Homemade Kimchi

Cut the cabbage lengthwise through the stem into quarters. Cut the cores from each piece. Then cut each of the quarters into three pieces crosswise. Take each piece apart with your hands, so that you’re left with separate cabbage leaves. Put the leaves in a large bowl, cover with cold water and wash them well. Discard the water. Sprinkle the cabbage leaves generously with salt. Mix well. Let the salted leaves rest for about 30-60 minutes, until they soften and discard the excess moisture.

In a saucepan, combine 2 cups of water with the rice flour. If you can't find any rice flour, rice starch will do. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook until the mixture thickens. Kill the heat and let the mixture cool. Some recipes claim that you don’t have to cook the rice flour mixture, but this is actually the authentic Korean way to do it, so don’t skip this step. Besides, a thick sauce will cover each cabbage leaf much better.

Make the spice paste. Blitz the sweet pepper, chillies, garlic cloves and ginger in the bowl of a blender until you get a smooth thick paste. Add to the mixture 2 tbsp. l. sugar, 1-2 tbsp. l. salt and mix.

Chop the scallions into medium-sized chunks (about 4-5 cm in length). Cut the carrot lengthwise and then chop it into half moons (about ½ cm thick) or julienne it. If you’re using daikon radishes, julienne them as well. They will add even more authenticity to the taste of your kimchi.

Rinse the salted cabbage and pat it dry. In a mixing bowl, mix it with the other ingredients: the fish sauce, coriander seeds, rice flour mixture and spicy sauce. Massage the mixture into every leaf, making sure it gets into every fold and crevice. Pack the kimchi into a jar and leave to ferment for a day or two. After that you should keep it in the refrigerator. It will last for about a month in the fridge, but I doubt it’ll take you that long to finish it off, because it’s unbelievably delicious.