I make my own Traditional Cabbage Kimchi, which in Korean, it is called tong-baechu kimchi. I can’t believe I was able to buy enough fresh napa cabbage to fill my 5 Liter onggi. I live very so far from any Korean Market, and FRESH napa cabbage is a rarity out here. Trick is, I got the store to call me the day the fresh Kimchi arrived.
I finished making my fresh batch of Kimchi a couple of hours ago, and it all went into my modern type onggi (fermenting crock). It will take a few days to ferment. It will be ready to eat when the kimchi is bubbling.
I like this type of fermentation crock, because the water well and lid keep the smell in and bugs out. It also came with the weights to hold the Kimchi down beneath the sauce.
When bubbles start coming up as the Kimchi ferments, they push up through the water, and the sweet scent of kimchi fills the air. Then you know it is KIMCHI! lol
Traditionally, in Korea, Kimchi making is done in large quantities in the Autumn to prepare for the Winter. Kimchi and other fermented vegetables were first invented to feed families through the Winter months. Storing large Onggis beneath the ground kept them at an even temperature all year round.* It is now considered to be a national side dish, and is eaten with most home cooked meals.
When I have perfected my recipes to my taste, then I will share them here on my (multilingual) website for anyone who is interested in making their own Korean food at home. Best part is, you can make your Korean food to your own taste. You can make it more spicy, or less spicy …less sweet or sweeter. So you can take my recipes, try them, and adjust them to your own taste buds.
A poem on Korean radish written by Yi Kyubo, a 13th century literatus, shows that radish kimchi was a commonplace in Goryeo (918–1392).
Pickled radish slices make a good summer side-dish,
Radish preserved in salt is a winter side-dish from start to end.
The roots in the earth grow plumper everyday,
Harvesting after the frost, a slice cut by a knife tastes like a pear.
S.M. Randall-Friday
16 April 2019
** The origin of Kimchi dates back at least to the early period of the Three Kingdoms of Korea (37 BC‒7 AD). The Three Kingdoms were Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla. Fermented foods documented in the Chinese historical text ‘Record of the Three Kingdoms’, which was published in 289 AD. They refer to the people of Goguryeo, as skilled in making fermented foods such as wine, soybean paste, and salted and fermented fish” in the section named Dongyi in the Book of Wei. The Samguk Sagi, also mentions the use of the Onggi to ferment vegetables, which indicates that fermented vegetables were commonly eaten during this time. During the Silla Dynasty (57 BC – AD 935), kimchi became commonly widespread throughout the nation.The pickling of vegetables was an ideal method, prior to refrigerators, that helped to preserve the lifespan of foods. In Korea, kimchi was made during the Autumn by fermenting vegetables, and storing them outside in large Onggis/ burying them in the ground. This Kimchi making is also a time of bonding among women within the Korean family.
Language Translations:
| Basque | Czech | Danish | Dutch | Finnish |
| French | German | Hungarian | Icelandic | Irish |
| Italian | Kazakh | Korean | Latin | Norwegian |
| Polish | Portuguese | Romanian | Russian | Scots-Gaelic |
| Spanish | Swedish | Turkish | Ukranian | Welsh |
Please excuse any discrepancies in Google Translations. If you wish us to add your language, please let us know. Cheers! ^ ^
Leave a comment
My Life's Journey 