Vegan Kimchi

This vegan kimchi is easy to make, completely vegan friendly, and tastes just like regular napa cabbage kimchi! It's perfect for eating as a side while fresh and once it's well fermented, it'll be mouthwateringly tangy, which is still perfect as a side but also great for making kimchi jjigae, kimchijeon (kimchi pancakes), and this super easy and addictive 10-minute kimchi chili oil ramen! We've included step by step instructions with photos below to guide you through the process.

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Jump to:

• Difference between regular kimchi and vegan kimchi
• Ingredients needed for making vegan kimchi
• How to make the BEST vegan kimchi
• Recipe tips
• Alternative method to salt the napa cabbage
• Storage
• How to sterilize jars
• FAQ
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Feedback

Difference between regular kimchi and vegan kimchi

Traditional kimchi usually uses fish sauce and saeujeot (Korean fermented salty shrimps). This is the secret ingredient for all the umami and funk in traditional kimchi. It's also what seasons the kimchi marinade and helps with kimchi's fermentation process.

In our vegan kimchi recipe, we omitted both the fish sauce and saeutjeot. Instead, we opted for a little additional salt and our secret ingredient – mushroom powder. It's packed with umami flavor, which is exactly what we're missing from omitting fish sauce and saeujeot. Do note: Not all mushroom powers are made equally and some are not vegan friendly. So make sure to read the label!

Ingredients needed for making vegan kimchi

Please scroll down to the recipe card for the ingredient quantities!

For the bulk of the kimchi:

• Napa cabbage - The main star of this classic kimchi! Napa cabbage is usually available at most Asian markets and even at local grocery stories. But the price is definitely better at Asian markets.
• Salt - We highly recommend using Kosher salt or any coarse salts. Coarser salts are easier to control when salting.
• Carrot and Korean radish - Both add flavor, mild sweetness, and extra texture. For the Korean radish, it can be found at most Asian markets. These radishes are the thicker ones with white and green skin. If you can't find Korean radish, daikon radish is a good substitute or you can simply omit it.
• Buchu - Also known as Asian chives. They really bring the FUNK to kimchi, which we highly recommend adding since our vegan kimchi won't have the usual funkiness from fish sauce and saeujeot. If you cannot find any buchu, feel free to use green onions instead.

For the vegan kimchi marinade:

• Rice flour and water - These two ingredients are cooked into paste that makes the marinade stickier so that the marinade can adhere to the napa cabbage. You can use either regular rice flour (red bag) or glutinous rice flour (green bag).
• Gochugaru - Also known as Korean red pepper flakes. Make sure to get the coarse gochugaru. The fine version is too fine for kimchi. Also, some Korean markets offer different varieties of gochugaru that differ in spice level. You can choose the one that you prefer.
• Yellow onion, garlic, ginger - These are the base flavors of the marinade. They also add spiciness to the kimchi.
• Apple or Korean pear - Either fruit is good fine. They serve as a natural sweetener and provide some extra liquid for the marinade. If using apple, we recommend juicy apples, like Fuji.
• Mushroom powder and salt - These two ingredients are the substitutes for fish sauce and saeujeot (fermented salty shrimps) that's normally use in making regular kimchi. The mushroom powder gives the marinade the extra touch of umami while the salt makes up for the saltiness needed.

How to make the BEST vegan kimchi

Please scroll down to the recipe card for the full recipe and instructions!

Clean and cut the napa cabbage:

1. Peel away and discard any undesirable outer layer leaves of the napa cabbage. 

2. With the napa cabbage laying on its side, quarter the cabbage long ways. You can also just cut the stem area of the cabbage and rip the rest of the cabbage open with your hand. Repeat with remaining napa cabbage.

3. Trim away excess part of the cabbage core but not too much so that the leaves can stay intact. Then, rinse between each leaf to remove dirt or grim. Make sure to pay extra attention to the outer few leaves. Drain the cabbages as best as you can.

Salt the napa cabbage:

4. In a clean, sanitized area (like a large bowl in a clean sink), salt each quarter of napa cabbage by sprinkling salt between each and every layer and from the root to the tip of each leaf. Make sure to salt more generously around the stems. Repeat with all cabbages.

5. Once all of the cabbages are salted, arrange and stack them in a large bowl. Cover and weigh down the cabbages with something heavy and let them salt for 1½ to 2 hours. Rotate the cabbages every 30 to 60 minutes, moving the ones on the top to the bottom.

6. To check if the napa cabbage is done salting, rip off a small leaf of cabbage and rinse it well with fresh water. Taste the cabbage. The cabbage will be very bendable and should taste well seasoned at the stem, while the leaf should be a littler saltier but not unbearable. If the cabbage does not taste salted enough, continue with the salting process for another 30 minutes to 1 hour, until the desired saltiness is achieved.

7. Once the napa cabbages are done salting, rinse the them with fresh water to remove excess salt. Make sure to get between each leaf. 

🌟 Pro tip: We like to rinse our napa cabbage in a large bowl of water and repeating the process about 2 to 3 times with fresh water. We recommend tasting the cabbage after the final rinse to see if the cabbage require an additional round or two of rinsing.

8. After the final rinse, gently but firmly squeeze each quarter of napa cabbage to remove most of the excess water, especially the leafy parts. But don’t squeeze too hard or the stems may get bruised and damaged. Removing the excess water helps to prevent the marinade from becoming diluted and watery.

Make the kimchi marinade:

9. While the napa cabbages are salting, make the marinade. First, make the rice flour paste by whisking together the rice flour and water until well combined. Transfer the mixture to a pan or saucepan and cook over medium to medium high heat, stirring occasionally. Once the paste starts to thicken, stir constantly until the a thick, bubbly, slightly translucent paste forms. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and let cool.

10. In a blender, add the apple or pear, onion, garlic cloves, ginger, mushroom powder, and salt. Blend everything together until the mixture well combined. Add half of the gochugaru to the mix and blend until well combined and as smooth as possible. Scrap down the sides as needed.

11. Transfer the mixture to the bowl with the cooled rice flour paste, along with the rest of the gochugaru, Korean radish, carrot, and Asian chives. Mix until evenly combined. Set aside until needed

Marinate the napa cabbage:

12. Working with gloved hands and one quarter of napa cabbage at one time, place the cabbage in the bowl of prepared kimchi marinade. Take some marinade and rub it on each leaf. Make sure to also leave some of the julienned veggies in between each layer too!

13. Once the entire quarter of cabbage has been rubbed down with marinade, fold the cabbage over itself to keep it tight. Repeat with remaining cabbage.

14. Pack the kimchi into sterilized glass jars or BPA free plastic kimchi containers. Make sure to pack the cabbage tightly into the container, but leave at least 1 inch of space between the top of the kimchi and the lid. As the kimchi ferments, it will release juices and produce gas. The extra room will help prevent the kimchi from popping off the and the juices from overflowing. 

🌟 Pro tip: If storing in a kimchi tote, place a sheet of cling film on the kimchi. Make sure to tuck the cling wrap in and that the cling wrap is touching the kimchi. This helps to prevent excessive oxidation.

15. The napa cabbage kimchi can be enjoyed immediately after marinating, after chilling, or you can let it ferment until it reaches your desired fermentation stage before eating or used in cooking.

Recipe tips

• Use Kosher salt or coarse salt to salt the napa cabbage. Coarser salt is easier to sprinkle, and it's easier to gauge how much salt is used and control the saltiness.
• Wear disposable gloves when slathering the marinade onto the salted cabbages. The marinade will stain your hands and anything it touches.
• Use weights to help the napa cabbage salt faster. The weight helps to compress the cabbage, which ensure the leaves are in contact with the salt so that osmosis does its thing. We like to stack heavy books on a clean plate or bowl.
• Leave at least an inch gap in the kimchi container. The gap is to compensate for the expansion the kimchi will undergo during fermentation. The amount of juices will increase too. If you do not leave enough room or eat enough as the kimchi ferments, it will overflow and leak from the containers.

Alternative method to salt the napa cabbage

Traditionally, kimchi is made with quartered or cabbages cut in half. This is so that the kimchi can last longer because the less surface area that's expose the slower the fermentation process will work. Likewise, the more surface area exposed, the quicker things ferment.

So if you want to ferment your vegan kimchi faster, you can cut and salt it like in our fresh kimchi (geotjeori) recipe. Then follow this kimchi marinade recipe as is but you can simply mix the salted cabbage with the marinade instead of slathering each leaf one by one..

This alternative method is much less labor intensive process than the traditional method, but because the cabbage is cut into smaller pieces, it'll become fermented much quicker and will stay good for a shorter amount of time.

Storage

This vegan kimchi can be enjoyed right away, but if you prefer it sour and fermented, let it sit at room temperature for a day or two to speed up the fermentation process. Then, keep it refrigerated at all times. The fermentation process usually takes about 1 to 2 weeks for vegan kimchi since there's not fish sauce and saeujeot in the marinade.

You can also transfer the kimchi to the fridge right away once you're done making it, if you prefer a slower fermentation and want to enjoy the taste of fresh kimchi for a little longer.

Make sure the kimchi is stored in clean, sterilized glass jars. We often store our kimchi in the gallon glass jars we saved from store-bought kimchi or in quart size mason jars. You can also store kimchi in clean BPA-free plastic containers, but do let me warn you. The container will most likely be stained orange and will forever smell like kimchi. So make sure to use a container you want to dedicate to storing kimchi.

Lastly, make sure to press down on the cabbages and try to keep them tightly packed together. Do this every time the kimchi is used. This prevents the kimchi from being exposed to a lot of oxygen, which could cause it to oxidize and spoil sooner.

🌟 Pro tip: We also recommend double and triple wrapping the container in a few layers of plastic bag. This is especially helpful if you are storing the kimchi in the same fridge as other groceries. Otherwise, the smell will for sure permeate into everything.

How to sterilize jars

The easiest way to sterilize your glass jars or canning jars for your is by boiling them. Just bring a pot of water to a boil and gently submerge the jars into the water completely. Let them simmer for 10 minutes for altitudes of 1000 feet or less and add an additional minute per 1000 feet.

Alternatively, if you are using those gallon size jars, you can place the jar upside-down into a pot or pan of simmering water. Let the jars steam for about 15 minutes.

🌟 Pro tip: Place a rack at the bottom of the pot or pan to prevent the jars from having direct contact with the heat and to precent the constant clanking.

Once they are done boiling or steaming, carefully remove the jars and let them cool and dry completely before using.

FAQ

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