My first attempt at homemade Kimchi.

After making another delicous batch of yakimandu recently, I had the usual large amount of napa cabbage left over, which usually sits in my fridge till it wilts and I finally throw it out. I've been wanting to try out a kimchi recipe a friend of mine succeeded at and this was my chance to put that cabbage to use instead of ending up in the trash!

It. Was. Delicious.

So here's what I did:

Cut up a large head of napa cabbage in bite size pieces and found the biggest bowl in my house. (Well, actually my parent's house!) Then I added a gallon of cool water and a half a cup of sea salt.

Soaked it for a little over three hours, then drained, rinsed and squeezed it dry.

Put 1 head of garlic peeled, 1/4 cup fish sauce, 1 teaspoon suger and about a 1/2 cup Korean red chili paste. Placed it all in my food processor and blended till smooth. The recipe actually called for 1/2 cup of Korean red chili FLAKES as well as two inches of fresh grated ginger, but I improvised to avoid a trip to the store! Next time, I will try it the way the recipe states, but must say the kimchi was still delicious the way I did it!

Pour mixture over wilted cabbage,

and stir!

Emptied a jumbo size pickle jar and rinsed clean to store my kimchi with plenty of room to expand and create juice as well as seal tightly with a air tight lid. Stood back and admired the masterpiece before placing the sealed jar in a brown paper bag and storing in my pantry for about 24 hours, then transferring to the fridge.

Piled it up beside a big scoop of sticky rice and a few mandu a few days later and enjoyed!

Though I have found two different Korean markets with excellent homemade kimchi, I may just have to make my own more often!