Easy Korean kimchi recipe, homemade with simple ingredients. Napa cabbage, green onions are fermented in a tangy, spicy red sauce. Also known as fermented cabbage or pickled cabbage.
Want to Save This Recipe?
Enter your email & I'll send it to your inbox. Plus, get great new recipes from me every week!
By submitting this form, you consent to receive emails from One Pot Recipes
If you have never eaten this, you are missing out! I first had this at a Korean restaurant and was madly obsessed. When the restaurant closed, I was so sad but I got to work and after a lot of trials and errors, this is the closest I got to the restaurant version that I loved. While this version is technically not one pot, I kept the number of bowls to a bare minimum. You only need 1 bowl and 1 food processor/blender. Trust me, it will be worth the one extra dish. If you are looking to expand your condiment world, then try the Best Chimichurri Sauce (Blender) or this Tzatziki Sauce (One Bowl) while you are at it.
Jump to:
What Is Kimchi? What Does It Taste Like? Is It Spicy?
It is a traditional Korean dish made from cabbage that is salted and seasoned, packed into a jar and left to ferment. Each recipe is unique to each family and the length of fermentation varies from days to years. It tastes tangy and sour from the fermentation process, and is traditionally spicy.
Key ingredients
- Salt- This has to be sea salt or kosher salt that is iodine-free.
- Water- You will need this in the beginning to create salted water to help wilt the cabbage. It will also be used later to create a smooth red spice paste.
- Cabbage- Â You have to use Napa cabbage and not any other type of cabbage.
- Fish sauce- This adds a lovely umami flavor.
- Korean red chili powder- You need to get this from Asian grocery stores. It's also called Gochugaru.
- Sugar- Simple granulated sugar is best.
- Garlic- Please use fresh and do not replace with powdered form.
- Ginger- Once again, please use fresh and do not replace with powdered form.
- Onions- I recommend using yellow or white onions.
- Green onions- This adds a lovely pop of color and subtle flavor too.
Variations
- Cucumber version- Add very thinly sliced cucumbers. Using a mandolin slicer would be ideal. You can also stuff cucumbers with the paste and then ferment them instead of cabbage.
- Radish flavor- Add thinly sliced radish for additional vegetable and flavor.
- Vegetarian/vegan version- Omit the fish sauce, although it does add a lovely umami flavor and aroma.
- Add carrots- Make sure to thinly slice them before adding them to the jar.
- Use Bok choy- Instead of Nappa Cabbage for another variation.
How to make easy homemade kimchi recipe from scratch?
- Mix sea salt and water- Let cabbage sit in this water and wilt.
- Make red pepper paste- By blending together onion, garlic, ginger, fish sauce, sugar, red pepper powder, water.
- Drain- And rinse cabbage.
- Coat cabbage and green onions- With red pepper paste.
- Pack into jar- And tighten the lid.
- Let it sit- At room temperature for few days.
- Refrigerate- When you are satisfied with the taste.
What to Serve with this?
It is traditionally served with Korean BBQ, in soup bowls, Bibimbap, with dumplings, or by itself.
- Rice is an excellent pairing. You can use it as a topping on the rice, or as a side with the rice. Make any of the following for a wonderful pairing: Kimchi Fried Rice (One Pot), Chicken Fried Rice (One Pot), Vegetable Fried Rice (One Pot), Garlic Rice (One Pot), Cauliflower Fried Rice (One Pot).
- It would also be delicious with these Asian inspired main dishes: Instant Pot Mongolian Beef, Egg Drop Soup (One Pot), Mango Chicken (One Pot), Black Pepper Chicken (One Pot).
Tips and techniques
- What cabbage to use? You cannot use American cabbage. It has to be Napa cabbage.
- Seal the mason jar as tightly as you can- Because this allowed fermentation process to do it's best job.
- Adjust spice- Add more or less according to your desire for mild or spicy version.
- What to use in place of fish sauce (substitute)? You can use shrimp paste instead of fish sauce, or simply leave out the fish sauce entirely.
- Please soak the cabbage first- Do not skip this step. This step begins to soften and brine the cabbage so that the bad bacteria dies off and good fermentation can start.
Recipe FAQs
This needs at least 24 hours to ferment. Taste it the next day with a clean spoon or fork and if you want it more sour and ripe, leave it out for another 3-4 days. Check daily until you are satisfied with the flavor. You may see bubbles inside the jar and some brine may seep out of the top of the lid. That's normal and means the fermentation is working. For me, 2 days of fermentation is best.
Some people use it but I don't recommend it. The authentic choice is always Gochugaru (Korean Red Chili Powder). This is truly what gives this dish its bright red color, light smokiness and perfect level of heat that's not overwhelming. It also doesn't affect the texture. I have noticed from some experimentation that using gochujang resulted in a much stickier, sweeter version that my family didn't like at all.
NO! That's because it wilts the cabbage too much and removes too much moisture. Also, most table salts have iodine which can affect the fermenting process.
To make it more sour leave it out at room temperature for longer. To make it less sour leave it out at room temperature for less time.
Storage
- Refrigerate- In the sealed mason jar for up to 2 months. Make sure to always use a clean utensil so that bad bacteria doesn't contaminate the jar.
- Freeze- This is not recommended. Due to the high water content of the vegetables, it does not freeze and thaw well.
More One Pot Cabbage Recipes
- Fried Sausage And Cabbage (One Pot)
- Best Cabbage Soup (One Pot)
- Fried Cabbage with Bacon (One Pot)
- Thai Chicken Salad (One Bowl)
- Oil And Vinegar Coleslaw (One Bowl)
Recipe
Homemade Kimchi
Want to Save This Recipe?
Enter your email & I'll send it to your inbox. Plus, get great new recipes from me every week!
By submitting this form, you consent to receive emails from One Pot Recipes
Ingredients
Cabbage
- ½ cup Sea salt Or kosher salt, Has to be iodine-free
- 1 cup Water
- 4-5 pound Napa cabbage Cut into 1-2 inch pieces
Spice paste
- ½ cup Onion Sliced
- 2 cloves Garlic Peeled
- 1 teaspoon Ginger Freshly grated
- 1 tablespoon Fish sauce Or shrimp paste, Optional
- 1 teaspoon Granulated sugar
- ½ cup Korean red pepper powder
- ¼ cup Water
- 4 Green onions Cut into 2 inch pieces
Instructions
- Mix together sea salt and water in a large bowl and stir until salt has dissolved.
- Add cabbage and let it sit in this salted water for about 1-2 hours or until it's significantly wilted.
- In a blender, add onion, garlic, ginger, fish sauce, sugar, red pepper powder, water and pulse until you have a smooth paste. Keep aside.
- Drain and rinse cabbage in cold water to remove most of the salt water.
- Add it back in the same bowl (just rinse it).
- Add the red pepper paste, green onions and mix until cabbage is coated well.
- Transfer this seasoned kimchi to a large mason jar and push it down and keep stuffing it until it's completely full. Use another jar, if necessary.
- Tighten the lid and let it sit at room temperature.
- Taste it the next day with a clean spoon or fork and if you want it more sour and ripe, leave it out for another 3-4 days. Check daily until you are satisfied with the flavor. You may see bubbles inside the jar and some brine may seep out of the top of the lid. That's normal and means the fermentation is working. For me, 2 days is best.
- When the kimchi tastes sour and ripe enough to your liking, transfer the jar from room temperature to to the fridge. Enjoy!
Notes
- You must use Napa cabbage. Do not replace with regular American cabbage.
- Adjust amount of spice based on your preference.
- Fish sauce substitute- The only thing that comes kind of close enough is shrimp paste.Â
- You must use pure sea salt or kosher salt. Regular table salt has iodine and that affects the fermentation.Â
- Read additional tips and variations above.
- This can be stored in the fridge for up to 2 months.
Nutrition
An automated tool is used to calculate the nutritional information. As such, I cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information provided for any recipe on this site.
Offir Granada says
Muy buena la explicación, las recetas fáciles y deliciosa