In the world of fermented vegetables, kimchi is a popular Korean dish. This version omits seafood and fish sauce, but they can be added if desired. The advantage of the vegan version is its much lower odor profile, while still maintaining its nutritional value and unique flavors. Kimchi is famous for having all five flavors in one dish: sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami. However, this vegan version lacks umami, so consider adding mushrooms for a more authentic taste.
Place everything in a bowl and zero out the scale (tare). Then, weigh everything. This will determine how much salt and chili flakes to add later. A 1.5-liter fermentation jar can hold up to 1,000 grams of raw ingredients, and a 2-liter jar can hold up to 1,500 grams. If you have more than your jar can hold, adjust now before processing.
The photo shows all the ingredients except the salt. Split and chop the napa cabbage but reserve one leaf for the top. Rough chop onion, and radish. Peel and slice the apple. Julienne the carrot if you want or just slice. Finely chop the garlic and peeled ginger.
Place all the chopped ingredients in a bowl and add 2% salt by weight of the original raw ingredients. Multiply your starting weight in grams by 0.02, or use the percent function on a calculator. Sprinkle the salt on top, then hand mix it just like sauerkraut. Let it sit while you clean your kitchen. Allowing a little time for the salt to work helps pull water out of the ingredients.
Next, choose your desired level of spiciness using Korean gochugaru chili flakes. There is no substitute for this type of chili pepper. You can find the flakes in Asian markets, but I buy mine on Amazon.
One tablespoon of gochugaru chili flakes equals spicy.
Two tablespoons of gochugaru chili flakes equals hot.
Three tablespoons of gochugaru chili flakes equals very hot.
More? You’re on your own!
Using either gloved hands or a large spoon, mix in the chili flakes.
Add everything to a fermentation jar and pack it down with a “kraut pounder” as you go. Place the reserved whole napa leaf on top, followed by the weight. Press down. If needed, make a 2% saltwater solution and use it to fill the jar so that the water level is about an inch above the weight, but not all the way up.
Kimchi expands quite a lot during fermentation. If the brine comes up and out of the bubbler, simply remove the bubbler, wash it, refill it with water, and reinstall it. It is always good practice to place paper towels and/or a tray under the fermenting kimchi.
Now comes the hard part—wait ten days. It will taste good after seven days, but the extra time allows the flavors to blend even better. While it’s not wrong to ferment it longer, I can’t promise that the flavor profile will be as pleasing. You might like it, though.
