a paste the green onions, soy sauce, fish sauce, chili flakes, garlic, ginger, shrimp, salt and sugar (don’t worry if you can’t find the tiny fermented shrimp, you can add an extra tablespoon of fish sauce). Add water as needed to thin kimchi paste.
- Mix the paste into the cabbage until well coated.
- Package mixture into a glass jar. Press down to eliminate any air pockets. Pour excess kimchi sauce on top of the mixture. Let it ferment on the counter or a cool dark place for 2 days and then refrigerate.
Notes
- Don’t worry if it tastes overly salty – it will mellow out during the fermentation process. If you think it’s still too salty, you can add a few pieces of daikon radish (cut into matchsticks).
- If your first batch doesn’t turn out the way you want, don’t worry! You can turn your kimchi into fried rice or soup!