Vegetarian Kimchi

Today I want to share with you a delicious vegan recipe for Napa kimchi. Kimchi is a traditional Korean fermented vegetable dish with many health benefits and a great flavor. It is usually made with fish sauce and small salted shrimp, which give it a distinctive taste and smell. But if you are vegan, like me, you might want to avoid those ingredients and still enjoy the sweet and spicy taste of kimchi. Don't worry, I have a solution for you! This recipe is for a small batch of kimchi, using only one small napa cabbage. You can find napa cabbage in most Asian markets or grocery stores. It is a large, leafy vegetable that weighs about 4 pounds. The process of making kimchi is simple but takes some time and patience. You need to salt the cabbage for a few hours to draw out the moisture and make it crunchy. Then you need to rinse it and drain it well. You can add Chinese chives and green onions to the kimchi for extra color and flavor. The jar of kimchi can be placed at room temperature to ferment for a day or two. You will notice some bubbles forming in the jar or container, which means the kimchi is alive and active. You can taste the kimchi after a day or two and see if it is sour enough for you. If not, you can let it ferment longer until it reaches your desired sourness level. Once the kimchi is ready, you can store it in the refrigerator for up to a month or longer. You can enjoy it as a side dish with rice or noodles, or use it as an ingredient in other dishes, such as soups, stews, pancakes, or sandwiches. Kimchi is very versatile and adds a lot of flavor and nutrition to your meals. I hope you try this vegan recipe for Napa kimchi and write some comment to let me know what you think. Happy fermenting!

The ingredients:

1 small napa cabbage, about 1 ½ pounds

1 small carrot, peeled and julienned

2 oz. radish, peel and julienned

1 small bunch of Chinese chives, washed and cut into 2 inch pieces

1 small white onion, roughly chopped

6 garlic cloves

1 tbsp ginger (small piece of fresh ginger)

Total 1/3 cup salt

Sweet rice pastes for Kimchi

1 tbsp sweet rice flour

1/2 cup water

Sauce ingredients:

1 tbsp red pepper powder

All the sweet rice flour

All the chopped white onion, garlic, and ginger

2 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp salt

1 tbsp soy sauce

Directions:

Cut the Napa cabbage into bite-sized pieces and wash well.

Put the cabbage in a medium bowl and sprinkle the salt evenly over the cabbage. Pour enough water to cover the cabbage. Let it soak for 3 hours; you have to turn the cabbage every 30 minutes.  Drain and wash the cabbage under running water and let it dry.

Add the chives, radish, and carrots with the Napa cabbage. Toss them well.

You will also need some other ingredients, such as salt, sugar, garlic, ginger, green onions, red pepper flakes, and rice flour. The rice flour helps to thicken the kimchi paste and make it stick to the cabbage.

To make the sweet rice paste:

Mix the sweet rice and water and bring to boil. Stir and cook for 1 minute until the mixture reaches the thickness of a pancake batter. Let it cool off.

In a food processor, blend the white onion, ginger and garlic well. Add this mixture with the rice mixture. You can adjust the amount of sugar and red pepper flakes according to your taste preference. Some people like their kimchi sweeter or spicier than others. 

Pour the Kimchi sauce into the mixture of cabbage and toss them well. Make sure all the sauce coats the vegetables.

Put them in the container with a lid and close the lid. Let it sit at room temperature for one or two days before placing the container in the refrigerator.