KitchenNippon

Ingredients for 1/4 of a Large Chinese Cabbage (Hakusai)

Chinese cabbage (白菜/ Hakusai) 1/4 (about 700g)
Salt (塩 / Shio) 2.5% of the weight of the dried cabbage

Yangnyeom (薬念 / Yan-nyomu)
★ Sardine broth (煮干だし / Niboshi dashi)
Dried sardines (煮干し / Niboshi) 15 g
Water (水 / Mizu) 70 ml

★ Rice flour paste (白玉のり / Shiratama nori)
Refined rice flour (白玉粉 / Shiratamako) 1 tbsp
Water (水 / Mizu) 50 ml

★ Seasonings (調味料 / Chōmiryō)
Daikon (大根 / Daikon) 100 g
Carrot (にんじん / Ninjin) 25 g
Salt (塩 / Shio) 2 pinches
Nira (にら / Nira) 25 g
Apple (りんご / Ringo) (or Asian pear (梨 / Nashi)) 40 g (after peeling)
Ginger (しょうが / Shōga) 20 g
Garlic (にんにく / Ninniku) 10 g
Salted, preserved shrimp (アミの塩辛 / Ami-no-shiokara) 25 g
Salted, preserved squid (イカの塩辛 / Ika-no-shiokara) 25 g
Korean red pepper (韓国唐辛子 / Kankoku tōgarashi) 4 tsp
(Powder, 4tsp = about 6 g)
Korean red pepper (韓国唐辛子 / Kankoku tōgarashi) 4 tsp
(Coarsely ground, about 6 g)
Sugar (砂糖 / Satōh) 1 1/2 tsp
Fish sauce (魚醤 / Gyoshō) 1 tsp

How to Make

Two Days Ahead of Time
1. Dry the cabbage under sunshine by placing it on a metal tray or something similar, with the exterior leaves down. Let the cabbage dry for about four hours. If you can’t do this under sunshine, devote a full day to drying.
2. After the cabbage is dried, weigh it, calculate 2.5% of the weight and set aside this much salt.
3. Give the cabbage a quick rinse. Shake out the excess water. Rub salt into the surfaces of the leaves, covering all of the leaves evenly. Place the cabbage into a plastic bag, remove the air, and seal the bag. Put the bag in a place where it will not receive direct sunshine and place a weight on top of it. The weight should be 1.5 to 2 times the weight of the cabbage. Let the bag sit for a day.

Kimchee-Making Day
★ Sardine broth
Remove the heads and guts from the dried sardines, put the sardines into a pot with 70 ml of water and bring it to a boil. Once the water boils, reduce to low heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
★ Rice flour paste
To a separate pot, add the refined rice flour and 50 ml of water. Use a rubber spatula to mash out all of the lumps and make sure all of the flour dissolves. Now, put the pot on low heat and stir until you get a gooey consistency.
★ Yangnyeom
1. Cut the daikon and carrot into matchstick-size pieces. Place these into a bowl and sprinkle on 2 pinches of salt. Once the daikon and carrots become soft (after about 10 minutes), squeeze out the excess water. Cut the nira into 1 cm lengths.
2. Skin the ginger and remove the core from the garlic. Add the ginger, garlic, apple, salted shrimp, and salted squid to a blender and puree.

3. Pour the puree into a mixing bowl, and add the sardine broth, red pepper, fish sauce, sugar, and rice flour paste. Mix to make the yangnyeom. Add the daikon, carrot, and nira, and mix these in well.

Put it All Together

1. Squeeze the excess water out of the cabbage.
2. Spread the yangnyeom in between the cabbage leaves. Do this for all but the outer most leaf. Once you’re done, take the outer most leaf and, without pulling it off, wrap it around the rest of the cabbage.
3. Put the cabbage into a storage bag and seal the bag. Let the kimchee mature. During the winter months, set the bag aside for about seven days. At that point it should be ready to eat and you can store it in your refrigerator. During the summer months, set the bag aside for a day and then place it in your refrigerator to mature for a further five days before eating. In both cases, check on the bag periodically and release the gas that has built up inside.

Additional Notes
1. If you prefer a mild taste, place the storage bag directly into your refrigerator to mature for 2-3 days (winter or summer).
2. Your kimchee should keep for two weeks in your refrigerator or two months in your freezer.
3. If you start with a whole cabbage, make a cut in the bottom of the cabbage just deep enough to split the core, the hard round section in the middle. Use your hands to pull the cabbage apart into halves. Repeat this process for each of the halves to separate the cabbage into quarters.