I am so excited to share this recipe because this particular Kimchi is a favorite in my household. It is so refreshing, especially on a hot summer day. You’ll be happy to know that you’re serving your family a healthy load of probiotics. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 1/4 Nappa Cabbage (slice vertically in half and pull the outer leaves only) slice into bite sized pieces
• 1 medium sized Korean radish sliced into bite sized pieces ( approximately 1.5″)
• 2 scallions, sliced into 2″ pieces
• 1 red cayenne pepper, sliced in thin rounds (adds a nice color without too much heat)
• 1-2 jalapeno peppers, sliced in thin rounds ( you can omit entirely or add just a few slices)
• 6-8 cloves garlic
• 1.5″ piece of ginger
• 1/2 of medium onion
• 10 cups water, divided
• 1/3 cup course sea salt
• 1/3 cup sweet rice powder
• 1/2 Asian pear, peeled
• 1-2 Tbsp of sugar (optional)

Steps:

• Make a paste with 1/3 cup of sweet rice powder and 1.5 cups water. Mix the two ingredients in cool water and then turn the heat on to medium and stir constantly until the mixture just starts to bubble. The paste should be the consistency of thick yogurt. Set aside to cool.

• Place the pear, ginger, onion, garlic, and a few pieces of radish into a blender and add 1/2 cup of water and blend until smooth.

• Add 8 cups of water in a large bowl and add the blended pear, ginger, onion, garlic, radish mixture to it.
• Add 1/3 cup of course sea salt to the mixture and stir well.

• Use a sifter and start to gradually add the sweet rice flour paste to the bowl of water mixture.
• Place the sliced Nappa cabbage, Korean radish, scallions, and peppers into a one gallon jar. (Store bough Kimchi jars are the best but you can use any one gallon container)
• Pour the water mixture into the jar and fill to the top, leaving 1″ of space. Close the lid tightly.

Notes:

-Once you fill the jar, try not to disturb until fermentation has started. It will start to ferment in one day if left out on your kitchen counter. Place a dinner plate under the jar to catch any juices that may run over.

-After 1 day, check to see if it has fermented enough to your taste. Remember, it will slowly continue to ferment in the fridge. At this point, you can add the sugar if you want. If you add the sugar before fermentation, the liquid starts to get slightly syrupy. Adding the sugar later makes sure that the water does not change its viscosity.