Ingredients
Scale
- 4 lb napa cabbage
- 3 cups cold water
- 1/2 cup Korean kimchi sea salt or 1/3 cup fine sea salt
- 10 to 12 cloves garlic, chopped
- 8 tbsp gochugaru, Korean red pepper flakes
- 2 tbsp yondu, fermented vegetable sauce, or vegan fish sauce
- 1 tbsp Korean soup soy sauce or Tamari
- 3 tbsp Maesilaek, Korean green plum extract (you can substitute with apricot or apple jam)
- 4 to 6 green onions, cut into halves lengthwise then cut into 2-inch long pieces
- 2 tsp sesame seeds
- 1/4 to 1/2 tsp salt to taste
Instructions
- Cut cabbage in a quarter lengthwise and remove the stem. Add whole smaller cabbage leaves and cut larger outer leaves into about 3″ long, 1″ wide pieces, and place all into a large mixing bowl. It doesn’t need to be perfect, and it should be uneven cuts and sizes for fun texture.
- Mix cold water and Korean kimchi sea salt until the salt has dissolved. Pour salted water over the cabbage and gently press down with your hand. Let cabbage soak in salted water for 1 hour. Halfway through time, toss cabbage upside down to soak them evenly.
- Meanwhile, let’s make the kimchi sauce.
In a mixing bowl, combine chopped garlic, gochugaru, yondu, Korean soup soy sauce, and maesilaek. Set aside. - Drain salted cabbage and rinse under cold water to rinse off excess salt. Rinse 3 times (because that’s what Koreans do) and drain completely for about 5 to 10 minutes.
- Place cabbage, green onion, and kimchi sauce in a large mixing bowl, and mix by hand with gentle pressure and squeeze action so that cabbage will absorb the color and flavor. Add 1/4 to 1/2 tsp salt to taste.
- Add toasted sesame seeds and give a final light toss. Transfer to a serving plate or in an air-tight container. It will last 7 days in a fridge. Enjoy with warm cooked rice!
- Prep Time: 1 hour