recipe reviews for:

Spicy Cabbage Kimchi

“Kimchi, a popular Korean dish, is best described as a spicy, slightly sweet, pickled or fermented cabbage. I spent a year in South Korea and fell in LOVE with Kimchi! My friend Myong was kind enough to share her recipe and technique with me. Some ingredients may not be readily available in your local supermarket. Look for Kimchi (Fish) Sauce and Korean chili powder in Asian markets or online. Use kimchi in stir fries or your favorite Korean dishes.”

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Reviewed: May 22, 2012

Great recipe , needs to be tweaked however. As other reviewers have mentioned the salt amount is entirely too much, cut amount in half and still does perfect. Also use real ginger , why skimp now ! The main adjustment I make in my recipe is that Instead of sugar I use 1 pear, 1 apple and 1 yellow onion puréed. This is the authentic touch it is missing and really separates it from the mass produced kimchi out there. If you like sweeter kimchi you can cut the fermentation to two days ( or even over night depending on your tastes) but be aware this rob's it of its healthy pro-biotic qualities. The longer this ferments, and stays in your fridge after, the more sour it will become. Enjoy !!!

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sslacan

Reviewed: Apr. 23, 2012

This seems to be very good, but I couldn't source Korean chili powder and used sriracha instead. Also, after seeing all the comments about excess salt I went with kosher salt instead of sea salt. While it tastes good, mine looks a bit brown around the edges. This is very tasty and I will make it again and again until I get it exactly right. For now I am enjoying it on hot dogs in place of sauerkraut.

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Reviewer:

stevef

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Newark, New Jersey, USA

Living In: Montague, New Jersey, USA

Reviewed: Apr. 3, 2012

I've made this 5 times now and it's excellent! I lived in South Korea for 2.5 years and my friends who also lived there think it's amazing, too. The first time I made it I followed the recipe exactly and found it a little salty. The next few times, I cut the salt by half and tweaked it a little to my liking; adding another 1 tbsp sugar, a grated carrot, about 1/2 tsp ground black pepper and fresh ground ginger root instead of dried ginger. I have to say now that it's probably the best kimchi I've ever eaten and it makes amazing kimchi jjigae and kimchi bokeumbap!

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Reviewer:

Andrea

Reviewed: Mar. 19, 2012

Searched this recipe out while looking for ideas for a gift basket of homemade goodies for my parents for Valentines day! My step-father is retired Army, and has always loved Kimchi. Both him and my Mother are big Foodies, and I thought this would be an interesting surprise for them! The first try I made, I could not find the Korean chili powder, so I used regular, mixed with some Siracha. It was insanely hot, but John is still flipping out on how wonderful it is! For my second attempt, I put a message on facebook on where to find the correct chili powder, and a chef that I am friends with told me where it was locally. The second attempt is wonderful also!! On a side note, Dr.Oz (tv personality/doctor), had a show where he was giving advice to help non-morning people wake up. He called it the "kimchi kick-start", and advised to eat a few forkfulls in the morning in order to get you raring to go!

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tracylovesbeer

Reviewed: Mar. 3, 2012

You can use less salt when preparing your kimchi if you wish. The key is to rinse the cabbage well. I usually send mine through a soak in a sink of water after rinsing using running water. Also, don't be afraid to taste the cabbage during this stage. You can get a better idea if you need to rinse more.

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LadyVictorie

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Reviewed: Feb. 22, 2012

Really Yummy. I'm so happy I have an alternative to paying $5 per jar!. I was concerned about salt because of some of the other reviews, but when I googled kimchi recipes, they all called for the same amount (or more), so I went ahead and used the amount called for. Some recipes called for soaking it in water, along with the salt, so I tried that. Then I rinsed really well. I'm thinking maybe some people didn't rinse well enough. I tasted it before proceeding with the chili paste, and it had a pleasant amount of saltiness. I'd suggest people try this, and then just rinse more.

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Reviewer:

Hbing1967

Reviewed: Jan. 27, 2012

I love this recipe! It works out great every time. As for it being salty, once you soak it in the salt water for 3 hours, rinse it well and taste it. It should have a bit of a salty taste. After that, you should have perfect Kimchi in a few days!

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Mommymary

Reviewed: Jan. 2, 2012

Good recipe but do not use powder ginger. Always use fresh for the best taste.

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Reviewer:

lainiekay

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Ho Chi Minh City, Dong Nam Bo, Viet Nam

Living In: Easton, Pennsylvania, USA

Reviewed: Dec. 28, 2011

I wanted to try making kimchi because my boyfriend is Korean but I have never had it before and so did not know how authentic it would be. I was nervous but read the reviews first and decided to cut the salt as others had done. I only used 2/3 cup to salt the cabbage which seemed like plenty and followed the rest of the recipe exactly, with the exception that I couldn't find Korean chili powder at the Asian market, so I bought a Thai chili powder to stand in. My boyfriend said it was delicious and so I gave it a try. A word of caution: this was hot!!!!!!! My mouth was on fire with the first bite! I have a low tolerance for spicy foods, and my boyfriend admitted this version was spicier than what his mother makes. I'm making another batch, this time with much less chili powder and a little more garlic and onion. Can't wait til it's done, the overall flavor of this dish was delicious, just too hot for me.

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