Name: Easy Homemade Kimchi
Prep time: 120 min
Cook time: 2880 min
Ingredients: 2-3 lbs napa cabbage; 1/4 cup salt; water to cover cabbage; 1 cup water; 1 tbsp sweet rice flour; 1 tbsp white sugar; 1 cup radish, shredded; 1/2 cup carrots, shredded; 10 green onions, chopped; 10-12 cloves garlic, minced; 1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated; 1/2 yellow onion, chopped; 2 tbsp fish sauce; 1 cup korean red pepper flakes (gochugaru)

kimchi in white square bowl next to bowl of rice on ceramic cutting board

One of my best friends is half Korean and when we worked together a few years ago, her mom would send her to work with dinner leftovers that we’d share. I loved having kimchi on hand at home to eat with eggs or rice so she would send me some whenever she would make a new batch. I started looking up recipes and really wanted to try making my own. So I chatted with her mom about it and she bought me a big bag of gochugaru because she was so excited for me to try to make my own. I finally tried it and loved the whole process – it is definitely pretty easy but does require a bit of patience. I sent her mom some of mine to try afterwards and she was so proud – said she couldn’t believe an American girl made such good kimchi. Ha! So now you make your own easy homemade kimchi and use it with all the recipes your heart desires.

square white bowl filled with kimchi with chopsticks resting across top of bowl

Easy Homemade Kimchi Ingredients:

napa cabbage
salt
water
sweet rice flour
white sugar
radish
carrots
yellow onion
green onions
garlic
ginger
fish sauce
korean red pepper flakes

Follow along with the video and full recipe below!

bowl of kimchi with chopsticks next to bowl of rice and sesame seeds on ceramic cutting board

Easy Homemade Kimchi

Prep Time

2 hrs

Cook Time

2 d

Ingredients

2-3 lbs napa cabbage
1/4 cup salt
water to cover cabbage
1 cup water
1 tbsp sweet rice flour
1 tbsp white sugar
1 cup radish, shredded
1/2 cup carrots, shredded
10 green onions, chopped
10-12 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
2 tbsp fish sauce
1 cup korean red pepper flakes (gochugaru)

Instructions

Chop cabbage and add to bowl.
Cover cabbage with water, add salt, mix and cover with plate.
Soak for 1.5-2 hours, stirring occasionally.
Rinse thoroughly.
Combine water (1 cup), sweet rice flour and sugar in sauce pan.
Cook over medium heat until it bubbles and thickens.
Add rice flour mixture, radish, carrots, green onions, garlic, ginger, onion, fish sauce, and korean red pepper flakes to food processor.
Blend until mostly smooth.
Add mixture to cabbage and mix together with disposable gloves.
Transfer to airtight containers and store in cool, dark place for 2-3 days.
Once it starts forming bubbles, you can transfer it to the fridge.