How to make sauerkraut and kimchi at home

Sauerkraut and kimchi are vegetables fermented in salt. The salt keeps harmful microbes out while friendly lactic acid bacteria turn the vegetables tangy. Both are easy, but salt and temperature matter.

Two rules before you start

• Weigh the salt. Use 22 to 25g of plain, non-iodised salt for every kilogram of cabbage.
• Mind the heat. Sauerkraut ferments at 21 to 24°C and goes soft above 24°C. In a Peshawar summer, ferment kimchi in the fridge, and make sauerkraut between November and March or in an air-conditioned room.

Sauerkraut

You need 1kg of cabbage, 22 to 25g of salt, a glass jar or crock (never aluminium, copper, brass, iron or galvanised metal), a clean weight such as a small plate or a jar filled with brine, and a cloth.

1. Prepare. Remove the outer leaves, rinse, quarter and cut out the core. Shred the cabbage about as thick as a coin.
2. Salt. Weigh the cabbage and the salt. Mix with clean hands for 5 to 10 minutes until the juice flows.
3. Pack. Press the cabbage firmly into the jar until the juice rises above it. If it does not, top up with brine: 1½ tablespoons of salt in 1 litre of boiled, cooled water.
4. Weigh down. Keep the cabbage 2.5 to 5cm under the brine. Cover with a cloth.
5. Wait. At 21 to 24°C it takes 3 to 4 weeks. At 15 to 18°C it takes 5 to 6 weeks. Check two or three times a week and skim off any scum.
6. Store. When it is tangy enough, move it to the fridge, where it keeps for several months.

A strong smell in the first week is normal and fades. Slimy, soft or mouldy cabbage should be thrown away.

Kimchi

This is the Colorado State University Extension recipe. It makes enough for two medium heads of napa cabbage (2.7 to 3.6kg). Halve it for one head.

Ingredients

• 2 medium heads of napa cabbage
• 1½ cups of coarse non-iodised salt, split into ½ cup for the dip and 1 cup for massaging
• 3.8 litres of cold water for the dip
• 2 tablespoons of sweet (glutinous) rice flour and ½ cup of water, for a paste
• Garlic (1 to 10 cloves, to taste) and about 3 slices of ginger, minced
• 1 cup of Korean red pepper powder (gochugaru). If you cannot find it, use Kashmiri chilli powder or paprika, starting with about three quarters of the amount, and taste.
• ½ a Korean radish or daikon (about 0.5kg) and 10 spring onions
• 1 teaspoon of fish sauce (optional)

Method

1. Rinse the cabbage, discard damaged parts, quarter, core and cut into 5cm pieces.
2. Dissolve ½ cup of salt in the 3.8 litres of water. Dip the pieces briefly and drain. Sprinkle the 1 cup of coarse salt over them, massage, cover and leave for 3 to 6 hours.
3. Rinse 3 to 4 times in cold water and drain for at least 30 minutes.
4. Whisk the rice flour into ½ cup of water, bring to a boil and let it cool. Mix in the garlic, ginger and chilli.
5. Cut the radish and spring onions into 2.5cm matchsticks. Mix with the paste (and fish sauce, if using).
6. Wearing gloves, mix the cabbage and paste thoroughly.
7. Pack tightly into a jar, only two thirds full, because the kimchi will bubble. Close it finger-tight and stand it on a plate.
8. In hot weather, ferment it in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. Otherwise leave it 1 to 2 days at a steady 20°C, tasting daily, then refrigerate. Throw it away if mould appears on the surface.

Kimchi is best in the first few weeks and gets sourer with time. If you cannot find napa cabbage, ordinary round cabbage can be used with a shorter salting of 1 to 2 hours. Taste before you continue.

Prefer it ready-made? See our kimchi and sauerkraut.