Kimchee, vegan & with Gochujang

My love for kimchee has all begun since 2020, after I discovered K-dramas. I love how they eat Kimchee with everything and so I started making my own. 

There are multiple recipes on the internet on how to make vegan kimchee, and this recipe of mine is derived from all those - this one uses Gochugaru, the chilli flakes. 

Now that am in India, I noticed it is much easier to get access to Korean food items, and a friend got some Gochujang for us from Korea town near Ananthapur. I had to make kimchee with that, and the taste is totally different and yummier. 

Gochujang is also pre-fermented , so it acts like a starter to ferment the cabbages. Plus, since we are in warmer temparatures in India, the kimchee, as it is sitting on the counter, has fermented much quicker. I also choose to use the normal cabbage available in the grocery store for this recipe. But am sure it would taste better with the Napa cabbage too.

Here are all the references I used for this recipe - 

1. FoodbyJonister - Kimchee
2. FoodietakesFlight - This post has fermentation tips too.

 

And my recipe - 

Ingredients 

Vegetables

Cabbage - 1 head, weighing 300 grams
Optional veggies - Spring onions, Bell pepper, carrots or Ginger - Julienned

Paste

Gochujang - 2-3 Tbsp
Onion - 1
Garlic - 1 bulb, peeled
Ginger - 1 inch thick piece
Sugar - 1 Tsp

Prep

Salt - 4 Tbsp
Cabbage - 1 head, cut in cubes

Method

1. Rub salt into the cabbage pieces, rest for 2 hours. Squeeze cabbage with hand
   OR
   Soak cabbage pieces in warm salt water bath for ~2 hours. Strain in a colander so it has some water left which will make the kimchee juicy.
2. Make Kimchee paste by grinding all ingredients except the Gochujang paste. Mix the paste with Gochujang well.
3. Mix Kimchee paste with cabbage and other veggies well. Bottle the kimchi, leave at least 2” space at the top of the container.
4. Leave it on the container so it ferments. Open it after 24 hours and burp it.
5. Let it stay on the counter for a couple more days, depending on how fermented you want it to be, burp it every 24 hours.
6. When it smells fermented, move this to the refrigerator and keep refrigerated. 
7. Enjoy with Korean fried rice, ramen, and pancakes.