Kimjang Kimchi

About the dish

An old record of Seoul customs notes that kimjang kimchi was packed into crocks with radish, napa cabbage, garlic, chili and salt. Brewing jang in summer and making kimchi in winter, it adds, were the two great projects of a household's year.

Key ingredient

Napa cabbage (baechu) — contains compounds credited with helping support overall wellness, its inner leaves linked to natural cleansing and protection of the liver; good for the skin and immunity, and it stimulates the bowels to ward off constipation. In season in November, mainly from the Chungcheong region.

Ingredients

Main: napa cabbage, radish, small scallions (jjokpa), gat (leaf mustard), minari (water dropwort), saeujeot (salted shrimp), anchovy fish sauce, oysters · Seasoning: gochugaru, minced garlic, ginger, glutinous rice paste, sugar

Simple recipe

1. Salt the cabbages, rinse them and drain.
2. Make the filling with shredded radish, gochugaru, jeotgal and garlic.
3. Spread the filling between every leaf.
4. Pack the whole cabbages in snugly, layer by layer.
5. Let them ferment and store them to eat through the winter.

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A Glass · Traditional pairing