How We Made Kimchi at Home: A Taste of Korean Winter Tradition

Every culture has a food tradition that marks the seasons. In Korea, when temperatures drop and winter begins to settle in, it's kimjang time—the annual tradition of preparing and storing kimchi for the cold months ahead. For generations, families have gathered together to make large batches of this spicy fermented cabbage, not just as food, but as a way of connecting with culture, family, and history.

This year, my wife and I decided to take on the challenge ourselves, making kimchi at home for the very first time. It was cold, hectic, and exhausting—but also incredibly rewarding. Here's how it all went down, step-by-step.

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Step 1: Preparing the Napa Cabbage (20kg) We bought 20kg of pre-salted napa cabbage, which usually comes in boxes of 7 to 10 heads. They were grown in Hongcheon, Gangwon Province, and had a sweet taste that gave us high hopes.

Tip: Flip the whole box once to ensure even salting.

Step 2: Rinsing and Draining the Cabbage After unpacking, we gently rinsed the cabbages with water to remove impurities. Some people skip this step, but we prefer it for cleanliness. Let them drain for at least 1 hour.

Step 3: Prepping the Radish (Mu) We used three large Korean radishes. I started using a fancy imported grater, but it turned out too thin—more suitable for salads. In the end, I chopped everything by hand, like real kimchi masters do!

Step 4: Mixing the Radish with Chili Powder We added 300g of Korean red chili powder (gochugaru) to give the shredded radish its signature red color.

Step 5: Making the Broth and Rice Paste We made 1.4L of flavorful broth using kombu (kelp), dried pollock heads, dried anchovies, mushrooms, onion, radish, and green onion. To this, we added glutinous rice paste made from one cup of sweet rice, blended until smooth.

Step 6: Fresh Ingredients for the Seasoning

• Garlic: 900g
• Ginger: 200g (peeled with effort!)
• Chives, green onions, water parsley, mustard leaves (minari), seaweed stems (cheonggak)

Step 7: Seafood Flavor Enhancers We used 1kg of raw shrimp (blended), 430g of salted shrimp (saeujeot), and 900ml of fermented anchovy sauce (kanari).

Step 8: Sweeteners We added 300g of plum extract and 200g of sugar to round out the flavors.

300g of plum extract and 200g of sugar

Seasonings to mix kimchi sauce

 300g of plum extract and 200g of sugar

Step 9: Mixing It All Together This part takes some muscle. Mix all ingredients together to create the kimchi seasoning (kimchi-so). Let it rest for about an hour before stuffing the cabbage.

Mix some of the sauce mixed with various ingredients in radish

Step 10: Stuffing and Packing Gently stuff each cabbage leaf with the seasoning, fold it nicely, and pack into containers. We even layered some radish kimchi (seokbakji) between to fill gaps and add more variety.

Final Touches: We covered the top with outer leaves and sealed the container. Of course, no kimjang is complete without a reward meal—we had delicious boiled pork (bossam) with freshly made kimchi. It was so satisfying!

Reflections: This first attempt wasn't perfect, but it was meaningful. We followed my mother-in-law's advice, tried various recipes, and learned a lot. Making kimchi isn't just cooking—it's an emotional experience that connects you to tradition, family, and even yourself.