Buying fresh vegetables for one person isn't ideal. I rarely need a whole bunch of celery or a whole lettuce or cabbage. The risk of them going bad before I've finished them is high and I'd rather not waste any. A lot of those end up as vegetable stock, but today we'll look at turning excess Napa Cabbage into a quick kimchi that will last months.
My usual kimchi recipe involves a glutinous rice flour porridge and not pre-cutting the cabbage, whereas this one is more straightforward and almost as good. I've also used leftover baby bok choy for a non-traditional alternative. The Korean gochigaru (pepper flakes) might involve a trip to your local Korean market.
The ratios of each are pretty flexible. As a guideline, for each decent, dense Napa cabbage, I'd start with the following
After that first 24hrs, I usually pack it tightly into individual jars, to make for easier sharing, plus to avoid cross contamination in case there's ever a mold problem. There shouldn't ever be a mold problem, but safety first.
There you have it. A quick and easy way to preserve a Napa cabbage you bought whole for a few leaves in a stir fry.
It's ready to eat straight away, but I wait a week. It's also still a living organism, so you'll find that it becomes more sour and pungent over time. It'll last months in the fridge.
