How to make kimchi from Chinese cabbage deliciously and easily
Chinese cabbage kimchi is a fragrant dish of Korean cuisine, which is salted vegetables seasoned with hot spices, sauces and other herbs. There are many options for this snack, all of them are easy to prepare and optimally balanced in taste.
What is kimchi (kim-chi, kimchi)
Kimchi - pickled or salted vegetables (usually Chinese cabbage), cooked with spices. All recipes differ in the method of salting and the set of components. There are more than 100 varieties of the dish. Most are pickled leaves or heads of cruciferous vegetables, seasoned with ginger, hot peppers, garlic and onions.
Important! Preparing the dish takes from 3 to 7 days depending on temperature conditions.
To make the cabbage juicy, it is important to complete the marinating to the end. Koreans consider kimchi a dietary dish due to its ability to dissolve fat deposits. The snack is quite effective as a remedy for hangovers and colds.
Selection and preparation of Chinese cabbage
Only fresh heads of cabbage are chosen - they are more juicy. Otherwise, the dish will turn out dry and tasteless.
Signs of a quality vegetable:
- dry, not limp leaves with a rich color, regardless of the inherent shade of the variety;
- lack of looseness, elasticity and density.
Medium heads of cabbage are best suited for making kimchi - the large size of the vegetable indicates its overripeness and reduced juiciness.
It is better to prepare dishes for the winter from late and mid-season varieties:
- Vorozheya;
- Princess;
- Russian size;
- Magician.
First, the cabbage is washed under strong pressure of cold water, followed by drying with a paper towel. Remove crumpled leaves with signs of damage.
How to cook according to a traditional recipe
The classic kimchi recipe does not involve the use of other vegetables, but allows their presence. Besides Chinese cabbage, Koreans add carrots, daikon, cauliflower, onions and spices to the appetizer.
Ingredients and proportions:
- 5 kg of Chinese cabbage;
- 400 g sea salt;
- 4 liters of water;
- ½ tbsp. l. granulated sugar;
- 150 g garlic;
- ½ tbsp. crushed red pepper.
Sequence of preparation at home:
- Prepare and chop the cabbage, peel and chop the garlic.
- Pour water into a deep container and dissolve salt in it.
- Immerse the cabbage completely in a salty solution and put it under pressure overnight.
- In the morning, pour out about 1 tbsp from the total volume of brine; it will be needed to make a paste. Drain the remaining liquid, rinse the cabbage under running water and dry slightly.
- Prepare the paste: mix sugar, garlic and pepper. Add 1 tbsp. brine and mix thoroughly.
- Rub each cabbage leaf with the paste and place in a suitable container. It is better to do this with gloves so as not to damage the skin.
- Leave the workpiece under pressure for several days.
After fermentation is complete, the snack is transferred to glass containers and stored in a cool place.
Recipe Variations
There are many different options for preparing kimchi, and each locality makes the dish differently. All of them have a bright piquant taste and simple recipes.
Korean instant kimchi
Ingredients:
- 4 kg of Chinese cabbage;
- 1 tbsp. salt;
- 4 tbsp. water.
To get the sauce:
- 1 tbsp. water;
- 1 tbsp. l. flour (rice);
- 1 tbsp. ground pepper (red);
- ½ tbsp. granulated sugar;
- 100 g daikon radish;
- 60 g apple;
- 1 tsp. salt;
- 1 tsp. ginger;
- 50 g green onions;
- ½ sweet pepper;
- ½ tbsp. peeled garlic;
- 30 g onions;
- 1/2 tbsp. fish sauce.
Preparation:
- Divide the cabbage into 4 parts.
- Pour water into a deep bowl and dissolve ½ of the prepared salt in it. Then sprinkle salt on each part of the head of cabbage and place them in the salty liquid so that the cut remains at the top. The duration of salting will be about 4 hours.
- Swap parts at least once an hour so that they are evenly salted. This will give the leaves elasticity.
- Drain the brine, rinse the cabbage several times in cold water, and dry.
- To prepare the sauce, bring water with flour stirred in it to a boil. Add ground red pepper, salt and sugar, pour in fish sauce. Fans of spicy dishes are advised to increase the portion of pepper.
- Peel vegetables and apples.
- Grind bell pepper, apple, ginger, onion and garlic in a blender.
- Cut the radishes into strips and the green onions into pieces (4 cm).
- Mix all the crushed ingredients with the rice flour custard sauce.
- Cut off the tough pieces from the cabbage and stuff it with the prepared mixture. Roll up the well-coated leaves and place them in a container.
Leave the snack for 4 days in a cool place.
With carrots
Prepared from ordinary vegetables and seasonings, the dish goes well with strong alcoholic drinks and is suitable as a side dish and a simple snack.
Components:
- 1.5 kg of Chinese cabbage;
- 5 tbsp. l. table salt;
- 1 onion;
- 1 tbsp. l. ginger root, crushed to a pulp;
- 5 garlic cloves;
- a small bunch of green onions;
- 1 daikon;
- 1 carrot;
- 2 tbsp. l. paprika (sweet);
- 2 tbsp. l. flour (wheat or rice);
- 50 ml soy sauce;
- 2 tbsp. cold water;
- 1 tsp. hot pepper;
- 1 tbsp. l. granulated sugar.
Preparation:
- Cut the head of cabbage in half, rinse with water and remove any damage.
- Place the cabbage in a large bowl, sprinkling salt on each leaf.
- Leave to salt for 2 hours, turning the leaves every 20 minutes. The vegetable will be saturated with juice, which will give it softness.
- Cut the peeled carrots and daikon into thin strips.
- Chop the green onions into pieces (5 cm).
- Finely chop the white onion.
- Pass the ginger and garlic through a press.
- Pour water into a saucepan, add flour, stir the ingredients, put on fire and bring to a boil. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until a consistency similar to thick jelly is obtained.
- Remove the cabbage from the saline solution and rinse under running water.
- Place sugar, garlic, ginger, pepper, onion in a large container, pour in soy and flour sauce. Then add the chopped vegetables and mix everything thoroughly.
- Coat each cabbage leaf thickly with spices, fold into a roll and place in a container.
It will take 3 days to marinate the snack at room temperature.
Spicy kimchi
The taste and beneficial qualities of kimchi are determined by the duration of the fermentation.
Components:
- 2 large Chinese cabbages;
- 2 daikons;
- 1 carrot;
- 3 sweet peppers;
- 2.5 tbsp. salt;
- 20 tbsp. water.
For pasta:
- 20 dry chili peppers;
- 1.5 tbsp. boiled rice;
- 1 tbsp. l. sesame seeds;
- 0.2 tbsp. fish sauce;
- 1.5 tbsp. water;
- 1 onion;
- 2.5 tbsp. l. granulated sugar;
- 2 heads of garlic;
- 2/3 tbsp. chili powder;
- ginger root (3 cm).
Preparation:
- Cut the cabbage into 4 parts, chop each into pieces (4-5 cm).
- Place the vegetable in a wide container and sprinkle with salt.
- Cut the daikon into half rings and add to the cabbage.
- 1.5 tbsp. dilute salt in 20 tbsp. slightly warmed water. Pour into vegetables and leave for 3 hours.
- After the allotted time has passed, rinse the cabbage thoroughly under running cold water.
- To prepare the paste, fry sesame seeds and mix it with boiled rice. Grind all solid ingredients in a blender. Mix with fish sauce, water, sugar and chili powder.
- Using gloves, coat the cabbage with the hot paste.
- Add thinly sliced carrots and bell pepper rings to the appetizer.
- Prepare a jar with a wide neck, place all the ingredients in it, leaving room for fermentation, press down with pressure and set aside for a day.
- Place the juiced and fermented cabbage in a cool place for 2 weeks.
The recipe for the resulting salad requires long-term storage and is suitable for preparing all kinds of dishes, including hot ones.
With bell pepper
You will need:
- 1 kg of Chinese cabbage;
- 40 g table salt;
- 1.5 liters of purified water;
- 300 g red sweet pepper;
- 4 chili peppers;
- 1 clove of garlic;
- 5 ml soy sauce;
- spices (to taste): dried ginger root, coriander, black pepper;
- 5 tbsp. l. salt.
Preparation:
- Prepare a 5-6 liter saucepan, pour water into it, put on fire and bring to a boil.
- Cut the cabbage without the stalk into 2 parts. Chop the leaves into small strips.
- Salt the boiling water and add the cabbage into it gradually, in small portions. Compact with a masher.
- Cover the container with the snack with a plate and place a weight on top.
- After the pan has cooled, remove the weight - the plate should remain on the surface. In this case, there is no need to cover the cabbage with a lid.
- Leave the pickling for 2 days in a room at room temperature.
- After 2 days, drain the brine, rinse well and lightly squeeze the leaves.
- Grind all ingredients using a blender, except for sweet pepper (cut into thin strips).
- Combine the ingredients, mix thoroughly and place in pre-sterilized glass containers. Pour in the marinade, cover with a lid and set aside for 1 day.
- Once small bubbles appear on the walls of the jars, store the kimchi in the refrigerator.
To speed up fermentation, add vinegar, sour apple or lemon juice to the appetizer.
With shrimps and greens
For this unusual recipe you will need:
- 3 kg of Chinese cabbage;
- 100 g carrots;
- 2 tsp. grated ginger;
- 100 g salt;
- 300 g kochukaru pepper;
- 20 garlic cloves;
- 2 tbsp. l. rice flour;
- 400 ml water;
- 2 tbsp. l. granulated sugar;
- 120 ml fish sauce;
- 50 g marinated shrimp;
- 1 onion;
- 200 g white radish;
- 8 green onions.
Preparation:
- Wash the cabbage well, dry it, cut it in half, and then divide it into 4 more parts. Lightly moisten the leaves and coat with salt.
- Place the pieces in a large container and leave for 3 hours, turning occasionally.
- Remove the vegetable from the pan and rinse under running water.
- Grate the carrots and radishes until you get long strips.
- Pass the garlic through a press.
- Chop the green feathers and shrimp with a knife, and grate the onion.
- Pour water over flour and bring to a boil.
- Add 1 tbsp to the mixture. l. sugar and cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Cool the resulting mass with the consistency of jelly. Place ginger, onion, shrimp and garlic in it.
- Mix the ingredients thoroughly, pour over the paste, add kochukara and fish sauce, mix well again.
- Place the resulting paste on the cabbage leaves, spreading them evenly on both sides. Then roll into rolls.
- Place the appetizer in a large saucepan and place in a warm place for 3 days.
The shelf life of kimchi with shrimp in a cool place will be no more than 20 days.
This is interesting:
Diet for weight loss using Chinese cabbage: principles, approximate diet, reviews and results
With red fish and pear
Components:
- 1 Chinese cabbage (2 kg);
- 3 Chinese pears;
- green onion feathers;
- 1 radish (loba or daikon);
- 200 g kimchi sauce;
- ginger root (3 cm);
- 50 ml fish sauce;
- 100 g red salted fish;
- 50 g salt;
- 50 g adjika yannem;
- 10 g sugar.
Preparation:
- Chop the green onions with a knife (5 cm).
- Combine salt and sugar and dissolve in water.
- Cut the head of cabbage into 2 parts and rinse. Coat each cabbage leaf with saline solution.
- Place the vegetable in a deep bowl and leave under pressure in a warm place for about 12 hours. After the allotted time has passed, rinse with water.
- Peel the radishes and pears and cut into thin strips.
- In a large bowl, mix vegetables and fruits, add fish sauce and yannem.
- Grate the ginger root on a fine grater and combine with kimchi sauce.
- Grind red fish and mix with ginger pulp.
- Carefully coat all cabbage leaves with the prepared paste, layer with a mixture of green onions, radishes and pears.
- Place the pickling mixture in a suitable container and place it under pressure for 2 days. Then put it in the refrigerator.
Kimchi with fish will be ready to eat in 7 days.
This is interesting:
Diet for weight loss using Chinese cabbage: principles, approximate diet, reviews and results
Conclusion
There are many options for preparing spicy pickled Chinese cabbage. It is possible to replace individual components: for example, instead of herbs, ready-made seasonings are suitable. The main thing is to strictly adhere to the proportions, otherwise the snack will turn out inedible.