Fresh Kimchi Geotjeori Recipe & Video
Today, I’m thrilled to share a delicious fresh kimchi recipe with you – we call it Geotjeori! Fresh Kimchi, or Geotjeori, is a quick and easy version of traditional kimchi that you can enjoy immediately without waiting for fermentation. If you’ve been hesitant about making kimchi because of its intense flavor, this fresh kimchi recipe is perfect for you!
What is Fresh Kimchi, Geotgeori?
Fresh Kimchi, known as Geotjeori in Korean, has all the flavors you love from kimchi without the strong fermentation taste. It’s like a spicy Napa cabbage salad that’s crunchy, tangy, and absolutely delicious. The best part? You can eat it right after you make it! No waiting is required. Plus, this fresh kimchi is super easy to prepare, making it a great option for beginners. We usually eat Geotgeori with Kalguksu (noodle soup).
My Secret Ingredients
I personally LOVE Geotjeori. My mom used to make it all the time, especially when guests came over or during Korean holidays. Growing up, Geotjeori was a special treat for our family. With this Geotjeori and freshly cooked warm rice together… AH! Need I say more?! SO GOOOOOOOOOD!! I have a secret ingredient for my Geotjeori—apricot jam. It gives a fruity sweetness and slight tanginess that works fantastically in this recipe!
Can Fresh Kimchi (Geotjeori) Be Fermented?
Fresh kimchi Geotjeori is not meant to be fermented. In Korea, Geotjeori is made with newly harvested cabbage and vegetables, especially in the summer when the traditional kimchi runs out. It does not include ingredients like glutinous rice paste or flour paste, which aid fermentation in other types of kimchi. Without these, Geotjeori wouldn’t ferment properly. If you want to make fermented kimchi, check out my recipes for Mak Kimchi or traditional kimchi.
Tap Here for My Traditional Kimchi Recipe!
Ingredients
Salted Cabbage:
- 2 1/2 lb. Napa cabbage
- 2 cups cold water
- 1/3 cup Korean coarse kimchi sea salt
Kimchi Paste:
- 5 cloves garlic
- 3 green onions
- 4 tbsp gochugaru (Korean red pepper flakes)
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 2 tbsp apricot preserve, apple jam, or maesilaek
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
Prepare the Cabbage:
Cut Napa cabbage into quarters and remove the stem.
In a large bowl, add the yellow small part of the cabbage leaves whole, and cut the rest of the bigger leaves into about 3-inch long and 1-inch wide pieces. Don’t worry about the exact sizes; uneven cuts are great for texture.
Salt the Cabbage:
Mix cold water and Korean sea salt until the salt has dissolved.
Pour over the cabbage. Toss the cabbage pieces to mix well with the salted water and press down as much as possible. Let it soak for 40 minutes. Halfway through, toss the cabbage upside down so it soaks evenly.
Make the Kimchi Paste:
While the cabbage is soaking, finely chop the garlic and cut the green onions lengthwise into 1-inch-long pieces.
In a mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients for the kimchi paste except the sesame seeds and set aside.
Rinse and Drain the Cabbage:
Drain the salted cabbage and rinse under running cold water for about 1 minute to remove excess salt and any dirt. Drain completely for about 5 minutes.
Mix Cabbage and Paste:
Combine the cabbage and paste in a large mixing bowl. Mix with your hand (I recommend wearing a plastic glove) using gentle pressure and a squeezing action so the cabbage absorbs the paste’s color and flavor very well.
Add toasted sesame seeds and give a light final toss. Transfer to a serving plate and serve immediately with an extra sprinkle of sesame seeds on top. Enjoy!
There You Have It!
Geotjeori can be your main dish with just a bowl of rice, or it can be a fantastic side dish for your BBQ party, potluck, and more! If you want to make this recipe vegetarian, substitute fish sauce with light soy sauce; it works just fine. When I have friends over, this is a MUST side dish and most requested! Everyone loves it, even those who usually don’t like kimchi! I’m just so happy to serve Korean food to my loved ones.
You MUST give this fresh kimchi recipe a try one day, even if you’re not a fan of traditional kimchi. This recipe will change your life! I promise! 😀
Give this fresh kimchi recipe a try, and let me know what you think in the comments below! Enjoy cooking and happy eating!
Geot-Jeori : Korean Fresh Kimchi
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 4 1x
Ingredients
Salted Cabbage:
- 2 1/2 lb. Napa cabbage
- 2 cups cold water
- 1/3 cup Korean coarse kimchi sea salt
Kimchi Paste:
- 5 cloves garlic
- 3 green onions
- 4 tbsp gochugaru (Korean red pepper flakes)
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 2 tbsp apricot preserve, apple jam, or maesilaek
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
- Prepare the Cabbage:
Cut Napa cabbage into quarters and remove the stem. In a large bowl, add the yellow small part of the cabbage leaves whole, and cut the rest of the bigger leaves into about 3-inch long and 1-inch wide pieces. Don’t worry about the exact sizes; uneven cuts are great for texture. - Salt the Cabbage:
Mix cold water and sea salt until the salt has dissolved. Pour over the cabbage. Toss the cabbage pieces to mix well with the salted water and press down as much as possible. Let it soak for 40 minutes. Halfway through, toss the cabbage upside down so it soaks evenly. - Make the Kimchi Paste:
While the cabbage is soaking, finely chop the garlic and cut the green onions lengthwise, then into 1-inch long pieces. In a mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients for the kimchi paste except the sesame seeds and set aside. - Rinse and Drain the Cabbage:
Drain the salted cabbage and rinse under running cold water for about 1 minute to remove excess salt and any dirt. Drain completely for about 5 minutes. - Mix Cabbage and Paste:
Combine the cabbage and paste in a large mixing bowl. Mix with your hand (I recommend wearing a plastic glove) using gentle pressure and a squeezing action so the cabbage absorbs the color and flavor of the paste very well.
Add toasted sesame seeds and give a light final toss. Transfer to a serving plate and serve immediately with an extra sprinkle of sesame seeds on top. Enjoy!
- Prep Time: 50 mins
- Cook Time: 10 mins
83 comments
I love Kim Chee and this looks easy and delicious. Could I use coarse kosher salt instead of the sea salt? Thanks in advance for your help.
You can, it just tradition to use sea salt to salting cabbage in Korea.
Hi! Do you have other kimchi recipe that last more than a week, maybe a months??
Yes, if you go to the search tool and look up “Kimchi”, all different types of my kimchi recipes will show up, and all of them should last more than a week and even months!
Instead of using apricot preserve could I use MAESILAEK KOREAN PLUM?
Yes you can! That is preferred over the apricot preserve!
hi great recipe! cant wait to try it out. quick question, how long can i store it in the fridge?
About a week. 🙂
What can I substitute for apricot preserve?
Apple jam would work as well.
Can I use pineapple jam instead?
Yes!
I couldn’t find apricot preserves so i bought peach, that should work right!?
YES!! It should work perfectly!!
Do you think I can use grapefruit jelly? That’s what I have at home right now and I’m trying to get rid of it :p
That’s interesting…. I’ve never had grapefruit jelly before? Does it have a bitter taste? Then it might not work.. but if the bitter taste is not too strong, it might!
Have tried this and it is wonderful! Taste good!
Can I omit the fish sauce to make it vegan or any vegan sub ins for fish sauce??
Yes, you can. Add 1 tsp of leigh soy sauce and omit the fish sauce. Taste and add more salt for your taste before mix with cabbage. 🙂
Thanks for sharing your quick instant kimchi. Gonna try to get all the ingredients & start doing it. So excited and hope it turns out well.
It’s one of my go-to kimchi recipe all time! Even my mom is so proud of me with this recipe! hope you love as much as me and my family did!! Good luck in your kitchen~!
Hi Seonkyoung I made “GEOT-JEORI : KOREAN FRESH KIMCH” last night. As I was not able to get all the ingredients as per your recipe, I made some changes.
1. I used spicy red chilly powder instead of “Gochugaru, Korean red pepper flakes”
2. I used Soy Sauce in place of Fish Sauce
3. I used Orange Ginger preserve as I could not get apricot preserve.
The kimchi looks good but not as red as yours. The only problem is, its very spicy (hot) and the salt seems to be less. Can I add salt now??
Hello Parvathi!
For the Korean kimchi’s signature red color, you have to use Korean red pepper flakes, Gochugaru. Otherwise, it will be very tough to get the beautiful red color.
Fish sauce is seems to be more saltier than soy sauce, so please godhead and add more salt to your taste! 🙂
Good luck in your kitchen~!
Just finished making this and it Tastes amazing!! Kept expecting the sour flavor from traditional kimchi but once I stopped thinking about that I loved it!!!
Got a little afraid when I opened the fish sauce for the first time. Never smelled it before and it was STRONG! But it doesn’t taste how it smells and doesn’t blow off your taste buds! Used the 3 crabs brand you recommended. Excited to eat this with rice and the Kalbi I’ll be making this weekend! I also made your Ultimate stock today and the smell was heavenly!!
I Put it in the Kalbi marinade for a BBQ this weekend. Did a lot of cooking today and am expecting to be the star of the Bbq!!!!!! Gonna make GYERAN JJIM with the rest of the stock. I split it and froze the other half.
Thank you so much for teaching me to make delicious Korean/Asian food and making it easy and really fun!!! Thank you Jacob for helping film her and sharing your time with her with us!! Love you both!
You’re Da Bomb!!!!!!!!!✌?
WOW, Sammy, you cooked up like a storm!!! How amazing!! Thank you so much for sharing all your experience with the recipes, and I wish you the best BBQ party EVER!! Sounds like you got the food down, like a pro! Wish I could come to your BBQ to enjoy all the delicious food you made! I will let Jacob know about your comment, he will be really appreciate too! 🙂 Love you!! ❤️
I can’t wait to try this! Is there a reason why it can only be good in the fridge for a week? Wouldn’t it just ferment like usual kimchi? 🙂 Just curious, thanks so much!
It will get watery and the cabbage will start having kinda old smell after up to 5-7 days. You will see what I’m talking about when the days going by and smell/taste it. 🙂 It happens only because the cabbage didn’t soak in salted water long enough (as regular meant-to-be-fermented kimchi). Hope this helps!
Seonkyoung, if we soak it for a bit longer, like a few more hours, will we be able to keep it like regular kimchi?
same question with lisa, please advise, dear 🙂
I have the same question 🙂 kisses and thank you for all these delicious recipes that my family loves
So this recipe fermenting will not create the traditional kimchi, this is meant to eat as fresh kimchi with no fermentation. So I would suggest eating it fresh. Hope this helped!
Hi Seon Kyoung!
I made this today, (though I did not have apricot preserves, so I used a local pineapple jam) and it was amazing!! My husband who does not eat kimchi tried it and asked for more to eat with his bulgogi. It was really good! Thank you so much for this recipe!
WOW! I’m so happy to hear that Joy!!! YAY!!! So proud of you!!! 😉 Xoxo
I’m so excited to have found your site! And to try this recipe! I love Korean food mostly because of the banchans, and I’m looking forward to trying all of yours. I like kimchi that is not very fermented and look everywhere for Korean restaurants that have non-fermented kim chi. I especially like the kimchi that has raw oyster in it. Can you add raw oyster to this recipe?
You can definitely add raw oyster into this recipe! Yummy!!
My Korean dad makes kimchi almost just like this. He doesn’t really like strongly fermented kimchi, so this was the only recipe I knew until the internet and food blogs..and the recent interest that make Korean cookbooks easier to find.
The only difference is he uses firm pear or apple slices instead of jam or jelly.
Hi oenni..i just like to see so simple recipe…and i want to try to make it right away..but i dont have apricot preserve or apple jam, but i have pineapple jam the one that used to make a pineapple cookies, can i use that? The consistensy is thicker than apricot preserves..thanks for sharing…love you oenie
I think it will actually work! Try it with pineapple jam! 🙂
Your recipe is so similar to the kimchi that I use to purchase when I lived in Japan. There was a gentleman who “specialized” in pickle making and had a vendor stand in front of the grocery store. Even though it was very expensive, it was so and delicious and his sauce was thick and red like this… I love the fermented kimchi, this is my new found recipe. I used jalapeno peach jam that I got at the farmers market….The rice cooker is on and I know this won’t last a week in this house…THANK YOU for posting this…YUM!
Hi Sandy! Love the idea of jalapeño peach jam for this recipe! Next time I would love try, if I can get it from Sacramento farmers market when they open on March next year!! I almost can smell your house with freshly cooked rice and kimchi… ummm~!!!
At 50+, I have never tried Kimchi and this will be a first for our family. :P. We dont have a Korean market where I live so, I will have to order the red pepper flake from Amazon. I’m hoping our grocery will have the Napa cabbage too. Looks so crunchy packed with flavor good! Cannot wait to try it. I also would like to purchase an talking English Cockoo pressurized rice cooker. ;). I love watching you cook — thank you for inspiration! 😉
Wow! I really wish your first time trying kimchi turning out deliciously Eva!!! Its napa cabbage season, so hopefully you can find some good napa cabbage at your local grocery store!
I just made this and it is soooo good. I’m going to make your Korean stock and tteokbokki tomorrow and I plan to make your kimchi jjigae once the kimchi I got at the Asian market *they make theirs themselves* becomes more sour. I can’t wait. I love your recipes so much.
YAY~! I’m so glad Monique! I just made tteokbokki the other day too! hehehe Hope you enjoy all the delicious recipes at home~!
If I let the cabbage soak longer in the salt, could I keep it in the fridge for a longer time? I’m really looking forward to trying this recipe! Looks awesome!!
Not really, this kimchi will actually go bad after 10 days, (not like normal fermented kimchi) because it doesn’t have all the ingredients to ferment correctly.
Is it bad to have it soak longer, eg a little over an hour?
Recently discovered your videos and your recipes are sooo awesome! I can’t wait to try the Korean Fried Chicken. Have a great day!
You can soak longer, but remember that will make it saltier! 😉
This looks so yummy and easy! Can we use this kimchi to make kimchi fried rice?
Hello, love your recipes! I was wondering if I can use this type of kimchi for making kimchi stew, kimchi fried rice etc?
This kimchi doesn’t have sour taste to make those dishes delicious. Kimchi jjigae or kimchi fried rice needs to use sour, well fermented kimchi for the best result!
Hi SeonKyoung I really like your recipe it looks so delicious when you eat it . Can I use gojuchang instead of gochucharu ? Thanks 😊
You can, in that case just reduce the amount of apricot preserve/jam! 🙂
Can I use fig spread instead of apricot preserve?
It will do the job… but just remember fig spread might be too sweet and have the seeds texture.
This looks lovely! Can i opt out fish sauce? My husband is vegan…
you can use vegetarian fish sauce! You can purchase here! https://amzn.to/2CQxMDY
Can you add oyster to this kimchee?
You can just toss in at last! However, I recommend you to add the oyster into only the amount you will eat that day because it won’t keep it good no more than a day. (This is it fermented kimchi, it’s salad type of it- this kimchi doesn’t have enough slat to be preserved.) So the best is eaten then same day you make them.
Hi Seonkyoung! Can I use chili flakes instead of pepper flakes?
Hey!! Loving your videos! Btw can u add Gouchujang to it… We don’t have the red pepper flakes but I have the sauce… If I use it what will be the diff in the ingredients or the dish!?? Thank you!
i’m desperate to make the Kimchi-Jjigae, and of all the recipes i’ve seen, i like yours best, but there are so many ingredients i’d have a hard time locating at … Walmart. i’m a dedicated Amazon Prime shopper (hence, the gochujang and gochugaru, sweet rice flour, etc.), but the sheer AMOUNT of kimchi your recipe makes is WAY TOO MUCH for one little old person and one 1-gallon fermentation jar. then i checked out this (smaller-sized) recipe, only to read that you don’t recommend it for the Kimchi-Jiggae. what shall i do? i have to do the fermented kimchi, but i have to do the smaller amount. can you help me?
check out my vegan kimchi recipe! That one also small amount kimchi recipe that made with only 1 napa cabbage! https://seonkyounglongest.com/vegan-kimchi/
You can substitute the persimmon to apricot jam if you can’t find persimmon! Good luck Hollis!
Is this recipe spicy? What variation can I do to make this less spicy?
I’ve only ever had store bought kimchi, so I wanted to try this recipe before committing to all of the ingredients for the real deal…so delicious!
Can baby napa cabbage be used to make the kimchi?
Can I use baby napa cabbage to make the kimchi?
I’ve never tried with baby napa cabbage but it will definitely will work!
Does Kimchi taste sour ? Thanks.
the sourness is depending on what type of kimchi or how long it’s fermented
Hi SeonYoung,
Thanks for sharing this recipe! I have tried it many times and all my family members love the kimchi. Only thing I change was – I substitute pineapple preserve for apricot preserve. Your recipe is easy and simple but taste is fantastic!
Really happy I managed to chance upon your website.
can i cook this type of kimchi? like in your soup recipes or fried rice.
i love watching your channel but have difficulty finding ingredients here in the uk.
ive only done the galbi, banchan spinach and beansprouts, bibimbap and doenjang jigae. i love korean food and i love you and your channel. keep cooking and sharing. we all need asian food in our lives.
Can I use honey instead of jam?
Yes, that should be okay.
Can I use strawberry jam??
No strawberry would not work wit this recipe. I would recommend apple jam.
seonkyoung if i dont have any jam? what can i substitute it with?. thank you!
I tried this recipe using pepper powder but that left a sandy texture. Can you share what brand is your pepper flakes? I might have bought the wrong bag.
Thank you!
Hi Seonkyoung,
My daughter asked me if she can try kimchi. Both of us don’t eat a lot of spicy foods. However, we want to try kimchi as it has a lot of health benefits. I like to use Hungarian sweet paprika – which gives food the nice red color without the heat. Just wondering if I can substitute Korean red pepper flakes with the sweet paprika without sacrificing the taste. If i omit the red pepper flakes, to make a baek kimchi, do I lose some of the health benefits of the kimchi. Looking forward to making this recipe! Thanks.
One more question. Since this is a fresh kimchi i.e. not fermented, do we still get health benefits of kimchi?
I have made this twice already! An absolutely yummy kimchi, short and simple, and flavor straight to the point Thank you so much!
Hello!
Can you tell me why you use Apricot or anything sweet in the Kimchi? Does it make it Sweet? I like mine fermented and spicy.
Yes, apricot jam is for a sweet flavor. If you like fermented kimchi, I recommend you to make my Mak Kimchi or Traditional Kimchi recipe. This is Geotjeori- not fermented kimchi.