I made kimchi!

I followed the "Easy to Make Kimchi" 
http://www.maangchi.com/recipe/easy-kimchi
without the squid, fish sauce, carrot, and leek.
Also, I only used one cabbage.

It looks beautifully red in the container. I'm so proud ;-)
It definitely is going to enrich my diet. Moreover, 
this Christmas, I have something special for people
who gave me home-crafted delicacies! I hate to sit on
the receiving end--it's like the ball is always in my court,
culturally speaking, of course. It's like the westerners
are people of tradition and I, someone from 5000 yr
old China, has nothing to offer!

How liberating!

[7grizzly]

> They can't be different species. But I've got to try next time with this in mind.
No. I don't think they are now, after three batches over the past three weeks using both
big tightly-packed and loosely-bound cabbages.

> The goal was to minimize exposure to the chloramined tap water.
Fortunately, this turned out to be unnecessary. My latest batch made with
only tap water is bubbling contentedly right now on the kitchen counter.

I have added shrimp and fish sauce in this batch (3 cabbages and my largest ever).
It smells good but one should be aware of their salt content.
Adding too much may not be a good idea.

I watched the kimchi tuna stew video from the "Sushi Monster" at Maangchi's site
under "Kimchi Jjigae." It looked great! I have to try it.

[7grizzly]

I wondered why Maangchi's napa cabbages seemed to weigh much less.
Now I remembered. Some napa cabbage (as the one I've got from Ranch 99)
are huge and heavy.

But some are light and fluffy and the leaves are not packed tightly together.
Would the Korean stores sell only this different napa cabbage?
They can't be different species. But I've got to try next time with this in mind.

I bought 2 gallons of bottled water to do the last two cabbage washings
and cooked the porridge with it. The goal was to minimize exposure to the
chloramined tap water.