How to Make Traditional Kimchi at Home (It's Easier Than You Think!) 🥣🫙
Homemade Kimchi: A Simple Fermented Recipe for Your Kitchen
Kimchi is one of those beautiful old-world foods that feels a little magical. You start with fresh vegetables, salt, garlic, ginger, and spices — and with a little time, it turns into something tangy, crunchy, spicy, and full of life.
Fermented foods have been made for generations as a way to preserve the harvest and support gut health. Kimchi is one of our favorites because it is bold, flavorful, and surprisingly easy to make at home.
What Is Kimchi?
Kimchi is a traditional Korean fermented vegetable dish, most often made with Napa cabbage, radish, garlic, ginger, green onions, and Korean chili flakes called gochugaru.
As it ferments, the vegetables develop that tangy, sour flavor naturally — no vinegar needed. The flavor gets deeper every day, and every batch has its own personality.
Why We Love Fermented Foods
Fermented vegetables are simple, old-fashioned, and practical. They are a wonderful way to use fresh produce, preserve food naturally, and add bold flavor to everyday meals.
Kimchi is delicious with eggs, rice bowls, soups, stir fry, grilled meats, sandwiches, noodles, or eaten right out of the jar.
The Magic of Fermentation
Once the salted cabbage and vegetables are packed into a jar, nature takes over. The good bacteria already present on the vegetables begin to ferment the sugars and create that sour, tangy flavor kimchi is known for.
You may see bubbles, smell a pleasant sour aroma, or notice the liquid rising in the jar. That is all part of the process.
Homemade Kimchi Recipe
This is a simple beginner-friendly kimchi recipe that can be adjusted depending on how spicy you like it.
Ingredients
- 1 large Napa cabbage, chopped into bite-sized pieces
- 1/4 cup sea salt
- Water, enough to cover cabbage while soaking
- 1 small daikon radish, julienned or thinly sliced
- 1 large carrot, julienned or thinly sliced
- 4 green onions, chopped
- 6–8 cloves garlic
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce, optional
- 2 tablespoons coconut aminos or soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon raw honey or sugar
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup gochugaru Korean chili flakes, depending on heat preference
Instructions
- Place chopped Napa cabbage in a large bowl. Sprinkle with sea salt and cover with water.
- Let the cabbage sit for about 2 hours, turning it once or twice.
- Rinse the cabbage well several times, then drain thoroughly.
- In a food processor or blender, combine garlic, ginger, fish sauce, coconut aminos, honey, and gochugaru. Blend into a paste.
- Add cabbage, daikon, carrot, and green onions to a large bowl.
- Add the kimchi paste and mix well. Food-safe gloves are helpful here because the chili paste can stain your hands.
- Pack the mixture tightly into clean glass jars, pressing down so the vegetables are covered by their own liquid.
- Leave about 1 inch of headspace at the top of the jar.
- Cover loosely with a lid and let ferment at room temperature for 3–7 days.
- Burp the jar daily if using a regular lid, and press vegetables back under the liquid if needed.
- Taste daily. When it reaches the flavor you love, move it to the refrigerator.
How Long Does Kimchi Last?
Once refrigerated, kimchi can last for several months. It will continue to slowly ferment in the fridge, becoming tangier and more flavorful over time.
Older kimchi is perfect for fried rice, soups, stir fry, savory pancakes, and cozy one-pan meals.
A Few Kimchi Tips
- Always use clean jars and utensils.
- Keep the vegetables below the liquid as much as possible.
- Ferment out of direct sunlight.
- Warmer kitchens ferment faster.
- Cooler kitchens ferment slower.
- Bubbles are normal and a good sign.
Make It Your Own
The beautiful thing about kimchi is that every batch can be a little different. You can make it mild or spicy, extra garlicky, more gingery, sweeter, tangier, chunkier, or finer chopped.
Once you get comfortable with the basic process, it becomes one of those recipes you will come back to again and again.
I’d love to see your creations and if you have any questions, please tag me on Instagram @thehippiefarmer or share on Facebook. I'm not able to answer questions in the comments, but always love reading them!
With love and fermented goodness,
The Hippie Farmer
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1 comment
This sounds delicious