Kale Kimchi (2% Dry Salting Ferment)

A healthy seasonal twist on traditional kimchi using an abundance of kale. Kale kimchi is delicious, slightly crunchy, and surprisingly simple to make.

When life gives you too much kale, make kimchi

It’s August and kale is in season in Ontario. I got two giant bunches of kale for only $3 the other day! If you’ve ever found yourself wondering, what to do with a lot of kale, I have a solution for you.

While there are many things you can do with too much kale, fermentation is a fun one. If you’ve never fermented before, kimchi is a great place to start.

Kimchi is straightforward to make. Kimchi is also a relatively fast ferment. In fact, you can even eat it straight away (that is, unfermented). Left to ferment, it will become more sour and fizzy as it matures.

Many traditional kimchi recipes involve brining the cabbage and then washing off the salt. Here, I opted to salt the kale directly after washing because kale does not release as much moisture as cabbage and I wanted to keep the salt content close to 2%.

Kale kimchi vs traditional kimchi made with napa cabbage (baechu-kimchi)

Be warned that you should not expect kale kimchi to be equivalent to cabbage kimchi. In the flavor aspect, yes, it will be quite similar. As for the texture, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the crunch! Kale kimchi, even after fermentation, retains a slight crunch. The degree of crunchiness may depend on how fibrous your kale is. I also find the kale leaves reminiscent of seaweed; perfect for wrapping around rice!

Kale kimchi will be much less juicy than kimchi made with napa cabbage. Not only does the salting method introduce less water than the brining method, but kale itself also has less moisture to release than napa cabbage. I prefer this kind of dry pickle for adding into wraps and rolls or as a condiment to congee. It makes a nice side or condiment to rice-based meals, and you can also add it to salads and wraps for a quick flavor boost.

How to make kimchi from any produce

Did you know that you can make kimchi from almost any vegetable? The basic tenets of making kimchi is simple.

1. Salting the vegetable.
2. Making the flavor/kimchi paste – usually from a mixture of alliums and chili powder.
3. Mixing everything together and fermenting.

Following these basic steps, you can make kimchi from almost anything. Napa cabbage is the most common and gets especially juicy.

As mentioned above, sometimes the kimchi vegetable is salted in a brine, but for some veggies you may opt to salt directly.

I learnt how to make kimchi from Maangchi, the mother-blogger of Korean home cooking. Here’s a good starting point for classic kimchi: https://www.maangchi.com/recipe/chaesik-kimchi

Here is an article describing a similar process for kimchi making: https://www.eater.com/22170109/kimchi-recipe-portland-han-oak

Here are some more kimchi ideas:

• different types of cabbage: savoy, flat cabbage, purple
• other leafy greens: chard, mustard greens
• other summer produce: cucumber, tomato, zucchini. These vegetables are usually made into unfermented “quick” kimchi – but why not try fermenting?

How long does it take to ferment kale kimchi?

Kale kimchi can be left to ferment at room temperature for 1-3 days or in the fridge for a couple of weeks. You can also kickstart fermentation by leaving it at room temperature for a day or two before moving to the fridge.

This article suggests that the optimal temperature for fermenting kimchi is two days in at room temperature or 35 days in the fridge.

The optimum ripening time for the Kimchi fermented at 4 °C was 35 d, and that of 20 °C was 2 d.

Effect of Fermentation Temperature on the Volatile Composition of Kimchi

Ingredients for kale kimchi

1 kg kale, washed and chopped

20 g salt (see note 1)

1 small onion

1 carrot

1 apple

3 cloves garlic

3-4 slices ginger (1 small knob)

1 cup gochugaru (coarse)

1 tbsp mochiko aka glutinous rice flour

How to make kale kimchi

In a large bowl, massage the salt into the kale. Let stand for at least two hours, tossing every 30 minutes or so.

Julienne (thinly slice) the carrot and add to the kale. Thinly slice a quarter of the onion and add to the kale.

Roughly chop the remainder of the onion, the apple, the garlic and the ginger and add to a food processor or blender. Blend until smooth and set aside in another bowl.

In a small bowl, mix the mochiko with 3-4 tablespoons water into a watery slurry. Microwave for 30 seconds. The mochiko should have thickened up into a gooey paste/glue. The texture should be thicker than sauce but thinner than mochi. Let cool before use.

Combine the blended allium/apple mixture, the mochiko slurry, and the gochugaru. Mix well into a thick marinade/paste.

After 2 hours, the kale should have reduced in volume by half. With your hands, massage in the kimchi marinade/paste into the kale until everything is evenly combined.

Pack into a kimchi jar or fermentation jar. Ferment in a dark place at room temperature for 1-3 days, or in the refrigerator for 2 weeks. Kale kimchi can be eaten right away but will get more sour with fermentation.

Note 1: This kimchi has 2% salt content. Depending on how much kale you have, you should adjust the salt content to match.

Recipe Card

Print Recipe

Kale Kimchi

A healthy seasonal twist on traditional kimchi using an abundance of kale. Kale kimchi is delicious, slightly crunchy, and surprisingly simple to make.

Prep Time35 minutes mins

Salting time2 hours hrs

Course: Appetizer, Condiment, Side Dish

Cuisine: Canadian, Fusion, Korean

Diet: Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian

Keyword: Condiment, Fermentation, Kale, Kimchi, Side dish

Equipment

• 1 jar or container for storing kimchi
• 1-2 big bowls
• 1 food processor or blender
• 1 scale

Ingredients

• 1 kg kale washed and chopped
• 20 g salt see note 1
• 1 small onion
• 1 carrot
• 1 apple
• 3 cloves garlic
• 3-4 slices ginger 1 small knob
• 1 cup gochugaru coarse
• 1 tbsp mochiko aka glutinous rice flour

Instructions

• In a large bowl, massage the salt into the kale. Let stand for at least two hours, tossing every 30 minutes or so.
• Julienne (thinly slice) the carrot and add to the kale. Thinly slice a quarter of the onion and add to the kale.
• Roughly chop the remainder of the onion, the apple, the garlic and the ginger and add to a food processor or blender. Blend until smooth and set aside in another bowl.
• In a small bowl, mix the mochiko with 3-4 tablespoons water into a watery slurry. Microwave for 30 seconds. The mochiko should have thickened up into a gooey paste/glue. The texture should be thicker than sauce but thinner than mochi. Let cool before use.
• Combine the blended allium/apple mixture, the mochiko slurry, and the gochugaru. Mix well into a thick marinade/paste.
• After 2 hours, the kale should have reduced in volume by half. With your hands, massage in the kimchi marinade/paste into the kale until everything is evenly combined.
• Pack into a kimchi jar or fermentation jar. Ferment in a dark place at room temperature for 1-3 days, or in the refrigerator for 2 weeks. Kale kimchi can be eaten right away but will get more sour with fermentation.

Video

@hellenshouse

KALE KIMCHI 🌶️🥬 Somebody asked me on my last meal prep video for a detailed video on how to make kimchi – this is sort of that If you want to learn how to make traditional kimchi – maangchi is the answer – I use maangchi’s vegan/vegetarian kimchi recipe as a guide: https://www.maangchi.com/recipe/chaesik-kimchi My kale kimchi is untraditional, crunchy and less juicy than kimchi make from Napa cabbage. It tastes like kimchi but is delicious in a different way! Since kale is in season right now, it’s a good time to get it for dirt cheap and make a bunch of kimchi, which will last forever in the pantry or the fridge. Full recipe with measurements on my blog – linked in bio. #kale #kimchi #fermentation #kimchirecipe #kalerecipe #preserving #cookwithme

♬ original sound – Hellen Chan – Hellen Chan

Notes

Note 1: This kimchi has 2% salt content. Depending on how much kale you have, you should adjust the salt content to match.

Did you make this recipe? I would love to hear your thoughts. Leave a rating and comment below. If you share on socials, tag me on Instagram @hellenshouseblog or Tiktok @hellenshouse, or hashtag #hellenshouse. Cheers!