Yes, YOU can make homemade kimchi easily! Try this easy and delicious recipe for Korean Fresh Kimchi which you can enjoy right away, no fermentation required!
If you love traditional napa cabbage kimchi but feel a little intimidated to make it yourself, you've come to the right place!
Allow me to show you how easy it is to make regular kimchi which is absolutely delicious, and the perfect Korean side dish to go with your favorite Korean bbq such as galbi or bulgogi!
And even if you enjoy fermented kimchi, I encourage you to enjoy this kimchi right away! So please read on for what you will need to make this recipe for fresh napa cabbage kimchi, known as baechu geotjeori!
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🥘 Ingredients
So let's get to the ingredients you'll need to make fresh Korean kimchi, starting with the cabbage!
Napa Cabbage
- Napa cabbage - pictured above is me with an 8 pound head of napa cabbage. This thing was heavy! I only used half of this large napa cabbage to make kimchi, and used the rest in stir fries. You don't need to buy an 8 lb cabbage, but if you do be sure to show yours off as I did here!
- Coarse salt - you'll use the salt to extract water from the cabbage
Sweet Rice Flour Mixture (Part of Kimchi Paste)
- Mochiko Sweet rice flour - I used the famous Koda Farms brand of sweet rice flour. By the way, mochiko is a type of sweet rice flour made from Japanese glutinous rice, and is used to make mochi and other Japanese sweets.
- Sugar
- Water
You'll combine these ingredients to make a sweet rice flour mixture which you will use to make your kimchi paste!
Remainder of Kimchi Paste Ingredients
- Sweet rice flour mixture (you'll make this by combining the sweet rice flour, water, and sugar)
- Carrot
- Green onions (spring onions)
- Fresh Ginger
- Fresh Garlic
- Onion
- Gochugaru (Korean red hot pepper flakes)
- Fish sauce
You should be able to get most of these ingredients at your local market or grocery store. Asian markets will carry sweet rice flour and Korean red pepper flakes, and I've also linked to these items on Amazon (affiliate links) if you'd like to order from there.
🔪 Instructions
Prepare Your Napa Cabbage
Begin by removing any discolored leaves from the cabbage, then using a sharp knife cut off the base. Then cut the cabbage in half lengthwise, and remove the tough core.
Chop the cabbage into largish bite-sized pieces, and place in a large bowl. Add 2 tablespoon of salt, and mix the salt into the cabbage by hand.
Leave the salted cabbage for one hour (at room temperature), tossing every 20 minutes. At the end of the hour, rinse the cabbage under running water.
Then using your hands, squeeze the cabbage, doing your best to remove as much moisture as you can.
Make The Rice Flour Mixture (You Can Do This While The Cabbage Is Being Salted)
Add the water to a small saucepan over medium heat. Once the water is hot, add the sweet rice flour and whisk together, getting rid of any clumps.
Stir/whisk constantly for around 7-10 minutes until the mixture thickens, then add the sugar and cook for another minute.
Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
Create Your Kimchi Paste (You Can Do This While The Cabbage Is Being Salted)
Prepare your veggies by thinly slicing the green onions, and mincing the carrot, ginger, garlic, and onion. Using a food processor will help make this step super easy!
Combine the green onions, garlic, ginger, carrot, and onion along with the gochugaru, fish sauce, and cooled rice flour mixture in a small bowl and mix well.
Put It All Together!
Add the kimchi paste to the napa cabbage and mix well by hand. Food prep gloves are great to use during this step, but by all means you can use your bare hands.
Taste! Feel free to add more sugar if you prefer your kimchi sweeter, and more fish sauce if you want to taste more salt.
And now it's time to enjoy your kimchi!
Suggestions For Serving
You can enjoy your freshly made kimchi for breakfast, lunch and dinner!
Serve it with your favorite Korean barbecue dishes such as pork bulgogi or kalbi (galbi), or with some Korean spicy braised chicken.
Now that you know how to make kimchi, you can have it on hand to eat with all your favorite meals!
FAQ
To store, place your kimchi in an airtight container (I love using glass jars) and store in your refrigerator.
Sweet rice flour, when cooked with water and sugar, thickens and becomes a sticky paste. When combined with other kimchi paste ingredients, the sweet rice flour mixture helps these other ingredients to adhere to and bind to the napa cabbage. This means more flavor in every bite as the kimchi paste coats the cabbage leaves better!
Some Other Korean Recipes That You Will Enjoy!
If you love Korean food, you will love these recipes!
- Quick And Easy Cucumber Kimchi Recipe - another great kimchi which will delight your taste buds!
- Korean Rice Porridge (Juk) With Chicken and Mushrooms Recipe - Korean comfort food at its best
- Easy Korean Cold Asparagus Salad Side Dish Recipe - this Korean style asparagus is a perfect side to accompany all of your favorite Korean mains!
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Cheers!
Grace
Easy Homemade Korean Fresh Kimchi Recipe (Geotjeori)
Equipment
- 1 large bowl for the cabbage
- 1 Food Processor optional but so helpful to mince the veggies!
- 1 Saucepan
- food prep gloves optional but nice to have for dressing the kimchi
- 1 Small bowl for the kimchi paste
Ingredients
Napa Cabbage and Salt
- 4 lbs napa cabbage chopped into large bite sized pieces
- 2 tablespoon salt
Sweet Rice Flour Mixture (Part of Kimchi Paste)
- 1 cup water
- 3 ts sweet rice flour
- 2 ts sugar
Remainder of Kimchi Paste Ingredients
- 1 each carrot select a large carrot (minced or shredded)
- 4 each green onions sliced thinly
- 1 inch ginger peeled and minced
- 8 cloves garlic minced
- ¼ onion minced
- ½ cup gochugaru Korean red hot pepper flakes
- 2.5 tablespoon fish sauce plus additional to taste
Instructions
Prepare Your Napa Cabbage
- Begin by removing any discolored leaves from the cabbage, then using a sharp knife cut off the base. Then cut the cabbage in half lengthwise, and remove the tough core.
- Chop the cabbage into largish bite sized pieces, and place in a large bowl. Add 2 tablespoon of salt, and mix the salt into the cabbage by hand.
- Leave the salted cabbage for one hour (at room temperature), tossing every 20 minutes. At the end of the hour, rinse the cabbage under running water. Then using your hands, squeeze the cabbage, doing your best to remove as much moisture as you can.
Make The Rice Flour Mixture (You Can Do This While The Cabbage Is Being Salted)
- Add the water to a small saucepan over medium heat. Once the water is hot, add the sweet rice flour and whisk together, getting rid of any clumps. Stir/whisk constantly for around 7-10 minutes until the mixture thickens, then add the sugar and cook for another minute. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
Create Your Kimchi Paste (You Can Do This While The Cabbage Is Being Salted)
- Prepare your veggies by thinly slicing the green onions, and mincing the carrot, ginger, garlic, and onion. Using a food processor will help make this step super easy!
- Combine the green onions, garlic, ginger, carrot, and onion along with the gochugaru, fish sauce, and cooled rice flour mixture in a small bowl and mix well.
Put It All Together!
- Add the kimchi paste to the napa cabbage and mix well by hand. Food prep gloves are great to use during this step, but by all means you can use your bare hands.
- Taste! Feel free to add more sugar if you prefer your kimchi sweeter, and more fish sauce if you want to taste more salt.
- To store, place your kimchi in an airtight container (I love using glass jars) and store in your refrigerator.
- Enjoy for breakfast, lunch and dinner!
Grace
I love this easy recipe for fresh kimchi! It's also quick which means I can enjoy my kimchi in a few hours rather than days. It pairs great with all my favorite Korean main dishes like galbi and bulgogi!