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If you've ever wondered how to make homemade kimchi or homemade kimchee, my friend's Korean mother taught me how and we made a VIDEO! Head to the blog to watch!
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I FINALLY KNOW HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE KIMCHEE (or homemade kimchi; please read the history of the word ‘kimchee’ and ‘kimchi’ below).

My friend’s Korean mother came over to my house and taught me how to make homemade kimchi/kimchee and I am forever grateful.

I eat so much kimchi/kimchee. I buy bags of them at the Asian mart and they aren’t cheap. One bag is about $13 and it only lasts me about a week.

I also love incorporating kimchee into a variety of dishes.

I put kimchee in fried rice (I have a kimchi fried rice in my cookbook), on top of scrambled eggs, on top of burgers, on top of bulgogi, and so much more.

If you've ever wondered how to make homemade kimchi or homemade kimchee, my friend's Korean mother taught me how and we made a VIDEO! Head to the blog to watch!

What is kimchi/kimchee?

Kimchi or kimchee is a staple traditional Korean side dish made of fermented and salted Napa cabbage and radish.

What does kimchee like?

It has a multitude of flavors. The prominent flavors are garlicky, sour, and spicy.

Is homemade kimchee really spicy?

Depends on what kind of kimchee you make and/or buy. Some can be really spicy but with homemade kimchee you can tailor it to your spice level.

Why is it spelled kimchi and kimchee?

Kimchee is the traditional way that South Koreans spell it. Kimchi is made up from the Japanese, but there is history about the spelling that you can explore more here.

Why is homemade kimchi better than store-bought?

  1. So much cheaper (cost-effective)
  2. You can make it your own
  3. You can share with friends and family
  4. It’s fun!
If you've ever wondered how to make homemade kimchi or homemade kimchee, my friend's Korean mother taught me how and we made a VIDEO! Head to the blog to watch!

Can you use American cabbage?

No, it won’t be the same.

Can I use gochujang instead of the red pepper powder?

No, no, no.

Can I use regular salt?

In the video, Chunok told me that you should try to get coarse sea salt and not salt like Morton’s or Diamond kosher salt because it makes the cabbage too soft and wilted and pulls out too much moisture so you’ll have a lot more liquid.

So definitely look for coarse sea salt granules.

If you've ever wondered how to make homemade kimchi or homemade kimchee, my friend's Korean mother taught me how and we made a VIDEO! Head to the blog to watch!

What if I can’t find the red pepper powder?

Okay, so I’m about to go on a rant here because everyone wants authentic cultural recipes but no one is willing to actually get the authentic ingredients that make the dish authentic.

You cannot substitute this red pepper powder for anything else. It is specific to kimchi.

It is not the same as cayenne pepper. It is not the same as chili powder. It is not the same as red pepper flakes. It is not the same as red pepper flakes pulverized. It is not the same as sriracha.

Another term for this Gochugaru if you cannot find ‘red pepper powder.’

I know for sure they have it on Amazon.

Please, everyone, if you want to make this authentic and for it to turn out as intended, please stop substituting and please stop lumping all Asian condiments as the same. It’s like saying we can make pasta sauce with ketchup because they’re both red and have tomato in it.

How do I get my homemade kimchee more sour tasting like what I’m used to?

Leave it out longer before you put it in the fridge.

If you've ever wondered how to make homemade kimchi or homemade kimchee, my friend's Korean mother taught me how and we made a VIDEO! Head to the blog to watch!

How do I get my homemade kimchee less sour? It’s too pungent for me.

Put it in the fridge earlier. Leave it overnight after you’ve made it and then put it in the fridge in the morning.

What if I don’t have a blender?

You can use a food processor.

What types of jars did you use for your homemade kimchee?

I bought wide mouth half gallon jars. The wide mouth jars make stuffing the kimchi into the jars a lot easier.

If you've ever wondered how to make homemade kimchi or homemade kimchee, my friend's Korean mother taught me how and we made a VIDEO! Head to the blog to watch!

Watch us make homemade kimchee and then make it yourself!

Thank you so much Chun Ok for showing me and everyone how to make homemade kimchee! This will be a forever treasured gift.

4.81 from 132 votes

Homemade Kimchi (Kimchee)

If you love kimchi/kimchee, then you will want to make this homemade kimchi because it's so much more cost-effective to make at home than to get at the store!
Prep Time: 2 hours
Fermentation time: 1 day
Total Time: 1 day 3 hours 40 minutes
Servings: 1 gallon

Ingredients 

For the cabbage:

  • 5 pounds (2268 g) napa cabbage, cut into 1-inch, bite-sized pieces
  • ½ cup (146 g) sea salt
  • 1 cup (236 ml) water

Seasonings for kimchi:

  • ½ medium sweet onion
  • 1 bulb garlic, peeled
  • ¼ cup (59 ml) water
  • ½ cup (118 g) red pepper powder
  • 1 bundle green onions, julienned

Instructions 

  • Place cabbage in a very large bowl. Mix together sea salt and water and stir until sea salt has dissolved. Pour over cabbage and mix together with your hands. Let sit for 1.5-2 hours.
  • In the meantime, blend together onion and garlic with 1/4 cup water to create a puree. Pour into a medium bowl then mix together with red pepper powder and green onions. If you are making a separate radish kimchi, save a bit of this mixture for the radish kimchi.
  • Once the cabbage has significantly wilted, rinse cabbage to get most of the salt water off. Place back into the very large bowl then toss the cabbage with the red pepper seasoning mixture until well-coated.
  • Place seasoned kimchi into a large mason jar and using your fist, punch down the cabbage to compress it all in the jar. Keep stuffing the jar until it’s completely full and use another jar, if needed.
  • Tightly close the lid on the mason jar(s) and leave out at room temperature overnight. Taste the kimchi the next day and if you prefer to have it more sour, leave out for another day or more. If you think it tastes fine after it has sat out overnight the first night, place in the fridge.
  • Kimchi can last for a very long time in the fridge because it’s a fermented dish. I would say probably no more than one year though, but that’s just me haha ;)

Video

Notes

The recipe we made in the video is for roughly half of what the recipe above is for. The recipe above is for 5 pounds of Napa cabbage and is the recipe that Chun Ok uses every time she makes kimchi.
For the radish kimchi, you use the same seasonings and do the same steps (salting, rinsing, coating in seasonings). You can also choose to put the radish with the Napa cabbage together but Chun Ok likes to do it separately.
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Nutrition

Serving: 1gallon, Calories: 763kcal, Carbohydrates: 146g, Protein: 42g, Fat: 25g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Sodium: 56844mg, Potassium: 7879mg, Fiber: 60g, Sugar: 47g

This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition information can vary for a variety of reasons. For the most precise nutritional data use your preferred nutrition calculator based on the actual ingredients you used in the recipe.

The default measuring system for this website is US Customary. Unit conversions are provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. While we strive to provide accurate unit conversions, please be aware that there may be some discrepancies.

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Recipe Rating




280 Comments

  1. Phyllis Smith says:

    i made it….but j was told that “red pepper powder” was paprika๐Ÿ™„๐Ÿคจ i hope it turns out

    1. Julie Chiou says:

      hi Phyllis, no, the red pepper powder is not paprika.

  2. lynn jacobsen says:

    Can I use Kashmiri Chili powder?

    1. Julie Chiou says:

      No, that won’t work

  3. Will says:

    Hi Julie, thanks for the recipe, I love seeing things so close to authentic. We can modify it after having fun with the real thing!

    I had heard that there was supposed to be fish sauce in kimchee. You don’t mention it at all (including that it’s not authentic). Am I remembering it wrong?

    1. Julie Chiou says:

      the recipe is from my friend’s Korean mother and written as she told me. she didn’t mention any fish sauce!

  4. Heidi Clausen says:

    I had an abundance of regular cabbage growing in my garden, so I used it for Kimchi. You are right that it is not the same as using Napa cabbage, but it is delicious none the less. We’re going to try growing Napa next year. We’ll see if it will grow in Montana. I hope so.

    1. Julie Chiou says:

      how neat! good luck with the napa cabbage next year!

      1. Christie Hofling says:

        I cannot wait to try your recipe! Iโ€™ve made Korean style kimchi in the past and used pickled shrimp, which Iโ€™d prefer to skip (one less thing to buy!), so Iโ€™m happy to see how simple yet applauded this recipe is!
        One question though, are you saying to use a whole garlic bulb or just a clove? I like garlic so Iโ€™m thinking a while bulbโ€ฆ I just want to be sure. Please confirm, TIA!

        1. Julie Chiou says:

          yep, a whole garlic bulb!

  5. Jennifer Thorpe says:

    This was the first kimchi recipe I ever tried and I have no need to look for another one! This is delicious! I found myself running low and couldnโ€™t find this recipe and I panicked a bit. I was able to dig deep into last yearโ€™s search history and resurrect it. Thank you so much for sharing it with us!!!!

    1. Julie Chiou says:

      hi Jennifer! use the ‘save this recipe’ form in the post and it’ll send the recipe link to your email so you can pull it up whenever! i’m so glad you love this so much to remake!

  6. Lisa says:

    Love this recipe I make it often. Thanks for sharing and thanks to your friend Chun Ok, for videoing with you and sharing her expertise.