Kimchi is absolutely necessary for many Korean dishes. There are as many recipes for kimchi as there are Korean cooks – more, if you consider that there are many different varieties of kimchi.
Once buried in the backyard to age, kimchi is kept in a separate refrigerator in modern Korean homes. Some cooks even take the drastic step of buying prepared kimchi for everyday use, saving the homemade version for special occasions.
Rinse and quarter lengthwise:
2 chinese cabbages
Cover the cabbages with salted water – use about 250 g of salt, and rub additional salt into the cabbage.
Soak for 3-6 hours. Drain the cabbage, and rinse off any excess salt, if necessary. The cabbage should be a lot softer now.
Chop into pieces – about 5 cm across – and squeeze one last time to remove excess moisture. Add:
1 white radish, cut into thin strips
5-6 green onions, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
5 g ginger, minced
10 g parsley
10 ml sugar
15 ml fish sauce
20 g Korean chili powder -or- 50 ml hot chili powder
Put on clean food-handling gloves or new dishwashing gloves (safety goggles optional) and mash the ingredients together well, ensuring that they are well-mixed.
Put the kimchi into a sealed plastic container and set it aside to rest at room temperature for at least three days.