For today’s recipe video, I decided to share my Korean mom’s Vegan Water Kimchi recipe! It’s easy, delicious, and oh-so-refreshing — perfect for the summer! Check out the video below to watch how we made it, and don’t forget to scroll down for the written recipe~
If you don’t know this yet, kimchi (김치) is a traditional Korean side dish made by fermenting vegetables in Korean spices and is eaten alongside meals as a condiment, on its own, or even as a dip. The flavours depend on how it’s made, but it usually ranges from spicy to sweet to sour (depending on how long it has fermented). Traditionally, kimchi is made with fish sauce or pickled shrimp, but the good news is that it’s very easy to veganize (plus, I think the vegan kimchi stinks less than its non-vegan counterpart, so yay!!)
As a Korean, I grew up eating kimchi and it will always be a staple in my fridge. There are many different types of kimchi — the most common being the napa cabbage kimchi, which I do have a recipe for. There’s also the cucumber kimchi and the radish kimchi, which I will be filming together with Mama Lee as these are her recipes that I am going to be sharing with you (soon!).
For this blogpost, I’m sharing the recipe for Vegan Water Kimchi (Mul Kimchi 물김치 or Nabak Kimchi 나박김치) — a slightly spicy and refreshing version of the kimchi that’s perfect for summer! I eat it cold, and it is perfect as a side dish, especially when you are eating something greasy or heavy. I see it as a refreshing palate cleanser.
I’ve loved Mul Kimchi since I was a child so I’m so excited to share this with you.
Are you excited to try out this Vegan Water Kimchi recipe? Don’t forget to watch the video and simply scroll down below for the written recipe!
Vegan Water Kimchi (Vegan Mul Kimchi 비건 물김치 / Nabak Kimchi 나박김치)
Ingredients:
- 4L water
- 1/3 cup flour
- 1 kg (around 800-1000g) Korean or daikon radish, peele
- 1/2 napa cabbage (use the inside — yellow leaves for better texture)
- 4 tsp salt
- 5 stalks or green onion, heads cut off
- 3-4 hot or sweet peppers
- 2 individual packets of Splenda or sugar-free sweetener (not sugar)
- Anotehr 2-3 tbsp salt
For blending:
- 300g onion
- 2 hot or sweet peppers
- 20g ginger
- 2 tbsp gochugaru (optional) – Korean red chili pepper powder
- 3 cloves garlic
Instructions:
- Add watewr into a large pot togeter with the flour. Turn the heat up and bring it to a boil (watch so it doesn’t overflow), whisking constantly until the flour dissolves.
- After it comes to a boil, take it off the heat and let it cool for 1-2 hours until lukewarm (you can do this tep the night before if you wish).
- Cut the radish into thin square pieces (see video for visuals) and place in a large container. Add 2 tsp of salt, spreading evenly across.
- Cut the cabbage, taking out the outside (green) leaves as you want to use the inside yellow leaves and white part.
- Add cabbage into the container with the radish, and add another 2 tsp of salt and mix with your hands (make sure they’re clean!). Set aside for 20-30 minutes to allow the cabbage to wilt.
- While waiting, cut onion into chunks and blend together with a few scoops of the water-flour mixture, garlic, gochugaru, ginger, and one hot pepper for around 1 minute until well-blended.
- Cut up the remaining sweet peppers, as well as the green onions, leaving just the white head, and slice into thin, long pieces (see video for reference). Set aside.
- Add the blended sauce into the radish-cabbage mixture and mix well.
- Add in the sweetener (don’t use sugar) and chopped green onions and peppers, and pour in the remaining water-flour mixture. Add another 3 tbsp of salt and mix well.
- Cover this up and let it sit at room temeprature over night to allow it to ferment. Once fermented for 24 hours, transfer your water kimchi to a tightly sealed container and store in the fridge (this can keep for weeks in the fridge).
- Enjoy as a side dish!
