Ingredients

• 5 kg napa cabbage
• 2.5-3 cups salt
• 5 tbsp flour
• 2 cups koch’u karu (dried/powdered korean red pepper)
• 1+ cup sugar
• 3 tbsp lemon juice
• 1-3 red peppers, 1/4"-wide matchsticks, then chopped crosswise
• 1-3 hot peppers, 1/4"-wide matchsticks, then chopped crosswise
• 1-2 bunches (~12) green onion, whites finely diced, greens coarsely diced
• 2-3 heads of garlic (~12 cloves), minced
• 3 tbsp ginger, grated or minced
• (optional) 1 daikon radish, 3"-long matchsticks, then chopped crosswise to bite sized pieces
• water

Instructions

1. Prepare the cabbage
2. Slice the cabbages into half or quarters depending on their size
3. Wash the cabbages and their leaves thoroughly, keeping the leaves intact and attached to the core of cabbage
4. Salt (with ~2 cups) between each leaf of cabbage starting from the base towards the top
5. Dissolve the remaining 0.5 cups salt into luke warm water and pour over cabbage
6. Let cabbage sit for ~3 hours, turning every hour, until leaves have the consistency of a crunchy dill pickle
7. Discard salt water and wash cabbage thouroughly to remove the salt
8. Drain the cabbage
9. Prepare the stuffing
10. In a sauce pan, disperse the flour using a sieve and dissolve in 2 cups of water * This helps to prevent flour clumps that become gelatinous
11. Bring to a boil and cook gently for 2 minutes until it reaches a paste-like consistency
12. Let cool
13. In a large bowl, combine flour paste, koch’u karu, sugar, and lemon juice
14. Add all remaining ingredients (peppers, green onion, garlic, ginger, and daikon if using) and mix thoroughly
15. Fermentation and use
16. Wearing gloves, spread the paste between cabbage leaves in a process similar to that used in salting
17. Wrap the cabbage leaves into a tightly bundle and place in a clean fermentation vessel, pressing down to compact and remove air
18. Add water until all cabbage bundles are immersed, with at least 2" of air space
19. Ferment 1-3+ days, tasting brine to adjust saltiness (adding sugar to reduce saltiness)
20. Transfer to fridge to stop fermentation
21. Slice into strips before using