Young Napa Kimchi ｜ 自醃簡易泡菜

Perhaps the weather is so hot, I crave the flavour of kimchi a lot.  I'm always amazed by the fact that spicy food helps our body sweat to regulate our body temperature.  So back during the summer days in Hong Kong, I often joined the crowds to eat sour and spicy vermicelli.  The excellent vermicelli shops were always humble and were located in alleys of our small streets; however, patrons always found their way in and long queues would always form out into the streets.

My teenage years were filled with memories of squeezing together at a tiny table with my friends or sometimes among strangers, slurping the boiling hot and spicy vermicelli.

Eating kimchi gives me a somewhat similar comfort.  When I miss that sour and spicy flavour, I make kimchi and serve it with some very hot rice.

Young napa kimchi is one of my favourite kimchi.  It is easy to make at home and it doesn't require a lengthy list of ingredients or a long fermentation period.  After I finish the batch, I can eat it as it is or use it to make soup.  I just love it.

Thanks for stopping by.  I hope you will enjoy this recipe.

Young Napa Kimchi

Ingredients:

5 heads Young Napa Cabbage

2 tablespoons Salt

Marinade:

3 tablespoons Korean Red Chili Flakes

4 tablespoon Fish Sauce

2 teaspoons Garlic, minced

2 teaspoons Ginger, minced

1 teaspoon Sugar

1 tablespoon Glutinous Rice Flour

How to make it:

1. Peel off the napa leaves.  Keep the big leaves and save the smaller leaves for some other recipes.  Rinse them a few times to clean off the dirt.  Drain.

2. Rub both sides of each napa leaf with some salt.  Let them stand for 30 minutes.  This process helps to draw out the juice from the napa.

3. Drain the juice.  Rinse off the excess salt with cold water.  Gently squeeze out the excess water.  Set aside.

4. In a small bowl, stir together the glutinous flour with about 1/4 cup of water.  Microwave the mixture for 30 seconds and stir it again.  Return the bowl to the microwave and heat it for another 20-30 seconds.  Stir it again.  The mixture should be gluey.

Pay close attention when microwaving it and try not to overheat it.  Once the mixture turns hard, you need to start over again.  Yet you can always add more time for the mixture to make it more gluey.

5. Combine the marinade with the glutinous rice paste; mix well.  Pour the mixture onto the napa cabbage.  With a hand, gently mix everything together until the napa is evenly coated with the marinade.

6. Place the napa to a glass container and cover it.  Keep it at room temperature for two days for fermentation.  Transfer it to refrigerator and finish it within a week.