Baechu-kimchi
Baechu-kimchi, translated as napa cabbage kimchi or simply kimchi, is a quintessential banchan in Korean cuisine, made with salted, seasoned, and fermented napa cabbage.
Preparation
Baechu-kimchi is made by fermenting salted napa cabbage with Korean radish, aromatic vegetables, jeotgal, gochugaru and various seasonings. Northern varieties are milder and soupier. Southern varieties are saltier and more pungent.Cabbages
Korean brining salt, which has a larger grain size compared to common kitchen salt, is used for the initial salting of the napa cabbage. Being minimally processed, it helps develop flavors in fermented foods. Per water, around of salt is used. Half of the salt is dissolved in water before putting the cabbage in, and the other half is sprinkled in between the layers of napa cabbage that were washed, trimmed, and halved or quartered lengthwise. The cabbage is salted in the brine for several hours, turned over, then salted for more hours. After that, the salted cabbage is washed thoroughly under running water and drained.Fillings
Porridge-like thin paste is made by boiling small amount of glutinous rice flour in water. To that, gochugaru, jeotgal, Korean radish, and aromatic vegetables are added to make the kimchi seasoning.Scallions, minced garlic, and ground ginger are the most commonly used aromatic vegetables, and garlic chives, Korean parsley, onions, carrots, and chili peppers are also often added. Korean radish is typically julienned, and the aromatics can be chopped, minced, or ground.
Jeotgal can be replaced with raw seafood in colder northern parts of the Korean peninsula. If used, milder saeu-jeot or jogi-jeot is preferred and the amount of jeotgal is also reduced in Northern and Central regions. In Southern Korea, a generous amount of stronger myeolchi-jeot and galchi-jeot is commonly used. Raw seafood or daegu-agami-jeot are used in the east coast areas. The most commonly used aekjeot are myeolchi-aekjeot and kkanari-aekjeot. Aekjeot may be used in place of solid jeotgal or used along with them. Small amounts of sugar, honey, fruit juice, or ground fruit can also be added.
The fillings are packed between each leaf of the cabbage.