Easy Red Cabbage Kimchi Recipe

📺 Watch How to Make This Red Cabbage Kimchi

Red Cabbage Kimchi at Home

It’s been almost three months since we started living in Paris.
Although napa cabbage is easy to find here, I felt drawn to make kimchi with vegetables from France, something that felt a little more French than the usual napa cabbage kimchi.

That’s how I ended up making two kinds of kimchi — rose radish kimchi and this red cabbage kimchi.
I’ve shared the story of the rose radish kimchi in From My Table, so today I’d like to share my recipe for red cabbage kimchi.

Red cabbage has such a beautiful color.
But I’ve always wondered — to my eyes it’s purple, so why is it called red cabbage?
To preserve its gorgeous purple hue, I decided to leave out anything that might alter the color, like Gochugaru, Korean red pepper flakes, or green vegetables such as green onion.

Still, I knew leaving out green onions might make it less flavorful, so I chose to add red onion, which shares the same color as red cabbage.
Perhaps because of that, the kimchi paste turned out simpler than expected.

❓ What’s Kimchi?

Kimchi is Korea’s iconic fermented vegetable dish, beloved for its tangy, spicy, and umami-rich flavor. While napa cabbage kimchi is the most famous, this Red Cabbage Kimchi takes inspiration from France’s seasonal produce. It keeps the fermentation process traditional but swaps the usual green napa for jewel-toned red cabbage and pairs it with red onion instead of green onions. This twist not only adds a French market vibe but also maintains the cabbage’s natural purple color.

🛒 Ingredients You’ll Need

For this Red Cabbage Kimchi, you’ll use a short list of vibrant, flavorful ingredients that keep the gorgeous purple hue intact.

Salting the cabbage:

• 1 large head of red cabbage, thinly sliced
• 2/3 cup coarse sea salt (100g)
• 1 cup cold water (150ml)

Kimchi paste:

• 1/2 small apple, peeled and seeds removed
• ½ thumb-sized piece of ginger
• 3 to 4 garlic cloves
• 4 tbsp fish sauce
• 2 tbsp Yondu (Korean vegetable umami sauce)
• 100ml water (or kombu-soaked water*)
• 3 tbsp apricot jam
• 1 tbsp cooked rice

Extra vegetables:

• 1 red onion, sliced

*To make kombu water: soak a 3×3-inch piece of kombu in 120ml water for an hour or overnight.

💜 How to Make Red Cabbage Kimchi

1. Salt the cabbage
   Place the sliced red cabbage in a large bowl. Dissolve coarse sea salt in cold water, pour over the cabbage, and toss well. Let it sit for 3–4 hours in summer or 5–6 hours in winter, flipping once halfway. When a thick piece bends without snapping, it’s ready.

2. Rinse and drain
Rinse the cabbage three times under running water to remove excess salt. Drain completely in a colander.

3. Blend the paste
Combine all the ingredients for Kimchi paste in a blender. Blend until smooth.

4. Mix
In a large mixing bowl, combine salted cabbage and sliced red onion. Add the paste and mix thoroughly by hand (wear gloves).

5. Pack and ferment
Pack tightly into a clean, air-tight container, leaving about an index-finger’s width of space at the top for fermentation gases. Close the lid and ferment at room temperature for 24–48 hours. Taste after 24 hours; for a tangier flavor, leave it for 48 hours. Personally, I love tangy kimchi, so I always let it ferment for about 48 hours.

NOTE: At first, the beautiful purple color doesn’t come through completely, but after just one night, the cabbage turns a gorgeous, deep shade of purple.

📝 Tips for the Best Red Cabbage Kimchi

• Keep green vegetables out if you want to preserve that pure purple hue.
• Use kombu-soaked water for a subtle boost of umami and to help maintain the cabbage’s crisp texture.
• Always leave headspace in your jar; fermentation creates bubbles that can overflow.

❓ FAQ

Why is it called “red” cabbage when it’s purple?
Historically, the term “red cabbage” stuck due to the way the pigments react to soil pH, even though it appears purple to our eyes.

Can I make it vegan?
Yes—replace fish sauce with extra Yondu or Korean soup soy sauce.

🍽️ Serving Suggestions

This Red Cabbage Kimchi is perfect as a side dish with rice or alongside Korean BBQ, but it’s also delicious when well-fermented like Mukeunji — aged kimchi. Simply rinse off a bit of the seasoning, toss it with sesame oil and sesame seeds, and serve it over bibim-myeon or bibimbap. The beautiful color is a bonus.

When a dish is adorned with such a vibrant purple hue, it somehow feels more lovingly made — and it just looks exceptionally pretty.

Red Cabbage Kimchi

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• Author: Seonkyoung Longest
• Total Time: 4 hrs 10 mins
• Yield: 1300ml (5 1/2 cups) 1x

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Description

Make vibrant, tangy Red Cabbage Kimchi with crisp texture and gorgeous purple color. A Korean classic with a colorful twist, perfect as a side dish or topping.

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Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

Salting the cabbage:

• 1 large head of red cabbage, thinly sliced
• 2/3 cup coarse sea salt (100g)
• 1 cup cold water (150ml)

Kimchi paste:

• 1/2 small apple, peeled and seeds removed
• 1/2 thumb-sized piece of ginger
• 3 to 4 garlic cloves
• 4 tbsp fish sauce
• 2 tbsp Yondu (Korean vegetable umami sauce)
• 100ml water (or kombu-soaked water*)
• 3 tbsp apricot jam
• 1 tbsp cooked rice

Extra vegetables:

• 1 red onion, sliced

*To make kombu water: soak a 3×3-inch piece of kombu in 120ml water for an hour or overnight.

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Instructions

1. Salt the cabbage
   Place the sliced red cabbage in a large bowl. Dissolve salt in water, pour over the cabbage, and toss well. Let it sit for 3–4 hours in summer or 5–6 hours in winter, flipping once halfway. When a thick piece bends without snapping, it’s ready.
2. Rinse and drain
   Rinse the cabbage three times under running water to remove excess salt. Drain completely in a colander.
3. Blend the paste
   Combine apple, ginger, garlic, fish sauce, Yondu, water, apricot jam, and cooked rice in a blender. Blend until smooth.
4. Mix
   In a large mixing bowl, combine cabbage and sliced red onion. Add the paste and mix thoroughly by hand (wear gloves).
5. Pack and ferment
   Pack tightly into a clean container, leaving about an index-finger’s width of space at the top for fermentation gases. Close the lid and ferment at room temperature for 24–48 hours. Taste after 24 hours; for a tangier flavor, leave it for 48.

Notes

At first, the beautiful purple color doesn’t come through completely, but after just one night, the cabbage turns a gorgeous, deep shade of purple.

• Prep Time: 4 hrs
• Cook Time: 10 mins
• Category: Kimchi
• Cuisine: Korean

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🙌🏼 There You Have It!

A beautiful, naturally purple Red Cabbage Kimchi that feels both Korean in technique and French in spirit. It’s a conversation-starter on the table and a flavorful way to enjoy seasonal vegetables.

🌶️ Check Out More Kimchi Recipes

• Traditional Napa Cabbage Kimchi
• Mak Kimchi
• Ponytail Kimchi
• Vegan Kimchi
• Geotjeori (Fresh Kimchi)
• Tomato Kimchi
• Green Onion Kimchi
• Cucumber Kimchi
• Dongchimi (Water Radish Kimchi)