''Baechu-kimchi'' (), translated as cabbage kimchi or simply kimchi is a quintessential ''

banchan ''Banchan'' (, from Korean: ) or bansang are small side dishes served along with cooked rice in Korean cuisine. As the Korean language does not distinguish between singular and plural grammatically, the word is used for both one such dish or ...

'' (side dish) in

Korean cuisine Korean cuisine has evolved through centuries of social and political change. Originating from ancient agricultural and nomadic traditions in Korea and southern Manchuria, Korean cuisine reflects a complex interaction of the natural envi ...

, made with salted, seasoned, and fermented

napa cabbage Napa cabbage (''Brassica rapa'' subsp. ''pekinensis'' or ''Brassica rapa'' Pekinensis Group) is a type of Chinese cabbage originating near the Beijing region of China that is widely used in Asian cuisine#East Asia, East Asian cuisine. Since the ...

s. *

Preparation

''Baechu-kimchi'' is made by fermenting salted

s with

Korean radish ''Mu'' or Korean radish is a variety of white radish with a firm crunchy texture. Although ''mu'' () is also a generic term for radishes in Korean, the word is usually used in its narrow sense, referring to the white radish, or more specificall ...

, aromatic vegetables, ''

jeotgal ''Jeotgal'' () or ''jeot'' (), translated as salted seafood, is a category of salted preserved dishes made with seafood such as shrimps, oysters, clams, fish, and roe. Depending on the ingredients, ''jeotgal'' can range from flabby, solid piece ...

'' (salted seafood), ''

gochugaru Korean chili peppers or Korean hot peppers, also known as Korean red, Korean dark green, or Korean long green peppers according to color (ripening stages), are medium-sized chili peppers of the species ''Capsicum annuum''. The chili pepper is long ...

'' (chili powder) and various seasonings. Northern varieties are milder and soupier. Southern varieties are saltier and more pungent.

Cabbages

Korean brining salt Korean brining salt, also called Korean sea salt, is a variety of edible salt with a larger grain size compared to common kitchen salt. It is called ''gulgeun-sogeum'' (; "coarse salt") or ''wang-sogeum'' (; "king/queen salt") in Korean. The sal ...

, has a larger grain size compared to common

kitchen salt A kitchen is a room or part of a room used for cooking and food preparation in a dwelling or in a commercial establishment. A modern middle-class residential kitchen is typically equipped with a stove, a sink with hot and cold running water, a ...

, is used for the initial salting of

s. Being minimally processed, it serves to help developing flavors in fermented foods. Per water, around of salt is used. Half of the salt is dissolved in water before putting the cabbages in, and the other half is sprinkled in between the layers of napa cabbages that were washed, trimmed, and halved or quartered lengthwise. The cabbages are salted in the brine for several hours, turned over, then salted for more hours. After that, salted cabbages are washed thoroughly under running water and drained.

Fillings

Porridge-like thin paste is made by boiling small amount of glutinous rice flour in water. To that, ''

'' (chili powder), ''

'' (salted seafood),

, and aromatic vegetables are added to make the kimchi seasoning.

Scallion Scallions (also known as spring onions or green onions) are vegetables derived from various species in the genus ''Allium''. Scallions generally have a milder taste than most onions and their close relatives include garlic, shallot, leek, ch ...

s, minced

garlic Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plant in the genus ''Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, Allium fistulosum, Welsh onion and Allium chinense, Chinese onion. It is native to South A ...

, and ground

ginger Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices ...

are the most commonly used aromatic vegetables, and

garlic chives ''Allium tuberosum'' (garlic chives, Oriental garlic, Asian chives, Chinese chives, Chinese leek) is a species of plant native to the Chinese province of Shanxi, and cultivated and naturalized elsewhere in Asia and around the world. Description ...

Korean parsley ''Oenanthe javanica'', commonly Java waterdropwort, water celery, water dropwort, Chinese celery, Indian pennywort and Japanese (flat leaf) parsley, is a plant of the genus '' Oenanthe'' originating from East Asia. It has a widespread native dist ...

onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' L., from Latin ''cepa'' meaning "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus ''Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onion ...

carrot The carrot ('' Daucus carota'' subsp. ''sativus'') is a root vegetable, typically orange in color, though purple, black, red, white, and yellow cultivars exist, all of which are domesticated forms of the wild carrot, ''Daucus carota'', nat ...

s, and

chilli pepper Chili peppers (also chile, chile pepper, chilli pepper, or chilli), from Nahuatl '' chīlli'' (), are varieties of the berry-fruit of plants from the genus ''Capsicum'', which are members of the nightshade family Solanaceae, cultivated for t ...

s are also often added. Korean radish is typically

julienned Julienne, , or french cut, is a culinary knife cut in which the food item is cut into long thin strips, similar to matchsticks. Common items to be julienned are carrots for , celery for , potatoes for julienne fries, or cucumbers for . Trimmi ...

, and the aromatics can be chopped, minced, or ground. ''Jeotgal'' can be replaced with raw seafood in colder Northern parts of the

Korean peninsula Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

. If used, milder ''

saeu-jeot ''Saeu-jeot'' * () is a variety of ''jeotgal'', salted and fermented food made with small shrimp in Korean cuisine. It is the most consumed ''jeotgal'' along with '' myeolchi-jeot'' (멸치젓, salted anchovy ''jeot'') in South Korea. The nam ...

'' (salted shrimp) or ''

jogi-jeot ''Jogi-jeot'' () or salted yellow croaker is a variety of ''jeotgal'' (salted seafood), made with yellow croakers. In Korean cuisine, ''jogi-jeot'' is widely used as ''banchan'' (side dish), as a condiment, or as an ingredient for kimchi. Histo ...

'' (salted croaker) is preferred and the amount of ''jeotgal'' is also reduced in Northern and Central regions. In Southern Korea, on the other hand, generous amount of stronger ''

myeolchi-jeot ''Myeolchi-jeot'' () or salted anchovies is a variety of ''jeotgal'' (salted seafood), made by salting and fermenting anchovies. * Along with ''saeu-jeot'' (salted shrimps), it is one of the most commonly consumed ''jeotgal'' in Korean cuisine. I ...

'' (salted anchovies) and '' galchi-jeot'' (salted

hairtail The cutlassfishes are about 45 species of predatory fish in the family Trichiuridae of the order Scombriformes found in seas throughout the world. Fish of this family are long, slender, and generally steely blue or silver in colour, giving rise ...

) is commonly used. Raw seafood or '' daegu-agami-jeot'' (salted cod gills) are used in the East coast areas. Most commonly used ''

aekjeot ''Jeotgal'' () or ''jeot'' (), translated as salted seafood, is a category of salted preserved dishes made with seafood such as shrimps, oysters, clams, fish, and roe. Depending on the ingredients, ''jeotgal'' can range from flabby, solid piece ...

'' (liquid ''jeotgal'', or fish sauce) are ''

myeolchi-aekjeot ''Jeotgal'' () or ''jeot'' (), translated as salted seafood, is a category of salted preserved dishes made with seafood such as shrimps, oysters, clams, fish, and roe. Depending on the ingredients, ''jeotgal'' can range from flabby, solid piec ...

'' (anchovy sauce) and '' kkanari-aekjeot'' (

sand lance A sand lance or sandlance is a fish belonging to the family Ammodytidae. Several species of sand lances are commonly known as "sand eels", though they are not related to true eels. Another variant name is launce, and all names of the fish are ...

sauce). ''Aekjeot'' may be used in place of solid ''jeotgal'' or used along with them. Small amount of sugar, honey, fruit juice, or ground fruit can also be added. The fillings are packed in between each leaf of the cabbages.

Fermentation

Kimchi is placed in an ''

onggi ''Onggi'' () is Korean earthenware extensively used as tableware and storage containers in Korea. It includes both unglazed earthenware, fired near 600 to 700°C, and pottery with a dark brown glaze fired at over 1100 °C.The origin of ong ...

'' (earthenware) or a container, covered, and pressed down, and let ferment at room temperature for a day or two. Traditionally, kimchi is stored underground in ''

'' (earthenware). Today, it is more commonly stored in a

kimchi refrigerator A kimchi refrigerator is a refrigerator designed specifically to meet the storage requirements of kimchi and facilitate different fermentation processes. The kimchi refrigerator aims to be colder, with more consistent temperature, more humidit ...

or a regular

refrigerator A refrigerator, colloquially fridge, is a commercial and home appliance consisting of a thermally insulated compartment and a heat pump (mechanical, electronic or chemical) that transfers heat from its inside to its external environment so th ...

Preparation

Cabbages

Fillings

Fermentation

See also

References

Further reading