White kimchi without chili

My younger son loves KimchiHe really loves spicy food and eats it quite often - but not always. That's why we sometimes like to make baek kimchi, white kimchi without chili, together. We had a household recipe for many years until I recently came across a recipe by Esther Choi. As soon as I tried it for the first time, I was convinced! Her Baek Kimchi tastes even better and is even easier to prepare.

I have made a few small adjustments, for example I don't want to miss out the sweet jujube in the Baek Kimchi, but other than that the recipe follows the original by Esther Choi. If you don't know her, she is an impressive chef with Korean roots, owner of the mŏkbar in New York City and known for many great dishes.

White kimchi without chili

Table of contents

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Course: side dish, snack, starterCuisine: koreanDifficulty: easy

Servings

10

Servings

Prep time

8

hours 

30

minutes

Fermentation time

5-8

days

Equipment

• 1,5 Liter Bügelglas (1)

This is the best recipe for Baek Kimchi that I know. It's not mine, just a slightly adapted version of two recipes from women with Korean roots. Kimchi belongs to Korea.

Ingredients

• 1 napa cabbage

• 1 handsful salt

• Kimchi glue

• ¼ cup Reismehl

• ¼ cup Rohrzucker (oder weißer Zucker)

• 1 cup water

• Kimchi paste

• 4 garlic cloves

• 1 pieces Ingwer (so groß wie ein kleiner Finger)

• ½ Nashibirne (oder Apfel)

• 100 grams onion

• 150 ml Limettenlimonade (oder Zitronenlimonade)

• ½ cup fish sauce

• Kimchi filling

• 3 Jujubes (oder 1 getrocknete Apfelscheibe)

• ¼ cup Saeujeot (koreanische gesalzene Garnelen)

• 4 scallions

• 1 Karotte

• ½ rote Paprikaschote

Instructions

• Cut the stalk of the napa cabbage into quarters at the bottom, then tear apart. Wash. Salt thoroughly between the leaves. Let it stand weighted down with plate and weight so that the cabbage draws water and becomes soft. This takes a few hours - or overnight.
• Rinse the softened cabbage well with fresh water to remove the salt.
• Make the kimchi glue. Mix the rice flour, cane sugar and 1 cup of water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, and simmer until the paste thickens and the bottom of the pan becomes visible when stirred. Leave to cool.
• For the filling, julienne the pepper and carrot, remove the seeds from the jujube and cut into thin strips. Also chop the spring onions into 4cm pieces.
  
• Puree the peeled, quartered pear or apple, garlic, quartered onion, peeled ginger and fish sauce with a hand blender or in a food processor until smooth. Pour into a large bowl, add the lime seltzer, saeujeot, the cooled rice flour paste, carrots, spring onions and peppers. Mix everything well to make the kimchi paste.
• Place the cabbage quarters in the bowl and massage the paste thoroughly into the cabbage leaves so that each leaf is completely covered. Spread the vegetable filling between each cabbage leaf, roll up the cabbage quarters like roll-ups and then stuff the rolled-up roll-ups into a swing-top jar. And by stuffing, I mean really pressing everything in properly.
• Leave the kimchi at room temperature for at least 2 days, or longer for a more intense flavour. Then place in the fridge for a another 5 days.

Notes

• This kimchi without chili is perfect because of the salted prawns, fish sauce and lime seltzer. If you don't like seafood, you could replace the prawns and fish sauce with soy sauce. In that case, please use a little less. Don't skip the soda, as the lactobacilli convert the sugars into lactic acid.

Nutrition facts

• Calories: 76kcal

Did you try this ferment?

Tag @fermentation.love on instagram and hashtag your post with #fermentationlove .

Some of the Korean ingredients for this kimchi are not available everywhere, I have written down alternatives for you. The right time of year for this ferment is autumn, when the ingredients are in season.

White kimchi is a quick ferment

Baek kimchi should be consumed quickly and is not intended for long storage. If you want to store napa cabbage, radish or kohlrabi for a long time, I recommend you make baechu kimchi or kkakduki kimchi.

I would also like to take you on a little historical excursion to kimchi without chili.

Baek kimchi is the original kimchi

The history of Baek Kimchi goes back to a time when chili had not yet been introduced to Korea. Originally, kimchi was a preparation made from salt, vegetables and various spices. The characteristic spiciness of chili, which is part of kimchi today, did not exist. Before the introduction of chili in Korea during the late Joseon Dynasty, white kimchi was the predominant method of preparation.

The changes in the production of kimchi over time reflect Korea's culinary evolution, the integration of new ingredients and flavors into traditional Korean cuisine. While many contemporary kimchi variations focus on spiciness, baek kimchi remains an important part of Korea's diverse food culture. It is a reminder of the origins and traditions of this dish steeped in history.

The importance of baek kimchi in Korean cuisine stretches back centuries. Even today, this traditional variant is still prepared in some households and on special occasions.