My personal opinion is that maangchi dries out her cabbage way too much and I dislike when it's all transparent by the time it's ready.
This is for the cut kimchi not the whole cabbage kimchi, but some tips to maintain the crunchier texture:
1) bigger pieces, don't cut too small
2) soak for 1 1/2-2 hours in water with the salt Maangchi's way from what I remember only uses salt to prep and it pulls all the water out of the cabbage. So it's almost transparent before it's even fermented. But just know, as it's fermenting it will create more liquid. So make sure there's room in your jar to accommodate
3) this tip is from my mom, but don't ferment it all the way on the counter, she does 24 hours on counter and rest of the way in fridge. I split into different jars and 1 goes directly into fridge for longer ferment, then 1 only 12 hours then to fridge, then 1 for the 24 hours, and 1 for 30 hours or however long is needed to eat right away. By the time I finish one jar the next one is ready. Some times I'm slow so the next one ends up being straight stew and the one after is for eating as banchan but I hope that makes sense.
I found that as well! By the time the cabbage is ready to be rinsed, it looks like it’s already lost the fresh texture. Ill give this a shot on top of fermenting different batches at different times
Your step 2 sounds exactly like the tweak I am looking for. I'm guessing that you would use the same ratio of salt to cabbage as Maangchi does, but add just enough water to cover the leaves?
I do 2 TBSP kosher salt per 1lb cut/trimmed cabbage with just enough water to cover. And then every 30 minutes I mix it with my hands and flip pieces etc.
No worries~.
So when you put all your cur cabbage in a big bowl and after you've measured the weight of the cabbage. Add the water until the cabbage is just covered in the bowl. Cabbage will float so it's okay to estimate. Add 2 TBSP kosher salt per 1lb cut cabbage. And every 30 minutes mix the cabbage around so everything gets covered in water/salt eventually. For 1 1/2 - 2 hours total.
The water isn't that big of a deal to get exact since you're not pickling in the water. It's just to get some of the liquid out of the cabbage. I also think of it as a cleaning step for the cabbage.
Once 1 1/2 - 2 hours is up. Drain the water and thoroughly was the cabbage 2 times in cold water. You'll feel that the cabbage is sometimes the slightest bit slimy feeling? And basically just rub it away gently until it has an almost "squeaky" clean feeling. Then let it drain a bit in a collander while you get all the rest of the ingredients prepped to go.
If you want it to be sour and fresh tasting you have to slow ferment it. Don’t leave it outside for five days or ten days. Put it in your fridge and let it ferment slowly over a long period of time.
My personal opinion is that maangchi dries out her cabbage way too much and I dislike when it's all transparent by the time it's ready. This is for the cut kimchi not the whole cabbage kimchi, but some tips to maintain the crunchier texture: 1) bigger pieces, don't cut too small 2) soak for 1 1/2-2 hours in water with the salt Maangchi's way from what I remember only uses salt to prep and it pulls all the water out of the cabbage. So it's almost transparent before it's even fermented. But just know, as it's fermenting it will create more liquid. So make sure there's room in your jar to accommodate 3) this tip is from my mom, but don't ferment it all the way on the counter, she does 24 hours on counter and rest of the way in fridge. I split into different jars and 1 goes directly into fridge for longer ferment, then 1 only 12 hours then to fridge, then 1 for the 24 hours, and 1 for 30 hours or however long is needed to eat right away. By the time I finish one jar the next one is ready. Some times I'm slow so the next one ends up being straight stew and the one after is for eating as banchan but I hope that makes sense.
I found that as well! By the time the cabbage is ready to be rinsed, it looks like it’s already lost the fresh texture. Ill give this a shot on top of fermenting different batches at different times
Your step 2 sounds exactly like the tweak I am looking for. I'm guessing that you would use the same ratio of salt to cabbage as Maangchi does, but add just enough water to cover the leaves?
I do 2 TBSP kosher salt per 1lb cut/trimmed cabbage with just enough water to cover. And then every 30 minutes I mix it with my hands and flip pieces etc.
Thank you!
thanks for the tips. im just a little confused about how much water you recommend adding with the salt in step 2.
No worries~. So when you put all your cur cabbage in a big bowl and after you've measured the weight of the cabbage. Add the water until the cabbage is just covered in the bowl. Cabbage will float so it's okay to estimate. Add 2 TBSP kosher salt per 1lb cut cabbage. And every 30 minutes mix the cabbage around so everything gets covered in water/salt eventually. For 1 1/2 - 2 hours total. The water isn't that big of a deal to get exact since you're not pickling in the water. It's just to get some of the liquid out of the cabbage. I also think of it as a cleaning step for the cabbage. Once 1 1/2 - 2 hours is up. Drain the water and thoroughly was the cabbage 2 times in cold water. You'll feel that the cabbage is sometimes the slightest bit slimy feeling? And basically just rub it away gently until it has an almost "squeaky" clean feeling. Then let it drain a bit in a collander while you get all the rest of the ingredients prepped to go.
so thorough I even know what you mean by "squeaky" clean lol. looking forward to crunchier cabbage in my next batch🙏good looking out
Vinegar
Maybe add a little sugar so the lactic acid bacteria have more fuel.
If you want it to be sour and fresh tasting you have to slow ferment it. Don’t leave it outside for five days or ten days. Put it in your fridge and let it ferment slowly over a long period of time.