Mom's Kimchi Recipe | Korean Food 김치 (2024)

FAQs

How long do you soak napa cabbage in salt water for kimchi? ›

The vegetables need to soak in saltwater for at least 6 hours and preferably overnight. The kimchi can sit at room temperature for up to 2 days and is ready to eat after 2 to 3 days. For longer fermentation, refrigerate.

Because it's a fermented food, it boasts numerous probiotics. These healthy microorganisms may give kimchi several health benefits. It may help regulate your immune system, promote weight loss, fight inflammation, and even slow the aging process. If you enjoy cooking, you can even make kimchi at home.

If you have store-bought kimchi that's been opened, it will be good for 3-4 days at room temperature and up to 6 months when refrigerated. Signs of your kimchi going bad include mold growth, an alcoholic smell, and an extremely sour taste.

The kimchi fermentation process is very short in comparison to making sauerkraut. Kimchi ferments at room temperature in only 1-2 days or more slowly in the refrigerator. For safety, kimchi should be stored refrigerated and is best eaten within 1 week, as the quality of kimchi deteriorates with longer fermentation.

Let the cabbages rest for 2 hours. Turn over every 30 minutes, so they get well salted. From time to time you can ladle some of the salty water from the bottom of the basin over top of the cabbages if you want to. After 2 hours, wash the cabbage halves a few times under cold running water.

In recipes such as sauerkraut or kimchi, it is the salt that soaks the vegetables. If the vegetables you are using are dry and do not create enough brine, simply add a little salted water to cover them properly (see Salt and Brine in Lacto-Fermentation: The Ultimate Guide).

Kimchi is often served as a side dish alongside other healthful vegetables and proteins. Researchers noted in the study that consuming more than three servings of kimchi a day could have the opposite benefit. Participants who ate more than five servings of kimchi per day were more likely to be at a risk for obesity.

Along with fiber, vitamins, and minerals, kimchi contains natural probiotic bacteria. If you eat them regularly, the probiotics in fermented foods can be beneficial to your gut microbiome. Studies suggest that eating kimchi on a daily basis could help to improve some digestive problems.

So do you eat kimchi hot or cold? If you are eating kimchi because of the amazing live cultures and nutrient availability it offers, we recommend eating it cold. Try some of our own favorite cold kimchi recipes to get started: Cold noodles with kimchi.

Make kimchi and use it to make fried rice, hot dogs, pancakes, co*cktails, braises — basically any dish — even better. As the national dish of South Korea, kimchi is a staple in kitchens around the world.

Why is my kimchi bubbling when I open it? ›

My Kimchi is fizzing, is that normal? Fizzling Kimchi, similar to a can of carbonated soda, is perfectly normal. The fizzing sound and effervescent taste is a product of fermentation. This means your Kimchi is nicely fermented, enjoy!

Kimchi spoilage and over-fermentation

It will continue to ferment at a cool temperature. If kimchi over-ferments, it will have a very vinegary odor and taste. It is not pleasant to eat raw, so it is often used for soups and stews. If any fermentation gets soft and slimy, then it is a sign of spoilage.

As far as timing? It's most optimal to eat enzyme rich fermented food at the beginning of the meal, so they can begin the work of helping digestion as soon as they land in the stomach.

When making kimchi, you want to end up with 2–3% salt content by weight. If you're a Korean grandma, you can eyeball it. For the rest of us, here's a simple Google Sheet calculator to ensure you end with up with the right salt content. Feel free to copy and modify with your own recipe.

The salt will draw out excess water from cabbage while helping preserve the crispiness. After letting it sit for an hour or two, rinse it with water to remove the salt. Drain and dry the cabbage with paper towels, gently pressing to release excess water. Repeat with more paper towels as the water is absorbed.

The most widely used ratio of 2.00%–2.25% weight of salt to weight of cabbage gives the best results. This means you add 2g to 2.25g of salt for every 100g of finely sliced cabbage in your recipe.

If you want to serve cabbage wedges as a side dish with dinner (corned beef and cabbage, anyone?), heat a large pot of water on the stove on high heat. As it begins to steam, add the wedges. As it approaches the boiling point, the enzymes will be inactivated, so no more pungent, bitter compounds will form.

If you notice any signs of worms or insects, which sometimes appears in cabbage, soak the head in salt water or vinegar water for 15-20 minutes first. To preserve its vitamin C content, cut and wash the cabbage right before cooking or eating it.