Michael V said:

ruby said:

Michael V said:

This time it is wombok.

But any type is OK, including red cabbage. The stiffer cabbages (eg green cabbage, red cabbage) need a bit more of a massage to start off, to get a bit of liquid happening.

Do you do the whole cabbage method where you cut down into quarters and leave the base intact and salt between the leaves, or do you just slice your cabbage leaves up and massage the salt into them?
I keep buying wombok intending to make kimchi and can never decide which method to use, and end up just making coleslaw instead. Or doing a Nagi and very finely slicing it and adding it to stir fries where it disappears into the dish (the grandkids happily eat cabbage now that to this idea)

I cut it up like the commercial kimchi. Into roughly 15-20 mm squares. It’s easier to handle and serve. Massage salt and other dry components (garlic, crushed dried anchovies, Gochugaru) into that. I like to add other vegetables, generally short julienned (eg celery, daikon, carrot), before the dry components. Gochujang and fish sauce are mixed together and added between layers of the massaged cabbage mixture. It’s all pushed down into the plastic jar, layer by layer.

It remains on the bench until no more bubbles are produced. I burp the (tightly sealed) jar daily, and push down sometimes. The CO2 produced rises in the jar and keeps the mixture away from O2. After no more bubbles are produced (a few days to maybe 3 weeks), it goes into the fridge, where it does its final souring over a couple more weeks.

I keep the jar tightly sealed, because flies love the fermentation smell and will come by, sometimes depositing maggots. I have no idea what they smell, because I can’t. Even when the finished kimchi is served, it attracts all the neighbourhood flies. Reminds me of Billy the Mountain and Studebaker Hoch. Having a fan going when serving and eating stops them being attracted.

Thank you so much for writing all this down, so helpful.
Any reason for a plastic jar over a glass jar?
And a little giggle over attracting the flies….and a big ewww @ maggots…..