Add the garlic, ginger, spring onions, red pepper powder, tamari and fish sauce to a mini food processor and blitz to a paste. My 4 year old daughter and I just made this recipe to a tee except I forgot the leeks and green onions. She went from being a food wimp to being a daring taster in the course of a day.” son

Kitchen rubber gloves: Food-prep rubber kimchi gloves are to protect your hands from intensive red chili kimchi paste when you mix. Minced Shrimp Handling: The fineness of the mince of both salted shrimp and raw shrimp will impact the texture of the sauce. Finely mincing or grinding ensures that the shrimp is well integrated into the sauce, providing a smooth texture. A coarse mince could lead to a chunkier sauce, which might not be suitable for all applications of kimchi.

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Put the cabbage in the clean mixing bowl and separate using your fingers. Arrange in layers, with a little salt sprinkled between each layer. Cover the bowl with a plate and leave to stand for 2–3 hours. The cabbage will soften and become limp, and should be sitting in a pool of water when you return to it. It will have reduced in volume by about a third. Thank you so much for the reply! It’s great having a Korean person helping me out with making kimchi 😉

Salting cabbage is an important step, and this easy brine method works best for making cut cabbage kimchi. Add the mooli, spring onion and carrot to the cabbage and tip in the chilli paste. Wearing disposable, or clean, new, rubber gloves (to protect your hands from the chilli) thoroughly massage the paste into the vegetables. You can do this with a spoon, but it is less effective. Taste and Adjust: Taste the sauce and adjust seasonings, such as the spiciness or saltiness, to achieve the desired balance for your specific application.Control Texture with Shrimp Preparation: The texture of the sauce can vary dramatically depending on how the shrimp is prepared (minced, ground, or pasted). Chefs can play with these textures to create a sauce that perfectly matches the application. Though there is no need to fret if you can’t find them. These are nice to have ingredients, but not essential. How to Store Kimchi Rinse the cabbage well, then cut it into quarters, lengthwise. Place in a large bowl and cover completely with salt, working the salt in between all the leaves. Let sit for about 2 hours, massaging and turning the cabbage every 30 minutes, until cabbage has wilted down. When finished, drain and rinse the cabbage very well (until a torn-off piece no longer tastes overly salty). Squeeze out the excess water. That being said, I’ve seen other people using Red Boat 40N and Three Crabs fish sauce quite successfully in their kimchi. I wouldn’t know how, or if, the taste differs compared to when you use Korean fish sauce. I’m too scared to let my hard work on kimchi fail this way, so I haven’t tried it myself. But one of these days, I shall sacrifice on your behalf.

While cabbage is sitting in the brine, add your Korean pepper flakes, garlic, ginger, and sugar to a clean food processor, along with some water to get things moving. If desired, add miso paste as well (for umami taste). Blitz until smooth.

Flavor: Good kimchi should have a well-balanced flavor that is tangy, spicy, and slightly sweet. The flavors should be strong, but not overpowering. Put the cabbage in a large bowl, cut-side up. Pour the cooled salted water over the cabbage, then pour enough cold water into the bowl to cover the cabbage. Don’t overfill the bowl, as some liquid will be drawn out of the cabbage. Weigh down the cabbage with a plate so the wedges are completely immersed. Leave at room temperature for 6–8 hours, flipping the wedges halfway through.