I was once asked by a reporter, “Why is kimchi important to Koreans?” The question is simple but the answer is enormous, encompassing a huge narrative and a raft of memories that carry me from my childhood all the way to now, to the home I share with my husband, Yoora, and dog Haru in Cockatoo, outside Melbourne.
Kimchi is important like air is important. More than a foundation of our cuisine and a must with every meal, it’s an accompaniment to our lives, threaded into daily and yearly rhythms. It wasn’t until I had been living in Australia for 10 years that I started properly making kimchi again. It was one of the things that set me on the path to cooking Korean food. Kimchi has been a touchstone, full of meaning for me, for ever.
My mother is the first child in her family and, as such, it’s her responsibility to make lots of kimchi to share with her relatives. I remember cabbages stacked in every corner of the kitchen in the depths of winter, when the temperature could be as cold as -20C. It was a feature of my childhood: a three-day kimchi immersion with aunties and neighbours and 500 cabbages every November or December. Of these hundreds of cabbages, we would keep only 10; the rest were distributed to family and neighbours.
I would get water, run errands, salt the cabbage. To be honest, I didn’t love it, but looking back now makes me very nostalgic. I remember an inflatable kids’ swimming pool in the back yard filled with bright-red kimchi seasoning; my mother and the aunties, talking softly and joking; my grandmother’s crooked fingers elegantly tearing kimchi for my bowl of rice.
The familiar pungent smell of kimchi hits me every time I open the fridge – Koreans often have a separate kimchi fridge because the aroma is so powerful.
I think of my husband, who likes the crispy stems of the kimchi, and my natural act of love to eat the outer leaves.
I can’t help but remember my childhood with kimchi every time my mother visits. She visits in winter, makes kimchi with me, and when she leaves, she leaves her kimchi. I see the kimchi, eat the kimchi, enjoy the kimchi but I am also filled with waves of emptiness that my mother has returned home. I feel her care, and also her absence.
Cabbage kimchi/Baechu kimchi 배추김치
Kimchi keeps indefinitely, with some people preferring the sour, tangy flavour of well-aged kimchi and others preferring the fresher flavour of a shorter ferment – it’s really up to you.
Allow yourself approximately two days to make kimchi, plus additional time to prepare the glutinous rice paste, jeotgal (salted seafood) and fermented fruit extract. The kimchi will take about two weeks to ferment in the fridge.
You will need a large plastic basin, big enough to stack the cabbages, plus an airtight container large enough to fit the kimchi, that will also fit in your fridge. Gloves are also recommended for rubbing the seasoning into the cabbage.
Serves 10 as a side
2 wombok, also known as Chinese cabbage or napa cabbage
250g coarse sea salt
½ daikon, peeled and julienned
200g spring onions, trimmed and cut into 3-4cm lengths
200g mustard greens, cut into 3-4cm lengths
For the seasoning
120g glutinous rice paste (see recipe below)
15g dried anchovies (¼ cup)
80g minced garlic (½ cup)
1 tbsp minced ginger
½ pear or apple, cored
3 tbsp aekjeot (Korean fish sauce)
3 tbsp jeotgal (see below for recipe, store-bought jeotgal is also readily available at Korean or Asian grocers)
3 tbsp fermented fruit extract (see recipe below); can be substituted with sugar
250g gochugaru (1 cup, Korean red chilli powder)
3 tbsp salted shrimp
Part one: salting
Trim the stem end of the cabbages crossways and remove any discoloured and damaged outer leaves. Score a 5cm deep cross into the core. Put your thumb between the cuts and slowly pull apart the cabbage lengthways into two pieces.
Prepare a bowl of salt water by mixing the sea salt with 1.25 litres (5 cups) of water. The water-to-salt ratio should be 5:1. Briefly immerse the cabbage halves in the salt water, then remove.
Sprinkle a handful of salt in between the layers of each cabbage half, rubbing it into the outer layers, too.
In a round plastic basin, stack the salted cabbage halves, cut surfaces facing up. Set aside at room temperature for about 6 hours during the warmer months or 10 hours if the weather is cooler, until the cabbage stems bend smoothly.
Part two: washing and draining
Once the cabbage stems bend smoothly, use your hands to rub any dirt or impurities off the cabbage halves. Some liquid will have collected in the basin at this point, and you can use this to rinse the cabbage halves.
Score the base of the core. Put your thumb in between the cuts and slowly pull apart the cabbage pieces in half lengthways. You should be left with eight quarters.
Fill a large bowl with clean water and dip the cabbage quarters into the water four or five times to remove the salt, discarding the water and refilling the bowl with clean water each time.
Stack the cabbage quarters, stems facing upward. Leave to drain for 12 hours.
Part three: seasoning
Put all the seasoning ingredients except the gochugaru and salted shrimp in a blender and blitz until smooth.
In a large bowl, add the blended mixture, gochugaru, salted shrimp, radish and mustard greens and mix well.
Fill the cabbage quarters with the seasoning mixture, working from the stem end up and rubbing it into each leaf. Bring the leaves back together and squeeze tightly to re-form the cabbage. Use the outermost leaf and tightly wind it around the cabbage to hold all the leaves in place. This will ensure the kimchi ferments well.
Place the kimchi in a container, seal and leave to ferment at room temperature for approximately 24 hours in the winter and 12 hours in summer.
Transfer to the fridge and continue to ferment the kimchi for another two weeks before serving. Store in a sealed container in the fridge and remove each portion as you need it.
White kimchi/Baek-kimchi 백김치
“Baek” means white and baek kimchi is made without using gochugaru, keeping it pale in colour. Plain salted cabbages made up the original kimchi, dating back to at least the 1600s, before red chilli was readily available.
The refreshing taste and crunchy texture make this a good palate cleanser with greasy dishes such as beef ribs, bulgogi, barbecue or even sashimi.
Serves 10 as a side
2 wombok, also known as Chinese cabbage or napa cabbage
½ daikon, peeled and julienned
150g spring onions, trimmed and cut into 3cm lengths
150g mustard greens, washed and cut into 3cm lengths
For the seasoning
250g glutinous rice paste (1 cup) – see below
10g thinly sliced dried chilli (1 cup)
125ml aekjeot (½ cup, Korean fish sauce)
3 tbsp salted shrimp
3 tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp minced ginger
Salt, wash and drain the cabbage leaves according to the cabbage kimchi/baechu kimchi recipe above.
Mix all the seasoning ingredients in a bowl and fill the softened cabbage with the seasoning from the stem up. Bring the leaves back together and squeeze tightly to re-form the cabbage. Use the outermost leaf and tightly wind it around the cabbage to hold all the leaves in place. This will ensure the kimchi ferments well.
Place the kimchi in a container and leave to ferment at room temperature for approximately 24 hours in the winter and 12 hours in summer.
Transfer to the fridge and continue to ferment the kimchi for another two weeks before serving. Store in a sealed container in the fridge and remove each portion as you need it.
This extract is made by picking seasonal fruits (or vegetables) at their nutritional peak and combining them with sugar, which constitutes 80% of the total fruit weight. As the sugar slowly liquefies over time, it draws out the nutritional essence from the ingredients through osmosis, infusing it into the sugary liquid. Once this process is complete, and the flavour is fully infused, we separate the resulting liquid, or extract, which in Korean is referred to as “cheong”. This extract is carefully stored and reserved for future use in cooking. Traditionally, it is made with pears or plums, but you can replace the pears with any fruit or vegetable that you like.
You will need a five- litre wide-mouth sterilised jar for this recipe. The fruit extract will take 90 days to ferment.
Makes 800-900ml
1 tbsp bicarbonate of soda
1kg nashi pears, cored
800g raw sugar
Combine the bicarbonate of soda with two litres (eight cups) of water.
Add the pears to the water and soak for about five minutes, then rinse under cold running water and pat dry with paper towel. Lay the pears on a tablecloth and leave to dry completely (if any moisture remains, mould can form).
Sterilise a five-litre wide-mouthed jar, then dry completely.
Quarter the dry pears and ensure all the seeds are removed, then cut the pears into thin slices.
Place one-third of the sugar in the bottom of the jar and place half the sliced pear on top. Add another one-third of the sugar, followed by the remaining sliced pear. Cover the pear with the remaining sugar, then top with a piece of muslin.
Set the jar aside at room temperature for 10 days, giving the pear a mix at least once a day with clean hands to prevent mould forming.
After 10 days, mould will not form even when it is left unmixed. Leave to ferment for 90 days in a cool, dark place. Once fermented, strain the mixture through a sieve and store the liquid fruit extract in a bottle at room temperature for up to one year.
Glutinous rice paste/Chapssal juk 찹쌀죽
Glutinous rice paste is one of the foundational ingredients in various kimchi recipes, as it provides the ideal thickness and texture for the seasoning while also supplying the necessary sugar for the fermentation process. In Korean cuisine, it’s common practice to prepare glutinous rice paste in large quantities, divide it into portions, and store it in the freezer for future use.
The paste can be stored in the fridge for up to three days in an airtight container, or in the freezer for up to one month.
Makes approximately 2 litres (8 cups)
2 × 10cm × 10cm pieces of dried kelp
15g dried anchovies (½ cup)
15g dried shrimp (½ cup)
80g glutinous rice flour
Combine the kelp, anchovies and shrimp with two litres (eight cups) of water in a saucepan. Bring to the boil over a high heat, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 15 minutes.
Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean saucepan, discarding the solids. Leave to cool.
Add the glutinous rice flour to the cooled broth and mix well. Stir over a low heat for 20 minutes until the mixture thickens to a paste-like texture. Mix well to prevent any lumps forming.
Remove from the heat and set aside to cool completely.
Salted seafood/Jeotgal 젓갈
Jeotgal, which translates to “salted fermented seafood”, is a staple condiment. While anchovies and prawns are commonly used, in this recipe we are using sardines. Jeotgal is renowned for its robust and savoury flavour, and is frequently used to enhance dishes ranging from kimchi to various side dishes.
The process of making jeotgal is relatively straightforward, but it is often prepared in larger batches and requires an extended preparation time. The fermentation process takes at least a year. If this process seems daunting, store-bought jeotgal is readily available at Korean or Asian grocers.
Once you have made your jeotgal, an additional step can be taken to produce the by-product, aekjeot (fish sauce). See the tip below. This versatile condiment is widely used to add an extra depth of flavour to various soups and side dishes.
Makes approximately 5kg
5kg whole sardines, rinsed in salted water
1kg coarse sea salt
Place the sardines in two to three large vacuum-sealed bags. Divide the salt evenly among the bags. Seal and store in a cool, shaded area for at least one year.
Tip: How to make aekjeot (fish sauce)
Jeotgal aged for more than two years can be made into an aekjeot. Place the aged jeotgal in a large stockpot and bring to the boil over a high heat, then reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 20 minutes until the flesh breaks apart. Leave to cool, then filter through a fine-mesh sieve, collecting the fish sauce and discarding the solids. Store in a sealed glass jar at room temperature indefinitely.