[ENG] Say Kimchi !! :D

How do you like your kimchi? I like it really ripe & sour since i usually just put them in when i make jjigae or even when i grill samgyeopsal. I do sometime eat fresh kimchi, and even though i really love spicy food, i prefer my fresh kimchi to be mild & slightly sweet. But i don't know what was going on in my mind, i always end up putting too much red pepper flakes. Like, i need the sauce to be really red lol

yes, like blood red *-*

I really recommend you to use the korean red pepper flakes to get that beautiful red color on your kimchi. It's also taste different from other red pepper flakes, it's not that spicy and "slightly sweet".

The one with chinese red pepper powder. It's more spicy than the korean red pepper flakes so i couldn't add that much. The color is also not that "bright red".

The one with korean red pepper flakes :)

I made kimchi twice before, using my favorite korean cooking vlog on Youtube, Maangchi's recipe. Like almost all of kimchi recipes, they usually put in slices of veggies like radish, carrot and green onion. But i found it bothersome to eat those little veggie pieces, especially when i eat kimchi as it is, it's like, i just wanna it the cabbage haha... So i decided to try omitting all the other veggies and just use the cabbage. I adapted the recipe from Anna Kim - How to Make Kimchi which use pureed apple & pear in it. But  use the salting technique from Maangchi's recipe.

And it tasted absolutely great! Especially the fresh kimchi, i think the apple & pear really made the difference. And i don't have to eat all that little pieces of veggies no more kkk... For the sour fermented kimchi though, i think that adding the veggies will give it more flavor especially when you make jjigae with it.

Recipe addapted from How To Make Kimchi by Anna Kim
The salting technique, etc: Traditional Kimchi Recipe - Maangchi, Kimchi Making FAQ - Maangchi

Ingredients: 

 2 napa cabbage (about 2-3 kg)
1/3-1/2 cup salt 
1-1 1/4 cup korean red pepper flakes
1 whole garlic
1/2 medium onion (or 1 small onion)
1/2 korean pear 
1/4-1/2 apple
5-7 tbsp anchovy sauce/fish sauce (i used seafood soy sauce)
1-2 tbsp sugar

1. The salting process: cut cabbage in the middle half way, tear it into half. Make slit on the center of each halves.

2. Soak in water for few seconds, drain.

3. Sprinkle salt on each leaf, put more salt on the stem parts. Carefully turn them over every 30 minutes to salt evenly for 2 hours. After 2 hours, rinse them throughly 2-3 times, drain well.

4. Make the sauce: peel & cut the apple, pear & onion into pieces, put them in the blender. Add peeled garlic & anchovy/fish sauce, blend until smooth.

5. Put the mixture in a big bowl, add sugar & red pepper flakes, mix well. Taste the sauce with a piece of cabbage leaf, add more salt or sugar if necessary. (always taste the sauce with a piece of cabbage because the cabbage it self has some saltiness to it)

6. And the operation begin! :D

I absolutely recommend you to wear gloves for this if you don't wanna "burn" your hands lol

Spread some sauce on each leaf, more sauce on the stem parts.

7. Tuck the end to the bottom. Put it in a airtight container.

Repeat until all the cabbages are covered with sauce, press them down lightly & close the lid.

If you want sour kimchi asap, but some in a small container and let it sit outside the fridge overnight.

After sitting outside the fridge...

I'm living in a tropical country so the temperature inside my house is about 27 degree celcius & it's enough to leave it overnight. In this point, the colour of the kimchi has changed a little and some kimchi juice came out. It didn't really smell sour, instead it smelled a bit weird, like spoiled food. That's mean the kimchi is in the "crazy" state, it's the state before the kimchi become sour & delicious. Don't worry, if you don't find molds or something strange on your kimchi, it's good to go :)

I don't want it to ferment too fast, so i decided to keep them in the fridge for a few more days until it get sour.

After 4 days...

I was going to use them for samgyeopsal party on the weekend, so i need them really sour. So,after i left it outside the fridge overnight, for another 3 days i took them out of the fridge for 3-4 hours, then put them back in the fridge so it ferment faster. But if you're not in a rush, i do think it's the best to let it ferment slowly in the fridge :)

PS: I got some footage from the samgyeopsal party, so please look forward to it! :D

[updated]
check out my recipe for samgyeopsal & budae jjigae! :)
[ENG] Korean BBQ - Samgyeopsal Party
[ENG] Budae Jjigae - Korean Army Base Stew