Homemade Kimchi (Vegan)

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Sour, salty, yummy, this Kimchi has it all and it’s vegan without fish sauce! Here is a step by step recipe to guide you through how to make kimchi at home.

Homemade Kimchi (Vegan)

I love Korean foods, surely including the well-known Kimchi. The sour, sweet, salty flavors let me feel I could eat it non-stop! I like to make the Kimchi myself because you can adjust the flavor, make a big batch at one time, and don’t worry about running out of side dishes for the upcoming month.

Most kimchi in stores or restaurant contains fish sauce. After becoming a vegan, I want to have kimchi as usual, but make sure it’s vegan. So let’s make this vegan kimchi.

I actually have the idea of making kimchi for a long time, like about 2-year long. Then why I didn’t start earlier? Well, that’s because I have a prejudice for making kimchi, like …

• It seems to take a long time and troublesome
• I don’t have the important ingredients at hand, such as Korean chili powder

But after making my mind to make kimchi and do my research, I found that …

• Making kimchi is pretty simple ─ you just mix and let it marinate for 7 days
• Korean chili powder is actually quite easy to find in Asian stores or online

This tells me: No judgement before you understand it (that makes sense?)

My Ideal Kimchi

I think you’re not a stranger to kimchi, but the flavor actually varies from one recipe to another. It depends on how sour, sweet, salty, and spicy you like.

In the process to make my ideal kimchi, I also learned from the experiences. The first time I didn’t drain out the water from the salted cabbage well enough so the final product was way too salty. So I remember that ever since to drain out the water. The failures lead to success. It’s until the third time that I find my ideal kimchi recipe.

The kimchi I like is the balance between salty, sweet, and sour taste. I don’t like too spicy so the kimchi recipe I share here is mild, which might not be very authentic to Korean, but that’s what I like. If you like spicer, sweeter, or saltier, just adjust the seasoning to your taste. Make it work for you.

I heard from some of my friends who’ve been to Korea that Kimchi in Korea is way saltier than that in Taiwan. It usually goes with other vegetables. But I like a mild Kimchi to enjoy on its own, so, let’s give it a little twist.

To make this kimchi, I asked my brother, who was in Korean at that time, to bring me a bag of Korean chili powder. Then when he’s back, he gave me this huge bag of Korean powder.

I was thinking it should have been cheaper in Korea than that in Taiwan. But it seems like I was wrong. This bag costs about NT. 500. I mean, that’s a bit expensive for chili powder, in my opinion.

But anyway, here we are. And that also gives me a reason to make kimchi as many times as possible.

Sweetened with Veggie & Fruits

If you’ve read my recipes or followed me for a while, you know that I’m a sweet tooth but I don’t like deadly sweetness. The sweetness I adore usually has a depth of flavor, like the one in veggies and fruits.

That brings us to the cabbage because the cabbage is naturally sweet in itself. But the sweetness is on the tender side that needs a bit more sugar to elevate its flavor as well as some vegetables. Here comes the carrot, apple, and onion. You can use pear in place of apple as well.

The sweetness from these vegetables and fruits really gives kimchi more flavor and depth.

How to Make Kimchi

Peel the leaves from the cabbage and rinse them thoroughly. Drain out the water, chop them, and place them into a big mixing bowl.

Add the salt to the cabbage and use your hands to “massage” them. The water from the cabbage will gradually release and the total volume will drop dramatically. Let them sit for 1-2 hours. In the meantime, let’s prepare other ingredients.

Roughly chop the apple and onion and place them into a food processor to get chopped into a puree-like texture. Set it aside.

In a small saucepan, add the rice flour and the water. Mix to combine. Cook the mixture over medium heat until it looks like porridge. Turn off the heat and place it on the counter to cool down a bit.

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Drain out the water from the cabbage and add the left ingredients, including minced ginger, garlic, carrot shreds, chopped spring onion, sugar, liquid amino acid, sesame oil, Korean chili powder, the onion and apple puree, and the cooled rice water mixture.

With the gloves on, grab or “massage” the cabbage to let them all well-covered with the seasoning.

Transfer the kimchi to an air-tight container or jars. Refrigerate for 5–7 days before enjoying. If you like them to have a more obvious sour note, let it sit longer as the cabbage will ferment more.

Kimchi goes really well with almost everything. It also appears in my salad bowls from time to time.

Kimchi is literally one of my favorite side dishes. I hope you find a way to give them a try. If you’re looking for more Korean recipes, here are:

• Asian Stir-fry Glass Noodles with Mushroom
• Vegetable Korean Pancakes (Yachaejeon)
• 6-ingredient Gochujang Sauce (Korean Chili Paste)

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. If you make this recipe, don’t forget to tag @Barrelleaf + #barrelleaf on Instagram. I always love to see them and to know how it goes.