Kimchi is a Korean classic side dish that people like to eat with noodles, make kimchi soup, kimchi fried rice and much more. Also, this homemade kimchi recipe shows you how to make easy kimchi at home.
Love Korean food? Check out these tteokbokki, japchae, jajangmyeon, kimbap and Korean ginseng chicken soup recipes.

What is kimchi (김치)?
Kimchi is a famous Korean cuisine. Also, it is a transitional side dish. Traditionally, kimchi is made from salted and fermented vegetables with chili pepper powder, green onion, garlic, ginger, asian pear, apple and salted seafood.
There are hundreds of different types of kimchi made with different vegetables, the most common is kimchi napa cabbage. In the past, kimchi was stored underground in jars to keep cool just like a refrigerator.
What can I eat with homemade kimchi?
Fermented napa cabbage is known to be a traditional Korean side dish because most Korean families make it and restaurants serve it as a side dish.
It can be eaten alone, with rice or noodles. Besides, you can use it to make porridges, soups, rice cakes, stew, pancakes and fried rice.
What are the ingredients for homemade easy kimchi?
In this homemade easy kimchi recipe, I used napa cabbage, garlic, ginger, apple, asian pears, daikon, green onion, salty shrimps, fish sauce, chili pepper powder and brown sugar.
I like to use Asian pears to make homemade easy Kimchi in the Fall because we have a lot of asian pears from our backyard. The sweetness and acidity from Asian pears give more flavor to fermented napa cabbage. I love homemade kimchi and it is the best and tasty! Try out this easy kimchi recipe.
Cooking tips for how to make homemade easy kimchi:
- Put kosher salt in napa cabbage and let it sit for an hour. Rinse it a few times (3 times) and drain it very well. Then, squeeze the extra water.
- You can use less chili pepper powder if you want.
- Blend asian pear, apple, ginger, garlic, salty shrimp and daikon to make the paste. After that, add or mix the paste with chili powder, brown sugar and fish sauce.
- Remember to remove excess water from the cabbage before mixing with the sauce.
FAQs:
Fresh homemade kimchi can be stored in the refrigerator for 2 weeks or more. However, I like to consume it fresh and as soon as possible.
In general, kimchi tastes spicy, sour and salty. But, in this homemade recipe, it is less sour.
Traditionally, Koreans make kimchi and store them in a clay jar called jangdokdae. Now, more people just use glass jars or containers to store kimchi.
Instructions for how to make homemade easy kimchi:
Preparation:
1. First, wash and cut 4 pounds of napa cabbage into chunks.
2 Put napa cabbage into a big pot, add ½ cup kosher salt and mix them. Then, let it sit for an hour.
3. Wash, cut and peel off ½ of the apple (Medium sized).
4. Then, wash, cut and peel off 2 cups of asian pears (Around 2 medium sized).
5. Next, wash, cut and peel off ¼ of the daikon (Medium sized).
6. The following, peel off a small piece of ginger. (Around 2 tablespoons)
7. Cut a bunch of green onion into strips and set it aside.
Paste mixture:
8. After that, put ¼ of radish, 1 whole peeled of garlic, a small piece of ginger (around 2 tablespoons), 2 cups of asian pears, ½ of the apple and 4 tablespoons of salty shrimp into a blender.
9. Blend until it's smooth.
10. After, add 4 tablespoons of fish sauce, 1 tablespoons of brown sugar and ½ cup of chili pepper powder into the mixing bowl.
11. Next, pour the mixed paste from the blender into the bowl from step 10. Then, mix it well.
12. Put green onion into the sauce and mix them well.
13. After an hour, rinse salted napa cabbage a few times (3 times) and drain excess water. Then, squeeze it and remove extra water from the cabbage. (Remember to remove excess water from the cabbage before mixing with the sauce.)
14. Lastly, put the napa cabbage into the mixed sauce and mix it very well. After that, put them into a glass jar. Let it sit at room temperature for at least a day and let it ferment. Then, you can eat them and refrigerate them.
Enjoy this homemade easy kimchi recipe! Also, check out these mouth watering chicken, taro buns, mapo tofu and California rolls recipes.
You May Also Like These Recipes:
Subscribe Oh My Food Recipes to get our new recipes delivered straight to your inbox! Follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all the latest updates.
Kimchi
Video
Ingredients
- 4 pounds Napa Cabbage
- ½ cup Kosher salt
- 1 bunch Green onion
Paste mixture:
- ¼ Daikon
- 1 whole Garlic
- 1 piece Ginger (about 2 tablespoons)
- 2 cups Asian pear
- 4 tablespoons Salty shrimp
- ½ Apple
- 4 tablespoons Fish sauce
- ½ cup Chili pepper powder (depend if you like spicy, you can add more)
- 1 tablespoon Brown sugar
Instructions
- Wash and cut 4 pounds of napa cabbage into chunks.
- Put napa cabbage into a big pot, add ½ cup kosher salt and mix them. Then, let it sit for an hour.
- Wash, cut and peel off ½ of the apple (Medium sized).
- Then, wash, cut and peel off 2 cups of asian pears (Around 2 medium sized).
- Next, wash, cut and peel off ¼ of the daikon (Medium size).
- The following, peel off a small piece of ginger. (Around 2 tablespoons)
- Cut a bunch of green onion into strips and set it aside.
- After that, put ¼ of radish, 1 whole peeled of garlic, a small piece of ginger (around 2 tablespoons), 2 cups of asian pears, ½ of the apple and 4 tablespoons of salty shrimp into a blender.
- Blend until it's smooth.
- After, add 4 tablespoons of fish sauce, 1 tablespoons of brown sugar and ½ cup of chili pepper powder into the mixing bowl.
- Next, pour the mixed paste from the blender into the bowl from step 10. Then, mix it well.
- Put green onion into the sauce and mix them well.
- After an hour, rinse salted napa cabbage a few times (3 times) and drain excess water. Then, squeeze it and remove extra water from the cabbage. (Remember to remove excess water from the cabbage before mixing with the sauce.)
- Lastly, put the napa cabbage into the mixed sauce and mix it very well. After that, put them into a glass jar. Let it sit at room temperature for at least a day and let it ferment. Then, you can eat them and refrigerate them.
Notes
Cooking tips for how to make easy kimchi:
- Put kosher salt in napa cabbage and let it sit for an hour. Rinse it a few times (3 times) and drain it very well. Then, squeeze the extra water.
- You can use less chili pepper powder if you want.
- Blend asian pear, apple, ginger, garlic, salty shrimp and daikon to make the paste. After that, add or mix the paste with chili powder, brown sugar and fish sauce.
- Remember to remove excess water from the cabbage before mixing with the sauce.
Leave a Reply