Homemade Kimchi

My father came back from Korea and bought a whole lot of red pepper powder. So what do we do with it? We made kimchi. This is our first time making it and it was fresh, tasty and spicy. Will definitely be making more of this. It's so much cheaper than store bought ones and better for health of course (no preservatives).

Anyway, firstly, sprinkle a good amount of salt on the Wombok aka Chinese cabbage. Note, every leaf of the wombok needs to have some salt on it. Let it sit for awhile (approx 1 hr) and you will be able to see a slight puddle of water forming (juice from the cabbage).  Squeeze the cabbage to let out any other excess liquid.

Then, slice it up as shown below. Also, slice up some spring onions (depicted on the left side of the picture).

Add in chopped garlic and shallots.

Note: add julienne carrots if you like to give the dish a bit more colour.

Now, time to season this gorgeous salad. Add red pepper powder to taste. If you like it spicy, add more. But for the amount of vegetables shown, I added 3 tablespoons and it was SPICY. However, it depends on the quality of red pepper powder you got! The brand I used is depicted below.

Add in approximately 3 tablespoons of fish sauce. And again, the quantity added is entirely up to you. It depends on how salty you want your kimchi to be. The fish sauce chosen is the one with 3 crabs! haha. at least that's how I recognise my fish sauce! It's actually better than quite a few other brands that I have tried. Add in sugar to taste. Use raw or brown sugar if you want the salad to be slightly on the healthier side.

AND then MIX it. Don't be alarm at the initial quantity or the look of it.

After letting it sit for a few hours, it reduces in size and ended up looking like a real KIMCHI. haha. At least, I felt like this kimchi tasted good although I'm biased since I helped make it! I can't guarantee this is the way Koreans make kimchi but my family loved it! It was simple and quick. Just follow the simple steps and you will have a beautiful kimchi. If you keep the kimchi for longer, it would be known as AGED kimchi. MY family finished it on the spot so the vegetables were still slightly crunchy and fresh. Absolutely love it!

Apologies due to poor quality photos or bad demonstration of the steps. This was my first time making it and decided to take a few random shots along the way! hehe. Anyway, do try it!