Hello, everyone! Welcome to my blog post about another kimchi recipe. I shared my vegan kimchi recipe before, but there were more requests for other kimchi recipes. To my surprise, one of them was this low-sodium kimchi recipe! I was quite intrigued by this request. As someone who just grew up with kimchi, I never really thought kimchi was salty. But it is. Kimchi is a cuisine that preserves vegetables using salt. So here is a low-sodium kimchi recipe that is healthy, vegan, and vegetarian-friendly for everyone to enjoy!
I plan to come up with many kimchi recipes, from well-known and popular ones to unique and special ones, soon. There are seventy different kinds of kimchi in Korea. So stay tuned for more beautiful kimchi recipes, and let’s get started with the low-sodium kimchi recipe.
Introduction to Low-Sodium Kimchi Recipe
When we say low-sodium, we mean a little salt. Salt has sodium But why does it matter?
Why is Low-Sodium Important?
Intake of excessive salt leads to high blood pressure, which increases the risk of heart disease such as heart attacks and strokes. It is also guilty of kidney damage.
The recommended daily intake of salt is only 6 grams, which is only 0.2 ounces! I was very surprised to learn that. That is less than 1 and a half teaspoons of salt.
You can watch this video from Nutrition Facts to learn more about the adverse effects of salt!
Who Is It Good For?
Low-sodium kimchi is great for everyone, of course! We will dive deeper into the health benefits of kimchi in the post below. But I am writing this low-sodium kimchi recipe, especially for those of you:
- Have high blood pressure
- Have a higher risk of heart disease and strokes
- Are younger and still growing
The Science of Kimchi Fermentation
Before getting into the low-sodium kimchi recipe, let’s learn about the science of kimchi fermentation and see what role salt plays.
1. Pickling kimchi with Salt
The very first step in making kimchi is sprinkling lots of salt on the cabbage and letting it be pickled overnight. This is the part where kimchi gets lots of sodium from the salt! But this process is important as it kills all the microorganisms (the bad bacteria that can spoil kimchi).
2. Press Down Kimchi into Container
The iconic taste of kimchi comes from lactic acid bacteria, which is very good for our gut health! This lactic acid bacteria survives during the salt-pickling process but dies when there is oxygen. So after you put the red kimchi sauce all over the cabbage, you need to press the kimchi hard into the container so there is no oxygen left in the kimchi container. Otherwise, it will spoil!
3. Keep It Cold
Last but not least, you can keep the kimchi
So now that you know the science and the process of fermentation, how can we make low-sodium kimchi? Let’s find out!
Many vegetables in kimchi are healthy for you!
Ingredients for Low-Sodium Kimchi Recipe
The Special Ingredients
Instead of using salt, we need special ingredients that can add not only flavors to the kimchi but also help the fermentation process.
- Fruits as Natural Sweetener
Many store-bought kimchi might have sugar to sweeten and preserve kimchi these days, but we are going to use fruits as we did in Korea throughout history.
- Vinegar
This is one trick I found! Instead of waiting for your kimchi to ferment, you can add a little bit of vinegar. Adding a bit of vinegar does many things for the kimchi recipe. It makes the kimchi taste like it is already fermented, tastes better without salt, and helps with the fermentation proces by killing bad bacterias while adding the good bacteria that was in the vinegar.
No Fish Sauce
Traditional kimchi often has fish sauce or Korean shrimp paste, but you can certainly make delicious kimchi without it.
First of all, those of you who are not from an Asian background might not have fish sauce in the kitchen. And you might even find it difficult to find fish sauce at a local store, even if you wanted to. Secondly, I want to share a kimchi recipe that anybody can enjoy. No matter what diet you follow, vegan or vegetarian, you can make this kimchi and share it with everybody else. Lastly, it can smell. Kimchi has lots of aromatics that can make it smell, but it can substantially smell less when there is no fish sauce.
Health Benefits of Kimchi
1. Nutrient-Rich
Kimchi is a blend of so many vegetables, seaweed, and often fruits that it is extremely rich in vitamins, minerals (like calcium and iron), and dietary fiber. What’s so unique about kimchi is that it is also rich in Vitamin C. So in the old days in Korea, people were still able to consume vitamin C, which is usually present in fresh produce, which is hard to get in the winter.
2. Loads of Antioxidants
I just complained about the smell that comes from garlic and onions, but these ingredients, together with ginger and red pepper, are also packed with antioxidants, which help protect against oxidative stress and inflammation. Simply put, it keeps you young!
3. Gut health
Once kimchi starts to ferment, the probiotics naturally start to form in kimchi, which promotes a healthy balance of gut bacteria, helping in digestion and potentially boosting the immune system.
4. Weight management
Some studies suggest that kimchi may aid in weight loss and reduce the risk of obesity due to its ability to regulate appetite and metabolism.
Let’s get started with the low-sodium kimchi recipe, then!
Healthy Low-Sodium Kimchi Recipe | No Fish Sauce | Vegetarian
Low-Sodium Kimchi Recipe
Ingredients
Method
- Cut the napa cabbage in half and trim off the bottom of the cabbage. Slice the rest of the leaves into finger-size pieces.
- Throw all the napa cabbage slices in a big container and sprinkle with salt. Mix well. Close the lid on the container and let it sit overnight. Set aside.
- Put water, apple, pear, garlic, ginger, and onion into a blender. Blend until smooth.
- Pour the paste into a bowl. Add vinegar and gochugaru. Mix well.
- Take out the pickled cabbage container. Pour the ready kimchi sauce. Mix well.
- Press down the kimchi into a container to make sure there is no air in the container.
- You can leave kimchi at room temperature for 1-2 days, depending on how you like your kimchi. Then store in a kimchi fridge. If you don’t have a kimchi fridge, I recommend storing your kimchi in a regular fridge immediately. Your kimchi will ferment naturally over time. Enjoy!
Tips for Storing Low-Sodium Kimchi Recipe
Storing your kimchi in the right way is so important! You don’t want your kimchi to spoil and have all your effort go to waste. Especially when we didn’t put lots of salt in the kimchi recipe, which is the ingredient that helps preserve, it is important that you follow these steps.
1. Submerge Kimchi in Sauce
As I explained above, bad bacteria grow with oxygen, while good lactic acid bacteria die with oxygen. So make sure there is no oxygen or space in the kimchi container. Fill your kimchi in the container and press it down so there is no oxygen left. Then, pour the leftover sauce on top. Now it’s a great place for lactic acid to thrive!
2. Store In Fridge
The best temperature to store kimchi is around -1°C or 30°F, which is around the freezing point. This temperature stops the fermentation process, allowing you to enjoy your kimchi when it is just right. The kimchi fridge in Korea allows you to have this temperature; however, if you store kimchi in a regular fridge, the fermentation process will continue. So make kimchi only as much as you can finish within a few weeks!
Summary of Healthy Low-Sodium Kimchi Recipe
Back in the 2010s, kimchi was slowly gaining popularity around the world but still wasn’t as popular as it is now. As someone from Seoul, South Korea, living in the U.S. at the time, many people asked me what kimchi was. Then, to show how kimchi is so important in Korean culture, I would start it off like this: If there is bread and butter in the Western world, there is rice and kimchi in the Korean world. Kimchi is something that always has its place on a Korean dining table.
So it makes me so happy to have you all here to talk about kimchi and share the recipe with you all. Thank you all for being here, and I hope you enjoy this healthy, low-sodium kimchi recipe.
If you enjoyed the recipe, you might like the recipes below!
I will see you again with other delicious posts.
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