Homemade Kimchi

My aunt is recently mad about kimchi and like most housewives, she likes making it herself. So, when I was there, I was roped in to help her make it. Here's what she used:

2 heads of Napa cabbage
1 cup of kosher salt (do not use regular table salt as kosher/sea salt is less salty)
1 bag of kimchi chilli powder
2 carrots, shredded
12 cloves of garlic, minced
3 tsp sugar
1/2 cup fish sauce 

My task was to salt the cabbage after my aunt had halved them. As they were dry (please do not wash the cabbage), I had to ensure that the salt was evenly spread and 'caressed' the leaves. After salting, leave them for 2 hours for the water to be released. After 2 hours, wash the cabbage thoroughly before adding the carrots and other ingredients.

When you add in the chilli powder, this is where gloves come in handy. Rub the chilli powder all over the vegetables, especially the inner layers of the cabbage. Now you know why those Korean dramas make kimchi-making sessions look like laundry time.

Once that's all done, place the kimchi into jars or tubs and leave in a dark corner to ferment for 3 days, checking it everyday to release the gas. Best to use dark containers with screw on caps. If you're using regular tupperware, note that the gas will cause the cover to pop so you'll need to pop the lid again so that other things don't enter your kimchi. After 3 days, your kimchi is ready to be kept in the fridge and will last for 1 month.

What did we eat it with? Instant noodles/ ramen and one day, we made kimchi pancake too! I think there are quite a lot of recipes using kimchi. Now...just to search for them...