Ingredients
- 1 large Chinese leaf (napa) cabbage (about 1 kg)
- 3 tbsp sea salt
- 1 small daikon radish or 6 red radishes, cut into matchsticks
- 1 carrot, cut into matchsticks
- 4 spring onions, cut into 3 cm lengths
For the paste
- 6 garlic cloves
- A thumb of fresh ginger
- 2–4 tbsp gochugaru (Korean chilli flakes), to taste
- 1 tbsp white miso or tamari (or 1 tbsp fish sauce, if not plant-based)
- ½ small pear or apple, grated (gives the bacteria a little natural sugar to start)
Do I need a starter?
- No. As with sauerkraut, the bacteria are already on the vegetables. Gochugaru is easy to find online or in Asian food shops.
Method
- Salt the cabbage: cut the cabbage into bite-sized pieces, put in a large bowl and toss with the salt and enough cold water to just cover. Leave for 2 hours, turning once, until the leaves are soft and bendy.
- Rinse: drain, rinse in cold water three times to remove excess salt, and leave to drain well.
- Make the paste: blend or pound the garlic, ginger, gochugaru, miso and pear into a paste.
- Mix: wearing gloves (the chilli stings), mix the cabbage, radish, carrot and spring onions with the paste until everything is evenly coated.
- Pack: pack tightly into a clean jar, pressing down so the juices rise above the vegetables. Leave space at the top, as it will bubble.
- Ferment: leave at room temperature for 2–5 days, pressing down once a day, until it tastes pleasantly sour and fizzy. Then refrigerate.
- Store: kimchi stores in the fridge for several months, growing more sour with time; older, sourer kimchi is perfect for cooking into soups, stews and fried rice.
Why it's good for you: Kimchi is a living ferment rich in lactic acid bacteria, and homemade kimchi, eaten raw, contains many times more of them than pasteurised shop-bought versions. Its garlic, ginger and chilli add their own anti-inflammatory and immune-supporting compounds, and the cabbage and radish bring vitamin C and fibre. Fermented foods such as kimchi have been linked with more varied gut bacteria and lower markers of inflammation. Read more in The Quiet Fire.
Good to know: Start with a small spoonful alongside a meal. Kimchi is salty and rich in histamine, so if you are sensitive to histamine or watching your salt intake, please speak to a qualified practitioner.
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