homemade kimchi

Ingredients:

• 1/2 Cup – Coarse Sea Salt

• 1 each – Napa Cabbage

• 3 each – Medium Carrots

• 2 Bundles – Green Onions

• 1/2 each – Medium Onion

• 1/2 each – Asian Pear

• 1 each – Small head of Garlic

• nub of Ginger

• 1/2 Cup – Fish Sauce

• 1 cup – Gochugaru (Korean Chili Flakes)

• 2 1/2 Tbsps. – Glutenous Rice Flour

• 2 cups – Water

• 2 Tbsps. – Granulated sugar

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Directions:

1. Cut the napa cabbage into quarters lengthwise and cut it into bite-sized pieces.

2. Spit the chopped cabbage into 2 bowls and toss about half of the handful of course salt into each bowl with a small amount of water. Massage the salt into the leaves and leave to brine for about 2 hours.

3. While the cabbage salts, bring the 2 cups of water and glutenous rice flour to a simmer until it thickens. Once it begins to thicken, add the sugar and take it off the heat.

4. Cut the carrots into matchsticks and green onions into about 1-inch pieces. Set aside.

5. Cut the onion and peeled pear into large chunks. Peel the ginger and garlic. Blend it all in a food processor/blender into a puree.

6. In a large bowl, pour the blended mixture and add the fish sauce, carrot match sticks, green onion, gochugaru, and the cooked glutenous rice flour paste. Combine well, and taste to customize the level of spiciness.

7. Wash all the salt and any residual dirt from the cabbage under cold water. Rinse and repeat at least three times. On the last rinse, squeeze as much water out of the cabbage as you can.

8. Combine the cabbage with the spicy paste. Place the kimchi in an airtight container.

9. Leave the kimchi out at room temperature to ferment for about a day. This step is optional but recommended to get the kimchi to ferment faster to a state where it's ripe and ready to be enjoyed!

10. Once it ferments for a day, store the kimchi in the refrigerator.

*The kimchi will continue to ferment in the fridge, but the cold temperature slows the fermentation process. As the kimchi continues to ferment, there are many ways it can be enjoyed when it gets to the very fermented stages*