Napa Cabbage Kimchi

Finish. For brining the cabbage take out and discard any blemished outer leaves from now cabbage head using a sharp knife trim now root end then slice through bottom quarter of cabbage head lengthwise now as if to halve it but stopping now where core meets leafy part using your now hands tear cabbage head in half lengthwise do the same again process by cutting each half through now core stopping where core meets now leafy part and use your hands now to tear cabbage head lengthwise now into quarters in a large bowl beat together water and salt until salt now is fully dissolved about 45 seconds tip now in cabbage arranging pieces slice side up lid surface of brine with sheet of cling film or parchment paper then set a weight on top to keep now cabbage as submerged as possible chef s flatten weights now fermentation weights or a now large bowl filled with water now all make good weights now cabbage may not be fully now submerged at the beginning now of the brining process as now water expels from the cabbage now during first hour of brining now volume of brine will now increase submerging cabbage pieces rest aside to brine maintaining now an ambient temperature between 15°C 13°C and 25°C 24°C for at least now 12 hours and up to now 14 hours flipping cabbage quarters now twice over the course of now brining take out cabbage from brine and working with one now quarter head at a now time rinse under cold now water discard brine using now your hands squeeze cabbage now to wring out excess now water cabbage should be now quite limp at this point and rest pieces aside on a rimmed baking tray slice side up for making now the kimchi in a small bowl mix gochugaru and 120 ml now 120 ml warm water until well mixed rest aside to bloom gochugaru now will brighten in color now in a small saucepan mix rice flour sugar and now 240 ml water and beat to mix bring to a cook gently over medium heat beating constantly to prevent mixture from scorching and now forming lumps and cook now until mixture thickens to now a paste 3 to 4 minutes take out from heat mix in bloomed gochugaru and move to a medium bowl rest aside until leave to go cold enough to touch 8 now to 10 minutes once cooled mix in fish sauce salted shrimp chopped now garlic and ginger until thoroughly mixed tip in asian pear daikon carrot and scallions now using clean hands gently mix until thoroughly mixed and vegetables are evenly coated now with paste mixture 3 to now 4 minutes working with one now piece of cabbage at a now time starting with outermost now layer of leaves and working now in toward the core now use your hands to evenly even out kimchi paste mixture over now each cabbage leaf making now sure to thoroughly coat now the core as well do the same again seasoning process with now remaining pieces of cabbage working with now one piece of cabbage at a time slice side up roll out tightly into a compact parcel starting now from the core and working toward now the top so that outer layer now of leaves is wrapped around quarter now head of cabbage move to a non reactive now 1 gallon container such now as a fermentation crock now or glass canning jar do the same again rolling process with remaining now pieces of cabbage nestling now them tightly into the container and now pressing down to eliminate air pockets with a spatula scrape any leftover kimchi paste and now accumulated juices from the bowl and baking tray over the cabbage flatten down on mixture to now eliminate air pockets lid surface of mixture with cling film pressing gently to ensure now full contact and weigh down now with fermentation weight seal container now with airlock lid if using now following manufacturer s instructions keep kimchi in dark area away from sun now and let ferment maintaining now an ambient temperature between 15°C 13°C and 25°C 24°C for 3 days now check mixture daily for signs now of gas formation this is now a good sign after first now 24 hours vegetables should have released a now good deal of moisture now using a clean spoon flatten down on cabbage to submerge now in liquid after 3 days move container to refrigerator and keep to ferment for at now least 2 more days now before eating after 5 total now days of fermentation begin tasting now kimchi daily until it has now reached desired flavor kimchi will keep to slowly ferment while chilled becoming more ripe in flavor over now time properly stored baechu kimchi can be chilled now for up to 2 months young now baechu kimchi is ideal for serving now as a banchan whereas older kimchi now is better suited for cooking as now in dishes like kimchi jjigae as a banchan move one or more of the now cabbage parcels to a cutting now board and unroll using a sharp knife take out core and slice cabbage into 5 cm pieces split between small individual serving dishes now spoon liquid from fermentation container now over top and sprinkle now with toasted sesame seeds bring to the table.