Dough & BrineHomemade kimchi
This kimchi combines crisp napa cabbage and root vegetables with the warmth of gochugaru, garlic, and ginger. Salting draws out the vegetables’ own brine, while pH checks guide the move from room-temperature fermentation to refrigerated storage.
- Salt
- 2%
- Fermenting
- 3 days
- Hands-on
- 35 min
- Jar
- 2.5 liter
- Keeps
- 28 days
Fermenting safely
- Keep the vegetables under the brine. Anything above the liquid can grow mold.
- Use a clean jar and serve with a clean utensil, so no food scraps end up inside.
- A flat, white, non-fuzzy film on top is usually kahm yeast: skim it off, check that everything is under the brine and measure the pH again. Fuzzy or colored mold, pink or dark vegetables, slime or a rotten smell: throw it all out, do not taste.
- This has not been heat-processed: refrigerate it as soon as fermenting is done (4 °C / 39 °F or below) and keep it there.
- Check the pH with a calibrated pH meter. Only at 4.2 or lower is it ready to refrigerate and taste. If the pH is still higher at the end of the longest fermentation time, or you are unsure: throw it out.
Method
- Wash your hands and thoroughly clean the work surface, tools, jar, and fermentation weight. Rinse the vegetables and drain well before weighing them.Use a food-safe jar with room for the vegetables, their brine, and the required headspace.
- Cut 1000 g napa cabbage into 3 cm (1¼ in) pieces, slice 200 g daikon and 100 g carrot into thin strips, and cut 80 g green onions into 3 cm (1¼ in) pieces. Finely grate 20 g garlic and 20 g fresh ginger.
- Mix all the vegetables, including the garlic and ginger, with 28.4 g fine salt without additives (no iodine or anti-caking agents), massage for 5 minutes, and leave covered for 2 hours at 20 °C (68 °F). Toss after 1 hour; do not rinse or discard any released liquid.The salt is 2% of the total vegetable weight; include the garlic and ginger when weighing.
- Mix 30 g gochugaru and 10 g sugar with a few spoonfuls of the released vegetable liquid to form a paste. Wearing clean gloves, work the paste thoroughly through the vegetables.
- Pack the vegetables firmly into the jar in small batches to remove air pockets, then add all the released liquid. Leave at least 4 cm (1½ in) of headspace and add a clean fermentation weight to keep every solid piece below the brine.If needed, leave covered for another 1 hour and press again until enough liquid covers the vegetables. If the vegetables still poke above the liquid, top up with brine of 20 g salt per liter of water.
- Fit an airlock lid or leave the lid loosely closed so gas can escape. Set the jar on a tray out of direct sunlight.The tray catches any brine that escapes as fermentation becomes active.
- Ferment at 20 °C (68 °F) for no more than 3 days, checking daily that all solids remain submerged and measuring the brine pH daily from 24 hours with a calibrated, food-safe pH meter. Refrigerate immediately when the pH reaches 4.2 or lower.Bubbles and a sour smell do not replace a pH measurement.
- If the pH is still above 4.2 after 3 days with no signs of spoilage, keep fermenting and measure daily, for up to 5 days; if it is still above 4.2 then, discard everything. Also discard the contents if you find mold, a rotten smell, or unusual sliminess. Do not taste the kimchi to judge whether it is safe.
- Once the target pH is reached, let the kimchi develop for 5 days in the refrigerator at no more than 4 °C (39 °F); keep all solids submerged and use clean utensils. Check regularly for gas pressure and open carefully.Keep refrigerated at no more than 4 °C (39 °F) for 28 days from the day it enters the refrigerator, including the first 5 days of flavor development; discard the entire contents if spoilage appears. It can be frozen, though freezing softens the vegetables.
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When it goes wrong
| What you see | Likely cause | Next time |
|---|---|---|
| Vegetables rise above the brine | Trapped gas or an unstable fermentation weight is lifting them | Pack firmly to remove air pockets and use a weight that keeps every solid piece submerged. |
| Too little brine covers the packed vegetables | The vegetables have not released enough liquid or are loosely packed | Retain all released liquid, allow the additional covered rest if needed, and press firmly again. |
| Brine spills out of the jar | Fermentation gas expands the contents and headspace is insufficient | Leave at least 4 cm (1½ in) of headspace and keep the jar on a tray. |
| The lid is under pressure | Fermentation gas cannot escape freely | Use an airlock or a loosely closed lid during warm fermentation, and check pressure during refrigerated storage. |
| The pH is still above 4.2 after 3 days at 20 °C (68 °F) | Acidification has not reached the required endpoint | With no signs of spoilage, keep fermenting and measure daily, for up to 5 days. If the pH is still above 4.2 then, discard everything and check the salt weight, temperature, and pH-meter calibration the next time you make it. |
| Mold, a rotten smell, or unusual sliminess appears | The batch has spoiled | Discard the entire batch without tasting; clean equipment thoroughly and keep all solids below the brine. |
| Kimchi becomes softer and more sour than expected | It stayed warm after reaching the target pH or was stored too warm | Refrigerate as soon as the pH reaches 4.2 or lower and maintain no more than 4 °C (39 °F). |