How I make Kimchi! Fermented cabbage never tasted so good!

I LOVE KIMCHI!!

I saw this little jar of red cabbage in the grocery store one day, and being an adventurous taster, I bought it and my life has never been the same!

I could eat this stuff ALL DAY LONG.

BUT
At $5 for each small jar, I would go broke!
I have no self control; if I try real hard, I can make it last me 3 days...

I decided I need to learn to make it myself.

So here you go, without further ado, here is how I make kimchi.

Start off with a head of Napa Cabbage.
Slice it lengthwise into quarters. Remove the core. Chop each quarter into 2 inch sections.
Place the chopped cabbage into a large bowl. Sprinkle with about 1/4 cup salt. Work the salt into the cabbage with your hands until it starts to soften.

Cover the salted cabbage with water.
Place something heavy on it to hold it underwater. I use a plate with a heavy measuring cup of water on top and it works great!

Leave it there for an hour or so.

While you are dying of impatience for the cabbage to finish soaking, you can mix up the next part.

You need a tablespoon of grated garlic and a teaspoon of grated ginger.
I like to use my husband's small blender to make grating easier. I'm lazy like that...

Put it into a bowl or cup:

Pay no attention to the amount; I was making a very big batch. Also, I love garlic!

Mix in a teaspoon of sugar, and 2-3 tablespoons of fish sauce, (weird, I know, but the flavor in the end is great!).
Mix in 1-5 tablespoons of Korean red pepper, and make a paste.

This is the magic ingredient. I have used regular red pepper flakes in the past and it was NOT THE SAME.
It was okay, but not the magic kimchi that I love.

By the way, if anyone knows what kind of pepper this is, please tell me! I want to grow it!

Once your cabbage is done soaking, you need to rinse it 3 times, and then set it in a colander to drain.
You are supposed to let it drain for 20 min, but I can never wait that long...

When you cant take it anymore, put the cabbage back into the salting bowl, (now wiped dry from the salt water).

Get that glorious red paste out and dump it onto the cabbage and start mixing it in with your hands.
Keep mixing until it is very well spread throughout the cabbage.

Now it's time to pack that mixture into jars!
I just use random jars I have saved...
Pack it in and press it down well. Juices should start coming up. Leave an inch of headspace.

Now comes the excruciating part.

YOU HAVE TO WAIT 5-7 DAYS BEFORE IT WILL BE READY!!

Check on it every day. Open the jars to release the gasses and press the cabbage down into the brine.
You can taste it each day and when it tastes right to you, pop it in the fridge!
They say it tastes best if you let it sit in the fridge for a couple weeks, but lets be real here, you know darn well it won't last that long!
At least, in my house it doesn't.

Some notes:

• This is a simple kimchi, just cabbage. There are versions with diakon radishes, scallions, etc, added.
  I tried regular onions once, but I didn't like how they came out. One day I will try the radishes and scallions!
• Do not use iodized salt! It will inhibit fermentation.
• Do not use chlorinated water! It will also inhibit fermentation.
• Some people like to use things other than fish sauce for flavor, such as kelp powder, shrimp paste, or oysters.
  I started off with the fish sauce, and liked it, so I have not tried the other things.
• Like I said above, the korean peppers are key to the neat kimchi flavor! You can use red pepper flakes, but use less than the recipe says, (they are hotter). It is good, but not nearly as good as the korean pepper.
• You can use gloves when mixing the cabbage by hand. I don't but sometimes I end up wishing I did...

The batch pictured is not quite done yet! I have been fermenting it on the counter three days so far.
I cannot wait to eat it though!
You can see how the brine has risen and little fermenty bubbles are everywhere...

Well, there you have it! This is how I make kimchi at home, saving me tons of money! No more $5 small jars for me!
Although, I have to admit, I did buy one jar to hold me over until this is done fermenting! The wait is killing me!

This is a result of looking at many kimchi recipes online and doing what works for me. I highly encourage looking up multiple recipes and seeing if you want to add, take away, or change anything. It seems to be a pretty forgiving thing to make. As long as you have the basics, the end result will be fine.

Hopefully you enjoyed!!
Thanks for reading!