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Fermentation Atlas

Vegetables from Korea

Nabak kimchi나박김치

Nabak kimchi is a water kimchi of thin radish and napa cabbage squares, salted for a short time and covered with water tinted pink by chilli powder that is steeped and strained out. It ferments quickly and is eaten young, as a cool, mildly sour broth with crisp vegetables. Made in 6 steps over 7 days – 32 days. The longest step, keep in a kimchi refrigerator, takes 6–24 days (Lim S.-Y 2005) and runs at 4 °C (Lim S.-Y 2005). Salt is 1.3–1.7 % (강근옥 1995). Leuconostoc, high throughout and rising late in the ferment at 5 °C and Lactobacillus, low at 5 °C do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step6–24 daysMeasured[lim2005]Keep in a kimchi refrigerator
Temperature4 °CMeasured[lim2005]Keep in a kimchi refrigerator
Salt1.3–1.7 %Measured[kang1995]Mix with seasonings and pour the broth over
AciditypH 4.2–4.5Measured[kong2005]Ferment briefly
Fully documentedVegetables7 days – 32 daysMore vegetablesMore from Korea

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceMean amounts from Korean cookbooks and literature, standardized by the Kimchi Research Institute of Pusan National University in 2005, for every 100 mL of water.
100 mLWater[kong2005]
45.0 gSalted napa cabbage, cut in squares[kong2005]
26.9 gRadish, cut in squares[kong2005]
1.9 gGreen onion, cut 2.5 cm long[kong2005]
1.0 gRed chilli, cut 2.5 cm long[kong2005]
1.2 gGarlic, minced[kong2005]
0.9 gGinger, minced[kong2005]
0.7 gRed pepper powder · Steeped in the water and squeezed out through two layers of gauze[kong2005]
Starterspontaneous

Total time across the recorded steps: 7 days – 32 days

Start
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What changes: Radish and cabbage are cut into thin, even squares

Step 1 of 6
Cut radish and cabbage into thin squares
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Leuconostoc
Lactobacillus
L. mesenteroides
Lactobacillus plantarum

Output: thin squares of radish and cabbage.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

What makes this one different

Nabak kimchi is sour with very little acid. At best ripeness its acidity is about 0.20–0.25 %, far below that of a paste kimchi such as yeolmu kimchi, because the vegetables sit in plenty of water. The chilli is steeped and strained, so it colours the broth without flakes.

Related ferments

Variants

  • Nabak kimchi with omija extractSchisandra water extract, tested at 0.5–2.0 %, held back three of four lactic bacteria isolated from nabak kimchi.

Safety

No safety study specific to nabak kimchi was found. It is eaten young and kept cold; 5 °C kept it edible longest in one study, and a cold start left it grassy and salty for longer.

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

A 1995 survey of households in Seoul and Chungcheong found nabak kimchi among the kimchi made for winter, beside cabbage kimchi, kkakdugi, chonggak kimchi, dongchimi, bossam kimchi and baek kimchi.

  1. [kong2005] Kong C.-S., Seo J.-O., Bak S.-S., Rhee S.-H. and Park K.-Y. 2005, Standardization of manufacturing method and lactic acid bacteria growth and CO2 levels of nabak kimchi at different fermentation temperatures, Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition 34(5), 707–714 (abstract)paper
  2. [moon2000] 문성원 and 장명숙 (Moon and Jang) 2000, Effects of water extract from omija (Schizandra chinensis Baillon) on nabak kimchi preservation, Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition 29(5), 814–821 (abstract)paper
  3. [lim2005] Lim S.-Y., Lee H.-R. and Lee J.-M. 2005, Quality changes of nabak kimchi during storage with different levels of fermentation, Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture 20(4), 468–475 (abstract)paper
  4. [kang1995] 강근옥, 이성희 and 차보숙 (Kang, Lee and Cha) 1995, A study on the material ratio of kimchi products of Seoul and Chungcheong area and chemical properties of the fermented kimchis, Korean Journal of Food and Cookery Science 11(5), 487–493 (abstract)paper