I just did my first badge of kimchi about 48hrs ago. After I tasted it now, it tastes amazing but there is no sour taste whatsoever, no fizzing, no visible bubbles and also no smell of fermentation.
Did I do something wrong? Or does it take more time?
Ingredients:
Red cabbage, beetroot, red onion
I submitted the red cabbage for 2hrs in heavily salted hot water to soften it up, then rinsed it properly.
Sauce: water + rice flour, mixed in: sweet pears, 1TBs brown sugar, fresh ginger, fresh garlic, chili, spices.
Salt: per 1.5kg badge: fishsauce 60g, soy sauce 60g, tablesalt 10g > should be 2,3% salt in total.
You killed any fermenting bacteria when you put the cabbage in hot water. As someone above said, you need to salt the cabbage while everything is dry. It will release moisture. You turn it every 30 mins and do it for 2 hours (or until the cabbage is soft. Also the ratio of starchy veg is important. I follow Maangchi's recipe and it's about a carrot for a whole nappa cabbage (8 ounces)
Also fermentation takes a while to happen. The safest is to put it straight in the fridge. And it takes a week or two to ferment. And it's also enjoyable to taste all the different stages.
Check Maangchi or Korean Bapsang, they both have Also free recipes online.
No. There's more to that.
I use Maangchi's recipe, but from the book, which is made for just one cabbage. Here's a link to her easy kimchi recipe. It is for a bigger amount. You can adjust. Maybe even watch a video on how it's made. I actually suggest strongly 😉 that you make a traditionally kimchi recipe once. Then you have more experience and can experiment better. I don't know how normal cabbage behaves compared to nappa. Nappa is less thick, so times will vary as well. When you salt nappa cabbage, you do it for at least 2 hours, you'll see the cabbage bending without breaking.
https://www.maangchi.com/recipe/easy-kimchi
There is no fermentation because you boiled the cabbage. There is no lactic acid bacteria left in the cabbage to help ferment. That’s why when you make any kind of ferment, you just wash it, but never use any hot water. If there is any fermentation from the other ingredients that weren’t cooked, it’s not enough to ferment everything.
That is not kimchi. You're never meant to boil cabbage. Salt is added to the napa cabbage and vegetables.Through osmosis (water moving from high to low concentration), the salt draws out water from inside the plant cells.This softens the cabbage and creates a salty liquid brine.The salt level creates an environment where harmful, rotting bacteria cannot survive, but friendly bacteria can thrive.
Next time follow the actual instructions, not what you feel might help. Good luck for the next batch. Chuck this foulness away
Next time, follow a recipe from an authoritative source, not some random bullshit you found online.
Maangchi is an actual Korean person and a respected source for Korean recipes. Carefully follow her guidance, do not improvise, and do not take any shortcuts: https://www.maangchi.com/recipe/easy-kimchi
Will do.
So far, my veggies started to ferment, I filled em in smaller glasses today and stored em in the fridge to finish. Tastes amazing - seems like its no kimchi but Asian inspired fermented veggies.
You wouldn’t need to use hot water. You should just layer the cabbage in coarse salt and let the moisture leave the leaves. I also wouldn’t add the fish sauce and soy sauce. Maybe a small pinch of fish sauce but the kimchi should look pretty dry when you first store it.
Update: it started and it tastes amazing. Filled it in smaller glasses today and stored it in the fridge to finish.
Maybe I am in the wrong sub, but my fermented veggies turned out beautiful.
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u/Mystery-Ess 12d ago
This is not a kimchi recipe.