Fermenting Chinese Cabbage – That’s How it Works

How to ferment Chinese cabbage – The preparation

Fermented Chinese cabbage is also known as kimchi. This is a Korean national dish. To make the cabbage more durable through a fermentation process, you need a kilogram of Chinese cabbage, three tablespoons of salt, seven cloves of garlic, two tablespoons of chili powder, or chili paste, a teaspoon of sugar, three carrots, and half a bunch of young onions.

• To start, you should remove the leaves of the Chinese cabbage from the stalk. Then wash and dry the leaves well.
• Now the leaves need to be cut. It is best to cut them into strips three to six centimeters wide.
• Now the Chinese cabbage must be placed in brine. To do this, add the salt to 1.5 liters of water, let the salt dissolve and place the cut strips in a suitable container.
• Then pour the salted water over the Chinese cabbage. Make sure the cabbage is completely covered with water.
• Weight the mixture down with a plate and leave it in a cool place overnight.
• The vegetables are already absorbing the salt. Once it is poured into jars, the actual fermentation process begins.
• Fermented products are also easier to digest. The acid produced during fermentation also kills harmful bacteria in the stomach and intestines.

Prepare Chinese cabbage for fermentation

As long as the Chinese cabbage is in salt water, you can start with the marinade. To do this, the remaining vegetables must be cleaned, washed, and cut into fine, thin strips.

• Cut the onions into fine half rings and the carrots into thin strips. Peel the ginger and grate it with a grater. Finely chop the garlic.
• Now put the vegetables in a suitable bowl and add the chili and sugar. Mix everything together.
• After about twelve hours, remove the Chinese cabbage from the salt water and mix it with the prepared marinade.
• Now take a boiled three-liter mason jar and fill it with the Chinese cabbage. Leave about three inches from the edge empty. Then fill the cabbage with salt water.
• Place the jar in an airtight container in a cool, dark place.
• The fermentation process takes about eight days. Therefore, stir the contents daily.
• The cabbage can then be kept tightly sealed in a dark, cool place for up to six months.
• In this form, Chinese cabbage is not only particularly delicious but also healthy.