How To Make Kimchi - Mom's Famous Spicy Kimchi Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How to make kimchi more spicy? ›

If all you want is More Heat, just use finely minced habanero or scotch bonnet peppers. (Use appropriate practices for handling extremely spicy peppers.) After adding the peppers, stir well and let sit for a day or two to let the flavors disperse.

What Is Kimchi Made Of? This recipe starts with two heads of napa cabbage. Rubbing the cabbage with coarse sea salt draws out the excess moisture, extends the shelf life, and adds flavor. You'll also need fish sauce, green onions, white onion, garlic, white sugar, ground ginger, and gochugaru.

This spice mix delivers the holy trinity of spice blends - garlic, ginger and chilli pepper. Add to red or white cabbage and leave the spice to do all the work for perfectly fermented Kimchi. Garlic, salt, ginger, chilli pepper.

In addition, most kimchis contain Korean chili. Also known as gochugaru pepper, this chili is medium hot, but has a delicate, fruity, slightly smoky flavour. Gochugaru is usually sun-dried and sold as a powder. It gives kimchi its spiciness and beautiful red colour.

If you have store-bought kimchi that's been opened, it will be good for 3-4 days at room temperature and up to 6 months when refrigerated. Signs of your kimchi going bad include mold growth, an alcoholic smell, and an extremely sour taste.

The kimchi fermentation process is very short in comparison to making sauerkraut. Kimchi ferments at room temperature in only 1-2 days or more slowly in the refrigerator. For safety, kimchi should be stored refrigerated and is best eaten within 1 week, as the quality of kimchi deteriorates with longer fermentation.

Kimchi may seem complex to make, but it's no more difficult than making a salad. Summary: Kimchi is typically made with cabbage, radish, garlic, onion, ginger, carrot, fish sauce, and chili flakes.

Homemade kimchi often offers a fresher and more vibrant taste since you can control the fermentation process and adjust the level of spiciness, tanginess, or other flavors to your liking. It can also provide a sense of satisfaction and pride.

Kimchi is traditionally made with napa cabbage, but there's nothing to stop you from using another cabbage! Napa cabbage, Chinese cabbage, green cabbage, savoy cabbage, white cabbage, red cabbage, and bok choy (we could go on and on) are all part of the very large cruciferous family (Brassicaceae).

Taste. The biggest difference between fresh and fermented Kimchi is the taste. Fresh Kimchi is more like a salad, so it taste more raw, fresh and crunchy. Fermented Kimchi is softer and tangy.

What jar is best for kimchi? ›

Sure, a specialized kimchi jar with an airtight seal might be the traditional choice, but a large glass or plastic container with a secure lid can work wonders too. The key is to create an environment conducive to fermentation, allowing those magical microbes to perform their amazing job!

Though it is delicious eaten right from the jar — or as part of a banchan spread — kimchi is also a versatile ingredient to include in other recipes, from savory pancakes to standout burgers.

Can you eat too much kimchi? A. Eating kimchi in moderation is essential because a high intake can cause obesity and digestive distress. Additionally, an excess intake of this dish could lead to gastric cancer development.

Because it is a fermented dish, kimchi is naturally well-preserved, with a long shelf life in the right conditions. Over time, the flavors of the kimchi will intensify, becoming more pungent and complex while the vegetables may lose some of their crispness.

Fresh Cabbage Kimchi

The finishing touch? A flavorful combination of garlic, ginger, red pepper flakes, fish sauce, and sesame oil.

You can enhance kimchi with a bunch of seasonings and add-ins, traditional or otherwise. These give a distinct flavor to the final product. Love lots of deep, umami, flavor? Try adding salted shrimp, oysters, or mushrooms.

The answer to “do you eat kimchi hot or cold” is really about health, not flavor. Kimchi tastes great cooked into almost anything. But heating kimchi kills the healthy, helpful bacteria that are a product of the fermentation process.