Easy-To-Make, Healthy Vegan Kimchi
Fermented veggies that are amazing for your gut!
Equipment
- 2 large mixing bowls
- 1 Sharp knife
- 1 Chopping Board
- 1 air-tight storage container
Ingredients
Vegetables
- 350 grams Chinese cabbage (wombok) sliced, separated, salted, washed then dried
- 30 grams chives chopped (make sure this is measured AFTER its chopped)
- 40 grams spring onions chopped (make sure this is measured AFTER its chopped)
Seasoning
- 3 tbsp Korean red pepper paste gochujang (see notes for a homemade version)
- 1 tbsp Korean red chilli flakes gochugaru
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp rice flour mixed with 3 tbsps water (room temp) you may skip this if you want a lower calorie kimchi
- 3 tbsps carbonated water or Sprite/7-Up, make sure its new/carbonated
- 1/2 apple grated
- 1/2 pear grated
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 1 tbsp minced ginger
Instructions
- As mentioned above, the cabbage needs to be sliced, separated then salted. You can use a large bowl for this. Keep this aside for about 1-12 hours (depending on how much time you have. You can leave it overnight as well) to let all the water from the cabbage drain out and for it to absorb the sauce better. Where salt goes, water follows.
- Once the cabbage water has been released, wash the cabbage and completely dry it. You can use a salad spinner for this (available on my amazon store). If you notice the cabbage is not completely soft, and it is still very crunchy, repeat the salting process and leave it for longer. You need the cabbage to be soft but not wilted**
- Mix all the ingredients for the seasoning together in a large bowl.
- Add the cabbage. Mix it in the seasoning really well.
- Store the kimchi in an air-tight container for about a day, in a cool, dry place in your kitchen. Somewhere with no direct sunlight. Be sure to release the gas periodically.
- Taste the kimchi the next day. It should have some fermented tanginess to it. If not, keep it out for another day.
- Once the kimchi has reached your desired fermented tanginess (make sure it doesn't get too tangy) you can store this in the fridge for up to a month. Use it for kimchi fried rice, pancakes, or even stuffing. Its so delicious.
- HOW EASY WAS THAT??? Rate this recipe if you love it! Enjoy :)
Notes
Gochujang is a very concentrated spicy Korean paste used in a lot of Korean cooking.
I noticed that a lot of store gochujang sauces have corn syrup in it. This is because it's a cheaper alternative to sugar. Corn syrup and high fructose corn syrup is extremely high-GI and studies have shown it is linked to diabetes if eaten regularly. A lot of our store-bought sauces may contain this. It is important for us to read ingredients to avoid consuming these harmful processed foods.
I've developed my own recipe to make your own gochujang sauce to help you with this. Please follow these instructions, or watch my video here:
- 2 tbsp rice flour
- 0.5 cups of water
- 2 tbsps soy sauce (or coconut aminos, you may need to add 1 extra tbsp for that)
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp maple/agave or honey
- 1 tbsp organic soybean paste/miso paste
- 100g gochu-garu (Korean red pepper flakes)
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp red chilli powder (if you want more spice)
- Combine the rice flour and water in a small frying pan over low heat
- Once the mixture is thick and sticky, take it off the heat and place it in a medium sized mixing bowl.
- Stir in the remaining ingredients
- Pour it in a glass jar to store in the fridge up to 3 months