Napa Cabbage Kimchi

Napa Cabbage Kimchi 150 150 David Rosengarten

Kimchi-In-Jars globalasianculture.com

Americans have good reason to associate kimchi with Napa cabbage; one of my Korean sources tells me that over 75% of all kimchi made in Korea is made with “choson paech’u,” or Napa cabbage. Delicious in taste, lovely in texture, this cabbage preserves extremely well, since about 90% of the cabbage’s liquid is drawn out of it during the salting phase of kimchi-making. The following Napa cabbage kimchi will, in fact, keep well in your refrigerator longer than the other kimchis below; I enjoy it for up to 4-6 weeks after I’ve made it. Koreans often put a little salted shrimp in their Napa cabbage kimchi; the product they use is hard to find, so I’ve substituted Thai or Vietnamese fish sauce.

7 tablespoons kosher salt
2 quarts cold water
1 Napa cabbage (2 1/2 to 3 pounds), split lengthwise
3 tablespoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
3 tablepoons ground red dried chilis (more or less to taste), or crushed red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons sugar
4 tablespoons Thai or Vietnamese fish sauce
4 tablespoons hot water
8 large scallions, white and pale green parts minced, green tops split and cut into 2″ lengths
1 cup peeled and julienned daikon radish (cut in rounds 1/8″ thick, then in julienne strips 3″ long)

1. In a large mixing bowl, dissolve 3 tablespoons of the salt in the cold water and immerse the cabbage halves, spreading the leaves slightly to allow the water to reach all the surfaces. Weight the cabbage pieces with a plate to submerge them, and soak for 5 minutes. Remove the cabbage and thoroughly rinse under running water. Gently squeeze the cabbages to remove excess water and place on paper towels for a few minutes to drain. Sprinkle and rub the remaining 4 tablespoons of salt between the leaves of cabbage, lifting each leaf with one hand while sprinkling and rubbing with the other, until all the surfaces have been coated. Place the cabbages in a glass or ceramic dish and set aside at room temperature for 3 hours.

2. Rinse, squeeze and drain the cabbages as you did in the previous step. Chop the cabbage halves crosswise into 1 1/2″ pieces and reserve. In a large bowl, combine the garlic, ginger, ground chili, sugar, fish sauce, hot water and the minced scallion, stirring well to dissolve the sugar. Add the cabbage, scallion tops and the radish, mixing all of the ingredients thoroughly with a rubber spatula. Serve immediately.

NOTE: You can also pack the kimchi (and all of the remaining liquid) into sterilized jars with screw tops and allow the mixture to ripen for up to a month. At one week, two weeks, three weeks or four weeks…they are great, unexpected holiday gifts!!!

Photo by Elizabeth Shim, http://globalasianculture.com

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