Recipe · Kimchi and sides
Napa cabbage kimchi, step by step
Brine the cabbage, stir up a gochugaru paste, pack it in a jar and let it ferment. About an hour of work, and a day or two of waiting.
Ingredients
Cabbage
- 1 napa cabbage, 4 to 5 lb
- ½ cup coarse sea salt
Rice porridge
- 2 tbsp sweet rice flour (glutinous rice flour)
- 1 cup water
- 1 tbsp sugar (optional)
Paste
- ½ to 1 cup Taekyung gochugaru, flake
- ¼ cup fish sauce
- 1 tbsp salted shrimp (saeujeot), chopped (optional)
- 8 to 10 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tbsp ginger, minced
Vegetables
- 1 cup Korean radish or daikon, cut into thin matchsticks
- 4 to 5 scallions, cut into 1-inch pieces
Taekyung gochugaru, flake4.7 out of 5 stars, 15,029 ratings on Amazon
Buy Flake 1 lb on AmazonFlake 1 lb: $12.95 on Amazon.com on Oct 30, 2026. All sizes, flake or fine
Method
Cut the cabbage
Cut the cabbage in quarters from the base up, cut out the core, then cut it into 2-inch pieces.
Salt it
Toss the pieces with the salt in a big bowl and leave them for 1½ to 2 hours, turning them every 30 minutes. They're ready when the thick white parts bend without snapping.
Make the porridge
Whisk the rice flour into the water in a small pot, then stir over medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes, until it thickens like glue. Stir in the sugar and let it cool.
Mix the paste
Stir the gochugaru, fish sauce, salted shrimp, garlic and ginger into the cooled porridge. Let it sit for 10 minutes, so the gochugaru softens and turns deep red.
Rinse and drain
Rinse the cabbage three times in cold water, then drain it for 30 minutes. Taste a piece: it should taste seasoned, not harsh.
Mix everything
Put on kitchen gloves: gochugaru stains and stings. Mix the radish and scallions into the paste, then add the cabbage and rub the paste into every piece.
Pack the jar
Pack the kimchi into a clean jar, pressing down to push out the air. Leave about an inch of space at the top.
Let it ferment
Close the jar and leave it at room temperature for 1 to 2 days. When it smells sour and you see small bubbles, move it to the fridge. It keeps getting more sour there: eat it fresh, or let it ripen for stews.
How hot?
½ cup of gochugaru makes a mild kimchi; 1 cup is classic. Taste the paste before you mix it in: it should be a little hotter than you want the kimchi.
Without fish
Use 3 tablespoons of soy sauce in place of the fish sauce, and leave out the shrimp.
Short on time?
Make quick kimchi: salt the cabbage for an hour, toss it in the paste and eat it tonight.
New to gochugaru? Read the guide
After the jar
What to cook with it, week by week
- Days 1 to 2: just made
Crisp and bright. Eat it with rice, beside spicy cucumber salad or spicy pork stir-fry.
- Weeks 1 to 2: ripe and tangy
The jar for kimchi fried rice.
- Week 3 on: sour
Sour kimchi is the one for stews: kimchi stew and soft tofu stew.
On TikTok
Want a quicker kimchi first?
Two creators made instant kimchi with it on TikTok. Counts read Oct 30, 2026.
Ready for your first batch?
This recipe uses the flake cut. You check out on Amazon.
Buy Flake 1 lb on AmazonFlake 1 lb: $12.95 on Amazon.com on Oct 30, 2026.