Same-week kimchi: salted napa and Korean radish in a gochugaru-garlic paste — eatable tonight as geotjeori (fresh kimchi), transcendent by Friday.
What you need
Ingredients
Servings
12
1 head
🥬 Napa Cabbage ›
in 4 cm squares
200 g
🥬 Korean Radish ›
matchsticks — or daikon
60 g
🧂 Kosher Salt ›
4 tbsp
🌶️ Gochugaru ›
1 tbsp
🐟 Fish Sauce ›
5 cloves
🧄 Garlic ›
grated
1 thumb
🫚 Ginger ›
1 tsp
🍬 Sugar ›
3
🌱 Scallions ›
in lengths
Add all to shopping list
Mise en place
Before you start
40m
Prep
0m
Cook
40m
Total
—
Serves
Yield: One big jar
Equipment
Sheet pan
Chef's knife
Prep checklist
Napa Cabbage — in 4 cm squares
Korean Radish — matchsticks — or daikon
Garlic — grated
Scallions — in lengths
3 steps
Method
1
Salt the cabbage in a bowl, tossing, 30 minutes until wilted and bendy; rinse twice and drain hard.
2
Paste: gochugaru, fish sauce, garlic, ginger, sugar, and 3 tbsp water. Glove up and massage it through cabbage, radish, and scallions.
💡
The glove is not optional. Gochugaru under fingernails is a two-day souvenir.
3
Pack into a jar, pressing out air pockets; lid loose on the counter 1–2 days until it fizzes gently, then refrigerate. It improves for weeks and flavors everything it touches.
From the chef
Notes
Taste before serving and adjust salt and acid — the last 30 seconds of seasoning matter more than any single ingredient.
Afterwards
Keep, reheat & pair
Storage
Refrigerate up to 3 days.
Freezing
Depends on the vegetable — roasted things reheat better than they freeze.
Reheating
Roasted vegetables re-crisp in a 200°C oven for 6–8 minutes; mashes loosen with a splash of warm milk over low heat.
Make ahead
Blanch or par-roast ahead, then finish with high heat just before serving.