Name: Traditional Napa Cabbage Kimchi
Yield: Makes enough kimchi to fill 1-gallon jar
Ingredients: 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon coarse sea salt or kosher salt; Water; 2 heads Napa cabbage, cut into quarters or 2-inch wedges, depending on size of cabbage; 1 bulb garlic, cloves separated and peeled; 1 (2-inch) piece of ginger root; 1/4 cup fish sauce or Korean salted shrimp; 1 Asian radish, peeled and grated; 1 bunch of green onions, cut into 1-inch lengths; 1/2 cup Korean chili powder; 1 teaspoon sugar (optional); Sesame oil (optional); Sesame seeds (optional)

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Baechu Kimchi

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are excerpted from Eating Korean by Cecilia Hae-Jin Lee and are part of our story on Lunar New Year.

This is the mother of all kimchi. When Koreans say "kimchi," this is the kind that comes to everyone's minds. Good either fresh or fermented, it goes with everything from meats to noodles. You will need a one-gallon glass jar or four 1-quart jars.

Note:

Kimchi will be good enough to eat straight for up to about 3 weeks. After about 4 weeks, once the kimchi gets too fermented to eat by itself, use it to make hot pots, flatcakes, dumplings, or just plain fried rice.

Recipe notes

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Recipe notes

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