1 Medium Cabbage with outer leaves removed, cored and shredded 

1 TBSP Caraway Seed (optional)

2 TBSP Salt 

(you may add in other shredded root veggies to your liking - carrots, beets, etc.)

Mix Together Cabbage and Salt (and any optional items).  Pound with a meat tenderizer or squeeze with your hands for several minutes to release juices.  Let sit for 1-2 hours to let juices release further.  When juices are released and there is enough liquid / brine to cover cabbage - place in quart sized mason jar.  Press down firmly so brine is covering the cabbage by at least 1 ".   Cover and keep at room temperature for 3 days before transferring to cold storage or refrigerator.   If using a crock, adjust quantities to fit your container size and ferment at room temperature for 2 - 4 weeks,  or according to taste.  

Image: Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt

Vegetarian / Vegan / Fish-free Kimchi 

https://www.seriouseats.com/homemade-vegan-kimchi-recipe

Traditional Kimchi

https://mykoreankitchen.com/kimchi-recipe/

**  I do not use the fermented shrimp.  It can be optional.

Basic Ratio (Adjust as needed for your brewing container)

1 gallon / 4 Quarts / 16 cups / 4 L water 

8 tea bags (Black tea recommended)

1 cup white or organic cane sugar

2 cups kombucha SCOBY liquid starter

1 kombucha SCOBY mat / pellicile / mother

Bring water to a boil.  Add tea bags and boil for 3 minutes to sanitize.  Take off heat and let the tea bags steep for 15 minutes.   Remove tea bags and add sugar, stirring to dissolve.  Let sit until tea is room temperature.  Pour tea, your SCOBY liquid starter and your SCOBY mat into your sterlized fermenting container.  Cover with a tea towel and rubberband.  Let sit at room temp for 7-14 days.   Taste between days 7-14 and stop the first ferment when it no longer has a sweet tea flavor but is tart to your liking.  

After 7-14 days, strain liquid - reserving 2 cups for your next batch and bottle the rest.  

For every 16 oz bottle: Add 1/4 cup of fruit juice or a small amount of fresh fruit and herbs to your bottles (or both!).   Keep at room temperature for 3 days.  Then put in cold storage or a refrigerator.  

2 -4 TBSP salt per 1 L of water  OR  20g - 40g of salt per 1 L of water

If you do not have a kitchen scale, use the TBSP.  If you can weigh the salt it is more accurate.

2 TBSP / 20g salt per L = %20 brine solution

3 TBSP / 30g salt per L = %30 brine solution

4 TBSP / 40g salt per L = %40 brine solution

Pour brine over washed and cut or whole vegetables in a mason jar or fermenting crock.  Make sure brine covers veggies by about an inch.

Ferment at room temp for 3-5 days.  Taste.  Put in fridge or cold storage.