Episode 58: Vegan Kimchi

(Adapted from a recipe by Maangchi)

Ingredients:

  • 10 pounds of Napa cabbage (“baechu”)
  • 1 cup salt
  • ½ cup sweet rice flour (“chapsalguru”)
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • 1 medium onion, minced
  • 1 inch piece of ginger, minced
  • 1 cup garlic, minced
  • 1 small Korean radish (you may substitute daikon instead)
  • 1 small carrot
  • 2 bunches of leeks
  • 2 cups red pepper powder (“gochugaru”)
  • 1 cup vegan fish sauce

Special equipment:

  • Gloves

Vegan fish sauce ingredients:

  • 2 cups of water
  • 1 palmful dried kelp
  • 3-4 shiitake mushrooms, finely chopped
  • ½ onion minced

Vegan fish sauce directions:

  • Combine all of those ingredients in a pot
  • Bring to a boil for several minutes
  • Remove from heat and allow sauce to cool completely before using
  • Leftover sauce can be stored in the fridge for up to one week

Directions:

  • Note: this recipe is time-consuming and may take at least 2 hours
  • Cut the cabbage into bite-size pieces
  • Rinse with cold water and drain
  • Place the cabbage in a very large bowl
  • Sprinkle 1 cup of salt over the cabbage
  • Mix well
  • Turn cabbage over every 30 minutes
  • Repeat process twice for total salting time of 90 minutes
  • We do this to make the cabbage is salted evenly
  • Mix 3 cups of water and ½ cup of sweet rice flour in a pot
  • Bring the mixture to a boil
  • When the mixture begins to get bubbly, add ¼ cup of sugar
  • Continue to star until the mixture becomes thick and looks clear
  • This takes about 2 minutes to happen
  • Remove from heat and let the mixture cool
  • Transfer the cooled mixture to a large bowl
  • Mix in 1 cup of vegan fish sauce and 2 cups of red pepper powder
  • Add 1 cup minced garlic
  • Add 1 cup minced onion
  • 1 tablespoon minced ginger
  • Add 10 chopped green onions
  • Add 2 chopped leeks
  • Add 2 cups julienned Korean radish
  • Add ¼ cup julienned carrots
  • Mix everything well!
  • When the cabbage is done salting, rinse it once with cold water and rain
  • Put the cabbage back in a large bowl
  • Add kim chi paste to cabbage and mix well by hand
  • Kimchi will last up to several weeks stored in air-tight jar or container

Video: