Restaurant-Style Clean Napa Cabbage Kimchi

Cut the cabbage in half, make a slit in the core to remove it, and trim away any damaged leaves.

Dissolve 2 cups of coarse sea salt into 3L of water inside a large kimchi bag.

Dip the cabbage into the salt water and place it in the bag.

Sprinkle coarse sea salt only on the core area. You can divide about half a cup per head of cabbage.

The key is to sprinkle salt only on the core area, not on the thin leaf parts.

Pour in all the remaining salt water.

Tie the bag tightly and let it brine for 10 hours.

Flip the bag over after 5 hours.

After 10 hours, remove the cabbage and rinse it three or four times in water.

Place in a colander to drain. Let it sit for about an hour and a half to two hours.

Mix 200ml of water with 25g of glutinous rice flour to dissolve the flour.

Boil 800ml of water.

Once the water starts boiling, add the glutinous rice mixture while stirring quickly.

Boil over high heat, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.

Since no other ingredients are added, make the glutinous rice paste a bit thin.

Once it bubbles up, turn off the heat and let it cool to room temperature.

Mix 300g red chili powder, 120g minced garlic, 20g ginger syrup, 20g sugar, 55g coarse sea salt, two pinches of MSG, and the glutinous rice paste to make the seasoning.

Let the seasoning sit for 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes, add three generous tablespoons of sesame seeds to the seasoning and mix.

If the cabbage core is too large, trim it, and squeeze the excess water out of the brined cabbage.

Spread the seasoning evenly over the cabbage. Make sure to apply it not just to the leaves, but also to the thick stems near the core for the best flavor.

Neatly tuck in the ends of the seasoned kimchi and wrap both sides with two outer leaves to keep it tidy.

Place into a kimchi container.

Fill the container and cover the top of the kimchi with outer green leaves coated in seasoning.

Let it ferment at room temperature to your preference, then store in a kimchi refrigerator.