How to Make Kimchi | Eric Kim | NYT Cooking

Kimchi is the national dish of South Korea and traditionally prepared at a kimjang, the communal act of making and sharing kimchi. Kimjang allows Koreans of the diaspora to keep the tradition alive and invites everyone to join. Follow along as Eric Kim makes three of his kimchi recipes and then reflects with Susan Kim, Kay Chun and Darun Kwak about what kimchi means to them over a bowl of Baek Kimchi Jjigae.
Get the recipes:
Kimchi: nyti.ms/3smJw8K
Baek Kimchi (White Kimchi): nyti.ms/3gBhljY
Tongbaechu Kimchi (Whole Napa Cabbage Kimchi): nyti.ms/3N0yMGE
Baek Kimchi Jjigae (White Kimchi Stew): nyti.ms/3TSiMIU
0:00 - 0:35: Intro
0:35 - 1:20: Three basic steps of kimchi
1:20 - 2:33: What is kimjang?
2:33 - 3:46: Cutting and prepping the cabbage
3:46 - 4:41: Regular kimchi
4:41 - 9:53: Making the sauces
9:53 - 11:21: Tossing and jarring
11:21 - 11:47: Baek kimchi
11:47 - 13:01: Tongbaechu kimchi
13:01 - 13:54: Kimchi variations and fermentation
13:54 - END: Talking kimjang and sharing kimchi jjigae
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[@DubbNot]

This is great! Last time I made kim chi with my in laws they brought over enough ingredients for 30 heads of cabbage. Of course by the end of the session they decided to take only one jar home. We had so much extra supply, I suddenly became my community’s kim chi dealer. Several years later people are still asking me if I have any.

[@majoroldladyakamom6948]

KIMCHI is one word, lol.

[@DubbNot]

@@majoroldladyakamom6948 mybad

[@Zipfei_Kloatscher]

😂😂😂👍🏼

[@mrTjstephens1]

Well kimchi is one heck of a drug!

[@farronroboff255]

Jewish Grandmother here - this was so wonderful and made me tear up at the end when everything was shared. Awwww

[@demilovatofaith]

As a korean american person the ending had me emotional. It is so rare to see korean people anywhere in media share or experiences like this, and relating to it so viscerally, is so rare.

[@jackdaw99]

It was beautiful, I’m glad I got to see it.

[@aurorannerenee]

I think part of the reason why Korean culture is so interesting to me is despite the fact that they were also colonized and ruled by other countries, they were still able to continue their culture and traditions in a way that my people (indigenous americans) couldn’t. Everyone that knows they’re Korean usually still practices such cultures, but not every Native American person knows their culture and still dances or makes dry read or speaks their languages. And an important factor in my culture was the knowledge. There aren’t books that will tell you a lot of the information that is spread through the stories and dances that we tell and do. It’s so important to share our cultures and tell the world about them, so telling the story of KimJang and teaching others how to make kimchi and the different ways to make it is also very important. It not only keeps the culture alive within the people a part of that, but also spreads it to those who maybe would like to try certain aspects of other people’s culture. A beautiful thing, really.

[@katarinaohlsson1160]

that last line - "it's nice to not do this alone" - true for kimchi making, kimchi eating, and life!

[@aninapolina]

When the baby ate the kimchi my heart melted!!!!!

[@formerflautist]

I went to Korea as a 23 year old who had never left Ohio. I'd never even used chopsticks. Spicy foods were not a thing for me. Korean food was an eye opener. I'm actually sitting here eating plain sliced daikon because I fell in love with it while there. And kkadugi is my favorite kimchi.

[@user-je3oh8xt6s]

This recipe and video is so special! I so appreciate the emotion and vulnerability that Eric displayed when talking about passing down traditions and knowledge through generations. There are many ways to say I love you, and one of them is sharing knowledge for survival (like healthy fermented foods). Also love that Eric was able to share with others who have their own stories and traditions that are maybe a bit different, but all have a common thread of family, culture, and communion.

[@WarChortle]

As an adopted Korean I’ve felt a missing connection to my own heritage. Recipes like this are what I’m starting to incorporate in my life so I can pass some of it to the next generation.

[@broccolirahb]

One of my favorite pieces to date. Food, story, family, legacy - it was beautiful. I think Eric is uniquely gifted to tell stories through food, so please keep these coming!

[@atomicovary]

Came here for a recipe. Left crying by the end. This is some serious soul food. Thank you for teaching us the tradition behind making kim chi and showing the power behind sharing it with family and friends.

[@doublebanana-de3dt]

Thank you Eric and co for making this video. I never heard of you before until I listened to the Korean Vegan's podcast interview with you, so I had quite an in depth introduction to you. And you mentioned your videos on here and some of the context around them. So here I am. I really appreciate the precision, accessibility, authenticity, and real depth you brought to this video. I knew very little about kimchi apart from enjoying eating it sometimes - and now I know far more about kimchi than I did before I started my dinner! And I feel like even I could try kimching a vegetable if I'm up to it. So thank you, a new fan from New Zealand!

[@ericaarul1875]

Eric’s videos always make me cryyyyyyy. He has the most warm energy

[@m_a_k_e_n_n_a]

eric has such a talent for making recipes feel approachable yet never inauthentic. same goes for his personality, love his videos

[@tasdsoccerdude]

this was more than just sharing a recipe. thank you eric and NYT cooking for sharing this family and cultural story. having a baby try at the end just felt so fitting.

[@majoroldladyakamom6948]

Most of us start a sentence with capital letters. This was... Thank you... Having a baby... Really? Yup. ⚘

[@webfox1]

I made "You know whos" internet famous kimchi last Feb. and canned it. I only did this after the fermentation went way down. All the jars are still intact, and the lids are still dimpled down. Quick money saving fact: You can ask the bakery department at Walmart to save a 5 gallon bucket and lid. The kind that their frosting comes in... and it's free. Just call a day or two before. The bucket is also good for brining a turkey. Just make sure to sterilize it with a bit of bleach before putting raw vegetables in it. I may have to try the white kimchi. Looks very good. Take care :)

[@lukec.9819]

Eric, you deserve your own TV show!! You're a natural in front of the camera, explain things so well, and you have a very calming voice! Loved the video and the cultural explanations, and the reaction of little Devin at the end tasting the kimchi was priceless!!! !😊❤

[@4ll1d0155m0k3w33d]

OMG just tasted my kimchi after 2 days ferment and 1 day in the fridge. It is absolutely delicious! I've been making kimchi since 2014 and this is the best tasting and easiest recipe ever! Have tried several recipes from famous Korean KZbinrs and you beat them hands down! Thank you so much!

[@karenannvillar6241]

Is it sour?

[@beancarjac]

Eric you have such a gentle soul - love all your content. Thanks for sharing this knowledge

[@shadodragonette]

I once had a half Korean room mate whose mom made kimchi and he brought a jar of it back with him after a visit home. I added it to almost everything: home made soups, stews, baked potatoes, whatever. He said his mom buried it in the ground for a month. Don't know if that was true, but it was delicious! He didn't mind me using it, he just brought more back every time he went home to visit.

[@jeffchow6722]

Thank you for bringing this forefront and especially bringing the communal perspective to the recipe

[@sugaredlemonz]

I got Napa cabbage in my CSA today and said out loud, Yes! I get to make kimchi this week! I’ve never done it so was planning on looking for a recipe, and then your video popped up! Too perfect.

[@kakuella]

I feel like I'm little late but I highly recommend you to Jullien cut all seasoning vegetables (like radish, carrots and etc) to make marinating process easier and you will get more consistent texture on each bite when you eat it. This guy skipped this one of key ingredient: fermented whole tiny shrimps(make sure to buy Korean ver. They are white liquidy paste with bunch of tiny shrimps. You can use left over to replace salt in other cooking as it taste like briny umami bomb salt). This adds additional layer of umami and saltiness to your Kimchi. My mother used to add fresh sashimi grade shrimp body & oysters(oyster kimchi is requiring taste though) to add natural sweeteness & umami for the one that's meant for quicker consumption. Aaand I personally recommend to make tong bae choo kimchi(one without chopping) for better fermentation. Oh and kimchi with Asian pear ferment faster than apple one so keep that in mind when you make kimchi. Our family usually do half with Asian pear and half without Asian pear to manage fermentation process. You know you did everything right when your Kimchi taste like beautiful ferment baby of crunch pickles and Sprites with little kick. I wish you a successful kimjang !

[@Paolito0118]

Eric is so sweet. I always look forward to watching his videos

[@sarahmcdonough7713]

erics impression of his mom trying his kimchi was too funny omg. so sweet

[@TheStormyDebris]

Thank you for opening my eyes to the traditions of kimchi......my heart is full and tranquil.

That was sweet! Really like seeing this Korean tradition come full circle. More from other cultural food traditions please.

[@elijahhancock5713]

Imagine my delight when the love of my life, Susan Kin appeared suddenly at the end of this video. 💕

[@lisabieler]

I made your easy kimchi about 2 weeks ago. It came together very easily and tasted wonderful fresh. We'll bust open the fermented jars this weekend and make your sheet pan kimchi fried rice.

[@flooozy]

I love this recipe/procedure and make a big jar every 6 to 8 weeks. I am grateful for your recipe and your story. Thank you so much!

[@sophiaclark3888]

Whenever my family make kimchi, my favorite part is just the brined cabbage! Of course the whole thing is absolutely delicious though!

[@taunmoondy6869]

This is one of the best food videos I have seen and I watch a lot of them! I make Kimchi regularly but now I will remember this and have even more fun. I appreciate your instruction, your shared memories and heartfelt personality. And then there is a baby at the end! Very nice! Thanks *

[@childrenofink]

i really love the idea of tossing it like a salad, and am so excited to try this! also just for anyone else looking for a way to make this vegan or vegetarian-friendly (just an addendum to his mention of the mix of soy sauce + miso at the beginning), I really highly recommend replacing the fish sauce with The Korean Vegan (Joanne Lee Molinaro)'s recipe for "fishy sauce"! Maangchi has a pretty good vegan recipe as well :)

[@rhythmaddict808]

Thank goodness I found the no water brine; the kimchee turns out to be much better and crispy! I've made 6 different batches and the dry salt brine is my favorite! I've also done this with onions. Mahalo and Aloha from Maui!

[@MGL566]

THANK YOU! I love Kimchi but anytime I have found a recipe I’m overwhelmed. Kudos to your Mama!!!!! I can’t wait to get to the market and buy my cabbage. Everything else I have in my pantry. Super excited 😊

[@fgraziani]

Depth of knowledge and depth of emotion. Beautiful.

[@miaschleifer7436]

OMG! The baby at the end! 🥰🥰

[@wideeyedraven15]

This was awesome. Super informative, welcoming and also…tender. Moving. Thank you.

[@dianeschuller]

I really appreciate you talking about the cultural aspects -- that's the best part. Thank you for such an interesting and inspiring video. I'll definitely make some.

[@andrewaway]

This was so fabulous. ❤❤ Thank you.

[@psionicjake]

Yay I’ve been looking forward to this one ever since you mentioned it in your Budae Jjigae video!!

[@JillParrella]

Eric is my favorite!!

[@holg3070]

I am glad this heritage survived and is being taught. Thank You!

[@lurnt]

Thank you! Loved your story about your mom ❤

[@TimesRyan]

I'm glad to be a part of your virtual kimjang. 😊

[@kin.creates]

Eric, it was LOVELY to learn how to make kimchi from you

[@pinkpinsofpain]

That is the cutest independent food critic ever! Kimchi is food of the gods.

[@ABC-americanbornchinese]

I love it. Thanks for cooking.

[@sugadropandsnacks]

Thanks for sharing. Can't wait to try it.

[@sophiechristinel]

Such a wonderful video

[@LTPDfilms]

Eric videos are the best

[@allieoldfield2726]

This was so wholesome ;o; can't wait to make my own!

[@flangle]

I always go way after the recommended 6 months and keep kimchi a full year. The flavour gets so good at that point and it makes perfect jjigae

[@dotsheleheda410]

Very good teacher. I can’t wait to make KimChi

[@jlee4039]

It's interesting that so many kimchi recipes include sugar. My family didn't use sugar, but would use Asian pears instead--I think the fructose in the pear would help with the fermentation.

[@klu222]

I made some perilla kimchi from Eric's book and my husband LOVED it! I sent him to my mother in law's (she's Korean) with some, and I hope she likes it just as much as we do.

[@sarahwatts7152]

Awwww! When the baby immediately reached for more

[@aday4236]

i love this

[@Mratashi]

I love it❤❤❤❤

[@DanaBrown1984]

I am 100 percent making kimchi this weekend

[@limoncello946]

Kimchi tastes so good

[@mrsheydurr]

i appreciate you letting us know how to replace the fish sauce! i’m allergic and h never knew what to do there!

[@Ko1234567890S]

I think I need to try this kimchi with beet in it

[@dzerres]

Eric: that peeler won't work well on small round fruit. There's not enough "runway" to get momentum. The peeler is perfect for cucumbers or carrots. For apples use a paring knife. Start at the flower or the stem end and go around in circles trying to make one long ribbon that is a little wider than 1/2 inch. If you can peel it in one long unbroken strip you've peeled it correctly. I'm glad you try to keep your videos short but still fun. thanks

[@Rada6ast]

I use a combination of miso, Tamari/shoyu/Kamebishi (yes all japanese soy sauce...) and some sort of algae usually Kombu as the substitute for fish sauce 🤝

[@annzamora6943]

The baby is so cute. I thought kimchi was hard to make. I am from South Georgia and we make sweet # dill pickles all the time. The kimchi doesn't look any more difficult. Actually I think pickles are harder because we have to sterilize the jars & seal them shut. But the rest of the pickling process is similar. If I can find a jar I want to try & make it myself. We "pickle" all kinds of foods down here in the south like Cabbage, cucumbers, & other veggies for that sweet &sour taste. My cousins like eggs & pig feet but not me. Just veggies.

[@allimcmannequin]

Coincidentally I also just made kimchi this past weekend with some friends.

[@notpeople9788]

Hi thanks for the video! i have a question, if the kimchi is fermented for 3 days, then i put it in refrigerator for 3 days or more, after that, can i send it to others by delivery (around 3 days delivery without refrigeration system) I hope i can get the answer 😊 thank youuuu

[@shelleymccullough8261]

Question: after it ferments on the counter, do you store in the fridge in an airtight container? If so, how often do you have to let the gas out? Thank you!

[@aeolia80]

I've only helped make kimchi once, when I was living in Korea. My god it's work!, lol. And everything is done in like this kiddy pool contraption in the living room, lol. My favorite kimchis though are kakdugi (mu/daikon), mustard greens kimchi, and mul kimchi/water kimchi (super refreshing in summer). In the region I lived in, Ulsan, it was super popular to put raw oysters in your kimchi (don't worry, the fermentation takes "care" of the oysters, lol). Where's the sweet glutenous rice flour by the way? I was told by all the Koreans in the region I lived it in that it was a necessary ingredient for the ferment.

[@swisski]

I had the same query regarding the glutinous rice flour, if someone can enlighten me, it would be much appreciated!

[@Baphometrose]

Definitely want to start this but doesn't the kimchi need to stay below the brine? I guess similar to sauerkraut?

[@monicasonger3120]

you don't make the rice sauce to go into it?

[@wadooshful]

is this gourmetasmr?

[@PrettyGoomba]

What do you use to add “glue”; sweet rice water that gives natural starchiness?

[@alexa_brownie]

I'm realizing I didn't buy/brine enough cabbage b/c I have two 64 oz. jars that are both nowhere near full. Is it ok to buy and brine one more napa cabbage and then add it to the already fermenting kimchi?

[@debmalouin9880]

This is Awsome! What a precious little one... But you made a meal & didnt tell us what it was or share that recipie.😕Could you please list your ingredients? Can it be done w/o sugar? Or different kinds of sugar? ie: Honey,date sugar,coconut sugar

[@uksle2ove]

어느정도 현지화를 시킨 거구나ㅋㅋㅋ 보통 김치는 까나리액젓을 넣는 편인데 에릭 킴이 만드신 김치는 어떤 맛일지 궁금하네여!

[@tompoynton]

I need to know who makes that tea towel over his shoulder

[@glennshufford5815]

And a beautiful home and family and friends and smart

[@adb1917]

Looks so good and doable! Is it possible to ferment without sugar? Thanks!

[@swisski]

I am quite sure it is traditional without, with just the sweetness of the carrots and pears/apples.

[@unknowndeoxys00]

A source of sugar does help encourage the fermenting bacteria to do their job to pickle and preserve the kimchi. All the veggies have their own natural sugars, and using a fruit (especially Asian pear or apple) is also key in this. Since Eric did not use a sweet rice flour porridge with sugar for his kimchi paste, a source of fruit, even natural apple juice or apple cider in a pinch, is very helpful for great kimchi even though "table sugar" is excluded.

[@adb1917]

Thanks!

[@adb1917]

Thanks!

[@Ali-yo6vl]

How do you clean cabbage without cutting it?

[@glennshufford5815]

Km those main vegetables is good for your bodyin salad and meat and ingredients in the food

[@monikaswiecka]

Can you write how you write "kokute" :D I think it will be good name for may ice cream :)

[@Ryan_gogaku]

But what did the beets taste like? I'd never seen that. So sad we didn't get to hear about the beets and whether you could taste them or not

[@Lighthouse1852]

As a cabbage eater from another part of the world I'm interested in learning more about Kimchi, so thank you for the video! If I can suggest one addition, I would appreciate a more precise demo of how to wash the cabbage properly. I hate running into grit in my veggies. Every veg type has its own prep tricks (leeks, cauliflower, etc). I wish you'd have shown me the best way to clean Napa cabbage.

[@donnabrowning8140]

Please, a recipe, or as close to a list of ingredients and how much of each as you can get!

[@cjinbrooklyn]

Did I miss the rice porridge? Every recipe I’ve used has rice porridge as a key ingredient. Really curious why you don’t use it.

[@duo315]

9:58 this has taken me many years to learn, and I feel silly for it taking so long: wear disposable gloves, that way the gloves get dirty and not your hands

[@barber0611]

can you use a low carb sweetener like swerve?....or allulose?

[@unknowndeoxys00]

The purpose of the sugar is not necessarily to sweeten, but to jumpstart the fermentation process of the lactobacilli involved in kimchi (they love eating/metabolizing glucose). I suggest at least adding another portion of apples or Asian pears to the kimchi paste, or honey, instead of a spoon of sugar.

[@boulderarchitect]

He’s cute

[@dumbledogzh]

"Independent food critic"

[@rainbowxd2052]

Was there a mistake with the salt? Shouldn't it be 3 tablespoons of Diamond and 5 tablespoons of Morton? Morton is thicker so by weight it would come out that the colleague was wrong :D

[@user-eu8fd1ri4i]

Morton is saltier.

[@chudbabies]

no mention of fungus or bacteria, which is... an omission, for Westerners.

[@carvedwood1953]

why not replace fish sauce with seaweed