You’ll Be Surprised! 4 Easy Kimchi Recipes Anyone Can Make 😲✨

4 Easy Kimchi Recipes

Did you know there are more than 100 varieties of kimchi in Korea? Each vegetable brings out a whole new flavor—napa cabbage for the classic taste, radish for crunch, green onions for a spicy kick, and even cucumber for a refreshing twist. Today, I’m sharing 4 easy and delicious kimchi recipes anyone can try at home: the beloved napa cabbage kimchi, fiery green onion kimchi, quick bok choy kimchi, and cool cucumber water kimchi. 🥬🥒

#1 Kimchi (Baechu Kimchi)

Hello K Friends! Hope you are doing well! Tomorrow is my husband’s birthday, so I’m going to make a special kind of kimchi today instead of the usual kind. Save this recipe to try anytime. It’s easy and delicious!

Fresh Kimchi, Baechu Geotjeori

Ingredients

5lb (2.3 kg) napa cabbage
a handful chives
1/2 onion
1/2 apple
1/2 cup rice
10 cloves garlic
a little ginger
1/2 cup fish sauce
1 cup gochugaru

Instructions

1. Napa cabbage preparation: Halve napa cabbage tear it into pieces. Halve each piece again and keep tearing. Cut off the base, and chop the rest into bite-sized chunks. For thicker stems, slice them down the middle and chop into smaller pieces to brine faster. Repeat with the rest of the cabbage.

2. Brining: Combine 3 cups of water with 1 cup of Korean sea salt in a bowl until dissolved. Layer the cabbage in a large bowl, sprinkling each layer with salt water. Pour the remaining salt water over the top and mix lightly. Let it sit for an hour, flipping halfway through.

3. 30 minutes later, turn it over.

4. After another 30 minutes, Rinse the cabbage twice in water and drain well.

5. Slice a handful of chives to an appropriate length.

Making kimchi seasoning: In a blender, put

1/2 onion
1/2 apple
1/2 cup rice
10 cloves garlic
a little ginger
1/2 cup fish sauce
1 cup gochugaru. Blend well.

6. Pour the finely blended mixture and 1 cup of gochugaru into a bowl and mix well.

7. Add the drained cabbage. Mix well so that the seasoning coats evenly. Once the seasoning is well mixed, add the sliced chives and mix gently.

Super crunchy and delicious kimchi is ready!

#2 Green Onion Kimchi, Pa kimchi

Ingredients:

2 lbs. green onions
1/2 an apple
2T glutinous rice flour
1-piece dried kelp (optional)
1 and 1/2C water
1T sesame seeds

Seasoning:

1/2C fish sauce
1/2C red pepper flakes
2T honey
a little bit of ginger

Instructions

1. Put 1 cup of water in a pot. Add one piece of dried kelp to the water. Bring the water to a boil.

2. Add about 1 and a half tablespoons of glutinous rice flour to a separate bowl. Add 1/2 cup of water and stir well. Stir well. Once the water in the pot starts boiling, remove the kelp. Add the glutinous rice flour mixture to the pot. Let it boil for another minute over low heat. Let it cool well.

3. Cut off the roots and a little of the ends. Since there may be soil on the green onions, rinse them thoroughly with water 2-3 times. Drain the water from the green onions.

4. The green onions have already been trimmed and washed.

5. Making seasoning: Pour 1/2 cup of fish sauce, 1/2 cup of red pepper powder (gochugaru), 3/4 cup of glutinous rice paste, and 2 tablespoons of honey, 1/2 ground apple, and a bit of ginger into a large bowl. Mix well.

6. Coat the white part of the green onions with seasoning. For the leafy part, just apply a little bit of seasoning. When mixing, gently mix it to ensure that the seasoning can be distributed well.

7. And put it in a container. Finally, sprinkle some sesame seeds on top.

8. Storage method: Leave it at room temperature for about a day If you eat pa kimchi right after making it, it can be a bit spicy. However, after it's been allowed to sit for a while and partially fermented, the spiciness will diminish.

9. It tastes great with warm rice or grilled meat. The spicy and savory pa kimchi goes well with meat dishes.

#3 Bok Choy Kimchi

Ingredients

2 pounds (900g) bok choy (8–9 large heads)
0.4 cup coarse sea salt (use a little less if using regular salt)
½ onion, thinly sliced
2-3 green onions, chopped

Seasoning Sauce

3 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon salted shrimp (or use 1 more tablespoon of fish sauce)
4 tablespoons Korean red pepper flakes (gochugaru)
1 tablespoon minced garlic
½ teaspoon minced ginger
1 tablespoon honey or sugar

Instructions

1. Trim the bottoms to separate the leaves. If the leaves are large, cut them in half.

2. Rinse the bok choy well—twice Place in a large bowl.

3. Sprinkle 6 to 7 tablespoons of coarse sea salt between layers of bok choy in a large bowl. Let it sit for 1 hour, mixing once or twice during that time to help everything brine evenly.

4. After an hour, rinse it one more time and squeeze out excess water.

5. In a bowl, put the brined bok choy and add ½ onion (thinly sliced) and chopped green onions. Now pour in the seasoning sauce made with: 3 tbsp fish sauce, 1 tbsp salted shrimp (or 1 more tbsp fish sauce), 4 tbsp gochugaru, 1 tbsp minced garlic, ½ tsp minced ginger, and 1 tbsp honey or sugar. Mix well until the bok choy is evenly coated.

6. Transfer to a container and sprinkle with sesame seeds if you like. You can eat it right away, or leave it out for a few hours for a deeper taste. Store leftovers in the fridge. It tastes even better the next day!

#4. Cucumber Water Kimchi

Looking for something light and refreshing this summer?

Try cucumber water kimchi!

It’s not spicy, super easy to make, and good for your gut.

Perfect for kids and adults!

Ingredients

2 cucumbers
450g (1 pound) napa cabbage
3 scallions
½ red bell pepper
½ yellow bell pepper

Broth

½ onion
2 tbsp cooked rice
1 tbsp garlic
½ tsp ginger
1½ tbsp salt
2 cups pear juice (or apple juice)
7 cups water
(Optional) 1 tbsp sugar

Instructions

1. Cut cabbage into bite-sized pieces and rinse twice. Sprinkle 2 tbsp salt and let it sit for 30 minutes. No need to rinse—just drain the water.

2. Cut the cucumbers in half, remove seeds, and slice into 1-inch pieces. Add 1 tbsp salt and let sit for 10 minutes. Drain, don’t rinse.

3. Slice bell peppers and scallions. Layer cabbage, cucumber, and veggies in a container.

4. Blend ½ onion, 2 tablespoons of cooked rice, and 2 cups water. then pour into a large bowl. Add garlic, ginger, salt, more water, and pear juice. Add sugar.(Optional) Strain again.