Kimchi Recipes Make

This easy Kimchee recipe will teach you to make authentic Kimchi (Kimchee) at home. It’s easy to do with these simple steps!

Kimchee is actually the national food of Korea. And, it should be noted that the proper spelling of kimchi is “kimchee.” In this post, I occasionally refer to it as kimchi, but that is the Japanese spelling for this beloved Korean dish.

Korean side dishes presented as part of a meal, it can also be used in a variety of cooked dishes like kimchi fried rice or kimchi quesadillas.

Kimchi Salad Recipe: How To Make Kimchi Salad Recipe At Home

The ingredients in kimchee will give you an excuse to check out your local Asian market. I had so much fun tooling around my local store and trying to figure out what everything was.

Plan Ahead: Kimchi needs time to ferment, so I would recommend starting a batch about a week before you plan to use it. It will last about a month in the refrigerator.

You will need a couple of liter glass jars with tight fitting lids to hold the kimchi while it ferments. It’s preferable to not use plastic, as the odors from the kimchi can be hard to remove after the fermenting process. You can also use a crock like this.

How To Make Fresh Sweet Kimchi

Kimchi can be eaten immediately after preparing it, however, it is usually fermented for at least a few days to a few weeks before serving, so that the flavors can develop fully. Store fermented kimchi in the fridge for up to one month. You will know when it is past its prime when it becomes overly sour and the cabbage turns mushy.

Kimchi is great for you! It’s packed with probiotics and antioxidants and is also a great source of vitamins A and C.  

While they are both the same dish, kimchee is the traditional way that South Koreans spell it. While, kimchi is the standard Japanese spelling.

Quick Kimchi Recipe

Kimchi is a bit like a cross between a pickle and sauerkraut. The fermentation process gives kimchi its umami, salty + sour flavors, with a bright acidity. It’s can often be quite spicy as well, depending on the type and how much Korean red pepper powder is used.  

If you loved this kimchi recipe I would appreciate it so much if you would give it a star review! Also, be sure to snap a picture of your finished dish and share it with me onInstagramusing the hashtag # and tagging me @.

This easy Kimchee (Kimchi) recipe will teach you to make authentic kimchee at home. It's easy to do with these simple steps!

Best Kimchi Recipe

You can refrigerate kimchee for up to 2 months. You’ll know when the kimchi is past its prime when it becomes overly sour and the cabbage becomes mushy. 

Calories: 7 kcal | Carbohydrates: 1 g | Cholesterol: 7 mg | Sodium: 3846 mg | Potassium: 42 mg | Vitamin A: 5 IU | Vitamin C: 3.2 mg | Calcium: 10 mg | Iron: 0.2 mg

This post was originally published in 2015. It was updated in 2023 to add new photos and information. The spicy kimchi recipe remains the same. Enjoy!

Kimchi Recipe (how To Make Kimchi)

Hi, I'm Erin! Can I pour you a glass of wine? Let's have some fun in the kitchen! Maybe some pasta? A juicy steak? I've got loads of yummy, easy recipes for you! Because cooking should feel as comfy as your favorite yoga pants. ♥Kimchi is a type of fermented food that originates from Korea. Kimchi’s name varies depending on the main vegetables used. Here, you will find my best napa cabbage kimchi recipe made in pogi kimchi (whole cabbage kimchi) style.

This is the most popular variety and is very versatile! You can either eat it as is or use it in your cooking. It’s also a healthy and tasty food with many benefits. Let’s make it at home!

Kimchi / Kimchee (김치) is a traditional Korean side dish made from fermented cabbage, radish, or cucumber. It is often categorized by the main vegetable ingredient used to make it.

Authentic Korean Kimchi Recipe

Kimchi is a staple food in Korean cuisine. Most Koreans have it with almost every Korean meal at least once a day. The most popular kimchi includes baechu kimchi (made with napa cabbage, 배추김치), kkakdugi (made with radish, 깍두기), and oi kimchi (made with cucumber, 오이김치).

One of the advantages of homemade kimchi is that you can control the flavor by controlling the ingredients that go into it. By making it at home, you can use the ingredients that suit your dietary requirement (e.g. vegan kimchi) as well.

First, it is slightly salty because it has been pickled in salty brine for as little as 30 minutes to overnight. Second, it is slightly spicy in general, excluding white kimchi, which does not use any Korean chili flakes.

Quick Cucumber Kimchi

Third, it has umami flavor. It’s also seasoned with Korean fish sauce to aid fermentation, so as time goes by, the deeper the kimchi’s flavor develops. Forth, ripened kimchi is sour and has a pungent smell. This stage of kimchi is great for cooking.

Though one thing I know is that even though many people love kimchi, there are many people who don’t like it because of its strong garlic smell and taste. Also, the longer it ferments, the stronger the smell and flavor will be, as if something is rotting in your fridge.

Making kimchi successfully is more challenging than you might think. That’s because there are many variables that could go wrong. I will highlight some important aspects of making kimchi at home.

Mak Kimchi Recipe & Video

Based on my experience, the initial, and most critical step in the process of making a successful kimchi is to brine the napa cabbage.

Brining kimchi cabbage uses the osmotic action of salt to dehydrate the cabbage and season it at an appropriate salinity. Through this process, the fresh smell of cabbage is removed and the growth of various germs that cause the kimchi to become soft is prevented.

Furthermore, it creates an environment in which lactic acid bacteria and enzymes are easy to grow, and this interaction between them allows the kimchi to ripen properly.

Kimchi Recipe (napa Cabbage Kimchi)

Also, if you over-brine kimchi, it can turn out very salty, and there’s nothing you can do to fix this failure. Therefore, it’s important to know the right way to salt it when making kimchi.

Traditionally, making kimchi has been a whole day process. Particularly if it involves kimjang, a Korean traditional kimchi making activity during winter months, it could take two days to complete, depending on the batch size.

Any how, if you decided to follow my recipe, I suggest you don’t change the pickling time as it can affect the taste. I tested different brining time and 6 hours turned out to be the sweet spot. If you pickle for too long, your kimchi will turn out to be very salty. If you pickle for a shorter time, kimchi can taste bland and it might not ferment well. It can even get mouldy quicker too.

Baechu Kimchi (napa Cabbage Kimchi) Recipe

When seasoning the pickled cabbage with the kimchi paste, make sure you mentally portion out the seasoning well from the beginning so that you don’t run out of the paste until the end.

Bear in mind that kimchi won’t look very red immediately after being seasoned. It will gradually turn redder over time during the long fermentation process.

Making kimchi can be challenging enough, finding the right kimchi ingredients can add an additional layer of frustration to the whole experience.

How To Make Kimchi At Home

As someone who was born & raised in Korea, I can’t imagine substituting Korean ingredients for kimchi, even though I can for other Korean dishes.

I think gochugaru is irreplaceable, especially when it comes to kimchi, but then again, there are many people who try other combinations of chili flakes just because they can’t make kimchi otherwise.

These people often use hot paprika powder and/or dry chili flakes as a combination. Just remember that gochugaru is more of a mild type of chili flakes, so if you use these combinations, you will have to play around a bit until the ratio is right to your taste.

How To Make Kimchi (no Fish Sauce!)| Live Eat Learn

Many people point out that Korean fish sauce is more pungent and salty than Thai or Vietnamese fish sauce. These people often state that you should never substitute these for Korean fish sauce, as it can ruin your kimchi to the point that your kimchi may rot instead of fermenting over time.

That being said, I’ve seen other people using Red Boat 40N and Three Crabs fish sauce quite successfully in their kimchi. I wouldn’t know how, or if, the taste differs compared to when you use Korean fish sauce. I’m too scared to let my hard work on kimchi fail this way, so I haven’t tried it myself. But one of these days, I shall sacrifice on your behalf.

But until then, I will let you make your own choice. I will reiterate it. Your safest bet here is using Korean fish sauce – anchovy sauce, sand lance sauce or similar etc. But if these options are not viable, then take your chance.

Choi's Napa Cabbage Kimchi Recipe

Saeujeot is typically found at a large Korean grocer, either in the fridge or freezer section. General Asian grocers or small Korean grocers may