I decided to share this recipe with everyone, rather than PM delivery to those who requested. I made it up after testing recipes I found online and in Korean cookbooks. It was a series of experiments, eliminating stuff, adjusting measurements and finding what worked best. The final recipe is really good and it makes a lot of kimchee.

Caution: Depending on what red pepper you use (Korean is very hot), it has a tendency to burn your face off (in a good way). :)

“Bad Girlfriend” Kimchee

2 heads Napa Cabbage

1 ¼ c Sea Salt (Kosher is OK)

½ c minced onion

3 cloves garlic, minced

2-inch piece of Ginger, minced

1 c Red Pepper flakes (use more if you like)

½ c Shrimp Paste (or ¼ c Fish sauce)

2 T Molasses

1 T Rice Wine Vinegar

1 T salt

1 T Sesame Oil

2 c Carrots, shredded

2 c Daikon Radish, shredded or slivered

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Split cabbage in half lengthwise and trim off ends. Rinse and cut in 2-inch squares. Place into container (plastic bucket works well) and sprinkle with sea salt as you layer it in. Do the same with carrots and Daikon in separate container.  Seal each container and leave at room temperature for 6 hours.

Make a paste from the remaining ingredients. If you have juice from a previous batch, add this to get a faster ferment on this batch. It’s like a sourdough starter; it’s perpetual.

Rinse salt from the vegetables. Drain and press out the liquid.

In a crock or bucket, start layering vegetables and mixing in the paste. You want everything coated, top to bottom. Press everything down as you go, squeezing juices out of the mixture. This makes a brine that you need for the process. WEAR GLOVES UNLESS YOU WANT EVERY PART OF YOU AND YOUR LOVED ONES TO HURT (I found out the hard way).

At this point, I weigh it all down with a plate, topped with a clean jog of water. You want it to become submerged in the juices. Cover with a couple of towels to keep the flies out. Leave on the kitchen counter for about 4 days, checking for taste daily.

Bottle it, making sure to only stuff them ¾ full or you will explode your jars (Again, found out the kimchee-coating-the kitchen way). Top off with spring water, leaving some air space. If you use tap water with chlorine, you will kill all of the bacteria and other probiotics. This defeats the purpose of making your own kimchee. Store in the fridge or root cellar. Enjoy!

 NOTES:

·         My wife named this recipe because “like a bad girlfriend, this kimchee hurts you badly, but you keep coming back for more.”

·         She also adds, “For god’s sake, do not have sex after making this kimchee, if you don’t wear gloves.” (Experience … enough said)

John..
  You have convinced me to NEVER make or eat Kimchee ! I'll stick with figs.  Fred

Come on, Fred. It's good stuff. It'll keep you jumping. Feel the burn!

thanks

We buy our kimchee from the local Asian market....Dr Oz and others recommend these fermented veggies as good for your stomach and intestines. Thanks for the recipe, one more thing to get started at home!

John,. thanks for the recipe. I think ill try this. I have never attempted. To make my own. I buy pickled daikon. And make Kimchee chips.
*Sent by SPRINT Android mobile*

John,
thank you very much. I had a Korean guy working for me and his grandmother (spoke no english) used to trade me kimchee for blue chicken eggs - she had a thing for those and duck eggs. The stuff in the stores just isn't the same. All I need now is my jar to bury as the only thing I'll change is the 4 days.
mgg

As a piano tuner/technician, a number of my Korean customers were more than happy to send me home with some jars of homemade Kimchee.  Delicious...but none ever offered me sex...(see addendum to post #1).

Frank

thank you John for taking the time and posting the recipe and the secret ingredient to the secret ingredient. love that kimchee.

Michael - Yes, it does get better with age. Even after you bottle and store, it keeps working. That's why I had jars overflow. They seeped and when I opened them up - Whoosh! You can allow the batch to ferment as long as you like. It all depends on personal taste. i just find if I innoculate the batch with the previous one, it ferments really rapidly.

Frank - Take those ladies a jar of this hot stuff and you may get an offer. ;)

Want to add my thank you for doing the work and figuring out what works.  We grow cabbage in the garden and make lots of sauerkraut each year.  Have some Korean friends that we share it with.  Think I'll try the napa in the garden and try Kimchee.

being a native of korea, yes, i had kimchee all my life. back in korea, around late fall, harvest time, there is "kimchee making party". usually someone will buy boxes and boxes of cabbages and call their neighborhood, family and friends to come make ton of kimchee for the winter and just eat lot of food afterwards with fresh kimchee stuffing. 

there are number of different kimchees some do not contain red pepper flakes at all, some are made of cucumber, some with just radish, some with other type of cabbage. regional difference in how much and what time of "korean fish sauce" to use. fish sauce is not just fish sauce.. trust me. sometimes raw fishes are added. sometimes oysters, and other seafood. 

i like simple kimchee or seoul style with very minimal fish sauce and little fresh before it actually get fermented. 

since coming to american, my mother has not made kimchee at home. it just smells nasty and messy. she always buys it at the store, and i do the same now i'm married. place up in ny and nj has enough korean population to great many korean supermarkets where number of different types of kimchee are offered. in some places, you can taste them before buying them. 

yupe, it's something every korean loves and enjoys. my 11 yr old who has never been to korea loves kimchee :) but my 8 yr old will not touch that thing with his jo (not a 10 feet stick, but still a stick). 

John...

Sounds like a plan.  When I'm asked what I do all day, I can say..."I just like screwing around on a Steinway"

Frank

i want a Steinway. nice baby grand would be nice. i should have picked an instrument that i can play inside.. sigh.. 

I love kimchee!!! So good on rice or by itself. It's a "little" fishy BUT IT IS GOOD! I grew up eating this stuff. Very heathy for you.

Cucumber Kimchee is my favorite but I also love cabbage kimchee as well. one of my favorite dishes is Kimchee Bokumbap or Kimchee fried rice. Its great being married to a beautiful Korean lady who keeps me fed with the wonderful foods from her country. There's nothing better than having kimchee with every meal of the day. It's so delicious and it is very good for you as well. Her favorite kimchee is sesame seed kimchee. Although what Koreans call sesame seed leaves are actually the leaves of Perillo.

Honestly, there are more kimchee recipes out there than can be counted. Everyone makes their own version, their family recipe. So far, I like pretty much all of them. And it's good for digestion, full of beneficial lacto-bacteria.

My favorite way is to saute shredded pork and onions; add some kimchee (and maybe some edamame); stir fry to heat everything up and then finish with a big dollop of peanut butter (I add a bit of water at this point, to make sure the sauce coats everything). Serve over rice. Mmmmm.

(By the way, heating kills the good bacteria, so I eat it with more "raw" kimchee on the side.)