Every year for Halloween supper, we prepare this. Additionally, the whipped cream would be delicious on pumpkin pie, and it would be a terrific breakfast option on Thanksgiving morning.
| Prep Time: | 1 hr |
| Additional Time: | 3 days 2 hrs |
| Total Time: | 3 days 3 hrs |
| Servings: | 24 |
| Yield: | 6 pints |
Ingredients
- 6 pounds napa cabbage
- 2 (16 ounce) packages rainbow carrots
- ⅓ cup kosher salt, or more to taste
- 2 bunches scallions, trimmed
- 4 ounces ground fresh chili paste (sambal oelek), or more to taste
- 4 tablespoons white miso
- 6 large cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
- 1 (4 inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
Instructions
- Quarter each head of cabbage; remove and discard the cores. Chop cabbage into 1-inch pieces. Transfer in batches to a large salad spinner. Fill with water, agitate with your hands, drain and spin. Repeat with remaining cabbage.
- Peel and trim carrots. Cut into 1-inch lengths, then julienne cut.
- Divide cabbage and carrots evenly between 3 large anti-reactive bowls. Sprinkle 1/3 of the salt over each bowl, then massage with your hands until cabbage is well coated and starting to soften. Fill bowls with cold water to cover. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit on the counter for 2 to 3 hours.
- Drain cabbage and carrots in a strainer. Reserve 1 to 2 cups brine in a sealed container.
- Meanwhile, trim scallions. Cut dark green parts into 1-inch lengths and set aside. Cut off white parts (the bottom 3 to 4 inches), cut into 1/2-inch pieces, and place in a food processor. Set light green parts aside for another use.
- Add chili paste, miso, garlic, and ginger to the food processor. Process until fully blended; it will be thick.
- Transfer cabbage and carrots back to the bowls and add dark green scallions. Spoon 1/3 of the chili paste mixture into each bowl. Use food-safe gloves and massage it all over until vegetables are completely covered.
- Pack kimchi into six sterilized pint-sized jars. Cover with a 2-piece lid and screw partway to keep lid in place but not to seal.
- Transfer jars to a rimmed baking dish and let sit at room temperature until bubbly and fragrant, about 72 hours. Every 24 hours, open the jars and slide a clean chopstick or knife down all 4 sides of each jar to release air bubbles. Press veggies down with a spoon so they are submerged in liquid, adding a spoon or two of reserved brine if necessary, but veggies do release a fair amount of liquid. Because the lids are not sealed fully, there may be some overflow. That’s okay, just wipe the jars and continue on with the process. It just means the fermentation is very active.
- After the 72 hours, clean outsides of jars and inner rims as necessary. Seal lids tightly and store in the refrigerator.
- Cook’s Notes:
- I like to use daikon radish too as it adds more spice to the kimchi. You can just add some or use it in place of some of the carrots.
- You don’t have to add all of the chili paste mixture if you’re worried about it being too spicy. Store extra in the fridge and let people add it if they want their serving spicier.
- You can add some unsweetened apple or pear juice to the chili past mixture it you’d like, or even some fish sauce if you aren’t vegan.
- Nutrition data for this recipe includes the full amount of brine. Most of the brine is drained after cabbage has soaked, so the actual amount consumed will vary.
Reviews
I plan to try this with vegan fish sauce (yes, there is such a thing, search on Amazon) because I want it to be a bit more authentic but I am allergic to fish. I will probably cut back on the spice a bit though and scale the recipe to make about a quarter of this since I am a household of one.
I’ve been making kimchi since 1968, & I know from the get-go that this recipe will be a winner.