Delicious and Easy Raw Vegan Kimchi
Kimchi is fast becoming my favorite fermented food. I’ve been making sauerkraut and other fermented veggies for close to ten years, but I’ve only recently mastered the art of making delicious-tasting vegan kimchi.
For some reason, making kimchi intimidated me. If that’s the case with you, have no fear; this recipe is as easy as it is delicious! Plus, it’s loaded with super nutritious vegetables and an incredible amount of beneficial probiotics!
“Kimchi has close to a 1000 different strains of probiotics. All of them able to help fight pathogenic bacteria and help many different functions in the body.”
-Susanne Bennett, author of The Kimchi Diet
Why Eat Kimchi?
Approximately 70-80% of our immune system is located in our gut. When the good bacteria outnumber the bad bacteria, yeasts, and parasites, we feel better.
There are literally billions of live probiotic bacteria present in every serving of kimchi, along with an astounding amount of vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients.
To give you an example of how amazing kimchi is, let’s compare it to a probiotic capsule. A capsule may have between 5-10 billion beneficial bacteria whereas the recommended 1/2 cup serving size of kimchi has 100 billion. Over 2300 strains of bacteria have been found in kimchi. That’s incredible, and kimchi can be made for pennies on the dollar, saving countless amounts when you make your own at home!
There are endless varieties of kimchi, but I am posting this one as I’ve made it several times now, and it has been delicious every time!
The Ingredients
Use the freshest veggies possible, and organic is always best.
5lbs Napa Cabbage
Large daikon or Korean radish
3 bunches of green onions
1 red bell pepper
One fuji, honeycrisp, or other apple of your choice
Kombu 3-4 leaves
Course sea salt (Redmonds Real Salt) is my favorite. Whatever salt you choose, ensure it is non-iodized, as iodine harms the beneficial bacteria.
5-7 cloves of garlic
1/4 cup course red pepper powder (use more if you like more spice)
I like the organic course Gochugaru pepper powder. However, the first time I made this recipe, I used the regular red pepper flakes I had on hand and my coffee grinder to grind them into a coarse texture.
Beware, I discovered what a dose of pepper spray might feel like as I inadvertently inhaled a good portion of pepper dust after opening the coffee grinder. I coughed for the next 2 hours! Oops!
Gather your ingredients, and make sure all equipment is clean and sterilized. Do not use antimicrobial soap on any jars, cutting boards, or your hands, as it will kill beneficial bacteria. Just regular, hot, soapy water is best.
Add 3 cups of purified water to a large bowl, then add 1/3 cup of salt and stir until dissolved.
Remove several large leaves from the napa cabbage and set aside. You will use these to place on top of your finished kimchi ferment, helping hold the kimchi under the brine and preventing mold.
Cut your napa cabbage lengthwise into 8 quarters, then remove the core from each piece. Cut the cabbage into bite-sized pieces. Add a couple of handfuls of the cut cabbage at a time to the salt water, mixing well after each addition. Take it out, shake it well, and add it to an additional bowl. Add a pinch of salt to the cabbage and mix. Continue this until all of the cabbage has been soaked and salted. Cover with a cloth towel and set aside for a couple of hours.
-The kombu gives the kimchi a lovely and delicate umami flavor. Soak it in 2 cups of purified water to soften and release its flavor.
-Next, peel and chop the radish. You can cut it into thin circles and then quarter it, or you can choose to cut it into matchsticks, your choice. Put it in a bowl, sprinkle with salt, and set aside.
-Clean and cut your green onions into 1-1 1/2 inch pieces.
- Peel your garlic cloves.
-Check on the cabbage and mix gently with your hands; you will know it’s ready when the cabbage is bendy. When ready, rinse cabbage three times with non-chlorinated water and put in a colander to drain excess water.
Gather the ingredients for the kimchi sauce
In a blender or food processor, put the cored apple, the cored and seeded red bell pepper, the cloves of garlic, and the kombu water(discard the kombu). You want enough sauce to easily coat the cabbage mixture and be liquid enough to cover the veggies once in your fermentation jar.
How much liquid you will need depends on how much cabbage mixture you have, which varies with every batch, depending on the exact weight of cabbage, radish, and onions.
Time to Mix the Kimchi
You will want to wear a thin pair of gloves for this part, as the red pepper can irritate your skin. Put a layer of cabbage and daikon radish into a big bowl. The radish will have produced some liquid, so pour that in as well. Mix well with some pepper flakes and some kimchi sauce from the blender. Repeat until the cabbage and radish are gone.
Next, add in the scallions and mix in gently.
Add to your fermentation vessel of choice. I use quart size and half gallon size mason jars and love them. Pack the kimchi mixture down into the jar with your fist, you want it packed tightly as you do not want any pockets of air.
Leave a couple inches at the top. This is where you will use your large piece of cabbage. Tuck it over the kimchi mixture, making sure it is under the brine. Add the reserved salt water if you need more brine.
You will want to add a glass fermentation weight to help keep the contents under the brine. The newer ones even have glass knobs on them to help get them out of the ferment when it’s done.
Fermenting veggies releases carbon dioxide, and this gas needs to escape somewhere, or it can cause your jar to explode. You can “burp” your jar every day or every other day by opening the lid to let some gas out.
I quickly decided I didn’t want to do this daily and invested in some “Easy Fermenter” lids by Nourished Essentials. They are self-burping and help prevent mold as well. They also have a dial that lets you show what date your ferment was started. You put these lids on and forget about the ferment until it’s finished. I love the ease of them!
Kimchi can be ready to eat in as little as 2-3 days, but I like it best after 7-10 days. You can open the jar and taste it whenever you want; if you like the taste, you can refrigerate it to prevent further fermentation. If you want it a little more sour, you can continue fermenting it for up to 21 days. Note that veggies ferment faster in warm temperatures and slower in cold temperatures.
Enjoy the process, but be warned, fermenting can quickly become the most fun addiction ever! In the last month, I have fermented kimchi, red cabbage, green cabbage, carrot, cauliflower, carrot and jalapeno, cucumbers, fresh green beans, beets, bell peppers, red onion, and garlic!
I have a little bit each day, and my health and digestion thank me for it!
