Eat Your Skincare: Easy Green Cabbage Kimchi Recipe for Beginners
My go-to recipe for budget-friendly, crunchy, probiotic-rich green cabbage kimchi.
If kimchi has always felt intimidating or you think you need specialty ingredients, Korean markets, or years of experience to make it — this post is for you.
Let me share a little secret:
You don’t need napa cabbage, salted shrimp, or even an Asian grocery store to make delicious kimchi at home.
Growing up Korean American, I thought kimchi-making was complicated — a skill only someone like my grandma could master. But one day post-grad, my umma called and suggested I try making green cabbage kimchi. She’d heard about all the health benefits and mentioned it’s way easier to make than traditional napa cabbage kimchi.
I had never even heard of making kimchi with green cabbage before. And honestly? I didn’t feel confident making kimchi (or cooking in general) on my own back then.
(I could write a whole separate post on how I finally got into cooking if you’re interested — because I genuinely used to tell myself I was just “bad at it.”)
But guess what? It turned out to be ✨crispy, tangy perfection✨ — and way quicker and easier than napa cabbage kimchi. It completely changed how I saw kimchi-making.
It made me realize that kimchi wasn’t just for experts or for people with a Korean grandma sharing years of wisdom beside them. My grandparents live in Korea, so that was never an option for me.
Turns out, it’s way more approachable than I thought — and something I could make my own without needing years of experience to “get it right.” And now, so can you.
Green cabbage kimchi is:
Easy to prep
Budget-friendly
Super accessible
Incredibly crunchy
Packed with probiotics and prebiotics
If you’ve ever felt unsure about making kimchi — or thought it was “too complicated” or “not beginner-friendly”(like I used to) — please try this one!
What You’ll Get in this Post:
🥬 Full Step-by-Step Recipe for my quick & easy green cabbage kimchi (no complicated fermentation steps)
🛒 Easy-to-Find Ingredients: direct links to buy Korean gochugaru (red pepper flakes) and fish sauce from common stores like Amazon, Whole Foods, and Target
🍽 Vegan & Vegetarian Swap for Fish Sauce: ingredient alternative if you prefer fish-free kimchi
💡 Common FAQs Answered: clear up all the confusion about fermentation, how to tell if it’s ready, adjusting spice, and more!