Baecchu Kim Chi

Summary

Prep Time	45 mins
Total Time	45 mins
Course	Salad
Cuisine	European
Servings (Default: 1)

Ingredients

Instructions

Cabbage:
First you take a large bowl or tub (Koreans often use washing tubs, regardless of the quantity) and fill it with approx. 2 liters of water. Add a cup of salt to the water. Stir until the salt is largely dissolved. Cut the cabbage into 4 cm wide pieces and add to the water. Now the cabbage is allowed to soak in it overnight, but at least 4 hours, preferably in a cool place. Then drain the water, drain the cabbage, wrap it in a towel and wring it out. Rinse the cabbage again with cold water and repeat the wringing process. The more water you squeeze out of the cabbage, the longer the kimchi stays fresh. So you can really crack the cabbage.
Spice:
Peel the garlic and ginger and put both together with the paprika in a blender and puree or cut very finely with a knife.
Finely grate the radish. Cut the spring onions into 3 cm long pieces. Put everything in a bowl with the cabbage. Here, salt the kimchi again with a tablespoon full of salt. and mix well so that the radish and spice are evenly distributed.
Now fill the kimchi into airtight containers and squeeze out all air bubbles. The fuller the jar and the less air there is in it, the better the kimchi will be.
Let the kimchi rest for 3 days before eating.
This is the absolute basic recipe for kimchi. Otherwise you can add ingredients as you like, e.g. grated carrots, mustard leaves, etc. Personally, I sprinkle a little more sugar on the kimchi and season it with fish sauce or crab paste (1/4 cup for seasoning in the mixer), as is often done in Korea is common.
Most Koreans use plastic cans for inserting them, I recommend glass jars that can be tightly closed with a rubber ring.
About the Korean paprika powder: It is very important to use the Korean powder. It is very coarse, not finely ground, as we know it from Indian cuisine, for example. This powder is a big part of the kimchi flavor. The packaging usually says for kimchi.