Kimchi

Ingredients

• 6 pounds napa cabbage, chopped into bite sizes, with discolored leaves removed
• 2 cucumbers, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup salt
• 1/4 cup sweet rice flour
• 1/8 cup sugar
• 1.5 cups water
• .5 cup garlic
• 1 T of ginger
• 1/2 cup onion
• 1/2 cup fish sauce
• 1.25 cups korean hot pepper flakes
• 1 cups chopped leek
• 10 green diagonally-sliced green onions
• 1/2 cup julienned carrot

Directions

Note: only use 2/3 of prepared kimchi paste; reserve the rest until fermentation is complete. Add only if more paste is required.

1. Salt cabbage and cucumber
   1. Soak the pieces of cabbage and cucumber in cold water and put the soaked cabbage into a large basin and then drain (just get wet). Add salt.
   2. Every 30 minutes, turn over to salt evenly (total salting time will be 1½ hours).
   3. 1½ hours later, rinse in cold water 3 times to clean it thoroughly.
   4. Drain and set aside.
2. Make porridge:
   1. Put water and sweet rice flour (chapssal garu) in a pot and mix it well and bring to a boil. Keep stirring until the porridge makes bubbles (about 5 minutes).
   2. Add sugar. Stir and cook for a few more mintues until it’s translucent.
   3. Cool it down.
3. Make kimchi paste:
   1. Place the cold porridge into a large bowl. Now you will add all your ingredients one by one.
   2. Add fish sauce, hot pepper flakes (depending on your taste), crushed garlic, minced ginger, minced onion. (tip: much easier to use a food processor)
   3. Add green onions, leek, cucumbers, and carrot.
   4. Mix all ingredients well and your kimchi paste is done.
4. Mix the cabbage with the kimchi paste
5. Allow kimchi to sour at room temperature; should take 3-7 days. Taste until sufficiently sour.