Go to the Recipe: How to Make Kimchi at Home
Can i make it with other cabbage types? Also same with red chillies? Replacements?
any cabbage you want and really any chili as well. flavor will change accordingly.
Why you guys omitted the fish sauce? Koreans are gonna be angry
Hey Chefsteps, any guidance for fermenting in vacuum bags rather than jars? Seems like it might simplify some things, and I’ve seen lots of chefs ferment that way but haven’t come across a template for how to do it myself. Thanks!
Hello Jeff, I have no experience in fermenting in vacuum bags. The only guidance I can give for fermenting in sealed vacuum bags is monitor it very closely so it does not explode. The safest way is with an air lock on a glass jar, so gas can escape but no oxygen can enter.
Can you substitute gochujang for the Gochugaru
Having never made kimchi I would like to know what happens to the taste and texture from the first week to the fourth. Can anyone explain? The recipe just says keep tasting.
I think you can try that, but I am not sure whether the taste is going to be same with typical kimchi. Because gochujang is already fermented paste, so it already has its own flavor.
The taste becomes sour and the texture gets soft as it ferments. Keeping tasting is important because there's no right taste and texture for Kimchi. Someone likes less sour and less fermented while others like sour and well-fermented Kimchi.
If I had my choice, the sourer the better but I also like crisp as opposed to soft. Thanks for the information
Totally get your point. I make kimchi often and the funky flavour that fish sauce imparts is anywhere from wonderful to absolutely essential, depending on your preferences. Try it both ways, see what you prefer. For many N. Americans, the sourness from the superlative lactic acid is more than enough. Want more? Fish sauce adds a umami sourness that is best used subtly (easy on that) for Western tastes. It is optional. I always use some, but I'm a fan of fish sauce. It is fermented, bear that in mind. Adding it to your ferment will multiply those flavour aspects. As the comment below suggests, everything is optional; once you understand the process of fermentation, playing with it is pure fun. I ferment anything I can get my hand on, as long as it's fresh!
Fermentation is a chemical and physical process, or "reaction". Plastic cannot impart anything useful to this method, and may/will, depending on the quality of the plastic used (commercial "baggies" = ugh!), actually detract from your end result. Trust glass, it's non-reactive. Plastic is just not a good vessel for active foods (or anythng with acid).
We can ferment a huge range of foods, which then become "functional" foods, in that they impart nutritional values (and flavours) that exceed their 'plainer' couterparts. Kefir, a yogurt-like product is a good example. It contains bacteria and yeasts that feed your body in perfectly marvellous ways simple yogurt can't. Fermentation is our culinary and medical friend. Play to your heart's content, once you understand the basic process, everything you ferment is improved in very measurable ways. Explore!
Nice! I don’t see rice porridge in this recipe. Why you decided not to put it here? What does it add to kimchi?
What should I do to have more liquid in the kimchi (kimchi juice)?
Hello Lukas, Adding rice to the kimchi will "thicken" the brine and some Kim-chi methods will use rice, fish, shrimp. We stuck with a vegetarian recipe for this. Add what you may to the above recipe, just mind the salt percentages and have fun fermenting. To have more liquid, you can add a brine that is at a 2-3% solution.
Can you ferment with the vacuum sealer method instead of mason jars?
Is that knife a Moritaka?
Akifusa Gyuto https://www.epicedge.com/shopexd.asp?id=93727
Hi. Usually traditional kimchi recipes brine the cabbage beforehand like overnight or a few hours then wash and don’t add more salt to the recipe. This recipe adds the salt to the paste. Is this just to streamline or does it have another benefit ? Thank you
Howdy, there are so many ways to make kimchi and just like all fermentation anything goes. If you just follow the basic rules of working clean and keeping the veggies under brine then you are free to have fun and explore. This is just the way I make it. As long as you have enough salt for the salt loving bacteria to take over before any other bad bacteria come in then you are good to go.
Thank you.
