How long does homemade kimchi keep?

In the fridge, kept pressed under its liquid, it keeps for several months. It keeps getting more sour; once it is very sour, use it in stews and fried rice.

Can I use regular chili flakes instead of gochugaru?

Not really. Most chili flakes are much hotter and less sweet, so the kimchi will be harsh and not as red. Gochugaru is worth buying for kimchi.

My jar is bubbling and the lid bulged — is it spoiled?

No, bubbles and pressure are normal signs of fermentation. Open the lid occasionally to release gas. Discard kimchi that smells rotten rather than sour, is slimy, or has fuzzy mold.

Can I make a smaller batch?

Yes. Halve everything, or make mak-kimchi: cut the cabbage into bite-sized pieces before salting (1–2 hours is enough) and toss it with the paste instead of stuffing whole leaves.

Baechu Kimchi (Napa Cabbage Kimchi) Recipe

Baechu kimchi is the kimchi most people picture: whole napa cabbage salted until it bends without snapping, then rubbed leaf by leaf with a paste of gochugaru, garlic, ginger, fish sauce and salted shrimp mixed with radish and green onion. Left to ferment, it turns from fresh and spicy to tangy and complex, and it is eaten with almost every Korean meal.

⏳ Plus 6–8 hours salting, 1 hour draining and 1–2 days fermenting at room temperature.

📝 How to make baechu kimchi

Trim the cabbage base and cut a shallow slit through it, then pull the head apart by hand into halves (and quarters if large) so the leaves stay whole.

Dissolve ½ cup of the salt in the water. Dip each cabbage piece in the brine, then lift the leaves and sprinkle the remaining salt between them, mostly on the thick white stems. Place cut side up in a large tub and pour the leftover brine over.

Salt for 6–8 hours, turning the pieces every 2 hours. The cabbage is ready when a thick stem bends easily without snapping.

Meanwhile, whisk the sweet rice flour into 1 cup of water and cook over medium heat, stirring, for 3–5 minutes until it thickens into a thin porridge. Let it cool completely.

Rinse the cabbage three times in cold water, shaking out the salt between the leaves. Drain cut side down for at least 1 hour.

Mix the cooled porridge with the gochugaru, fish sauce, salted shrimp, garlic, ginger and sugar. Let it stand 10 minutes so the chili hydrates, then fold in the radish, green onions and chives. Wear food-safe gloves for this and the next step.

Working leaf by leaf, spread a thin layer of the paste over each leaf, concentrating on the stems. Fold each piece in half and roll it into a bundle.

Pack the bundles tightly into clean jars or a kimchi container, pressing down to remove air. Leave 3–5 cm (1–2 in) of headspace, as the kimchi releases liquid and gas as it ferments. Swish a little water around the paste bowl and pour it over.

Leave at cool room temperature for 1–2 days, until it smells sour and small bubbles appear when you press down, then refrigerate. It is good to eat fresh, but tastes best after 1–3 weeks in the fridge.

💡 Tips for the best baechu kimchi

Coarse sea salt draws water out of the cabbage evenly. Fine table salt is much saltier by volume and can leave the cabbage over-salted and limp.
Taste a rinsed stem before draining: it should be pleasantly seasoned, like a salted vegetable, not briny. If it is too salty, soak it in fresh water for 10–20 minutes.
Always use a clean, dry utensil to take kimchi out of the jar and press the rest back under its liquid. This keeps it from going soft or growing mold on the surface.
For a vegan kimchi, replace the fish sauce and salted shrimp with soy sauce or a kelp-and-mushroom broth seasoned with salt.

How kimchi ferments

Salting pulls water out of the cabbage and keeps unwanted microbes in check, while lactic acid bacteria that are naturally present on the vegetables multiply. They turn the sugars into lactic acid, which gives kimchi its tang, and carbon dioxide, which gives it a slight fizz.

Temperature sets the pace. A day or two at room temperature starts the fermentation; the fridge slows it down so the kimchi sours gradually over weeks. Many Korean households keep a separate kimchi refrigerator held just above freezing for this reason.