Kimchi belongs on a Christmas table for one simple reason: everything else on it is rich, and kimchi is sharp, salty and alive. A forkful of properly fermented cabbage cuts through goose fat, cold ham and a third helping of cheese in a way that no cranberry sauce has ever quite managed, and a jar of quick pickles alongside it does the same job for anybody who does not want the chilli.
The timing works out neatly too. Homemade kimchi takes about a week from start to finish, so a batch begun in the third week of December is ready on the day, and it carries on improving through the leftover days that follow. Here is how to plan it, what to make alongside it, and where on the table it earns its place.
Why does kimchi work so well at Christmas?
Christmas food is a masterclass in richness. Roast fat, butter, cream, pastry, cheese, and almost nothing acidic except a bowl of cranberry sauce that is mostly sugar. No wonder a plate feels heavy long before you have finished it.
Fermented vegetables solve that. As kimchi ferments, lactobacillus bacteria convert the natural sugars in the cabbage into lactic acid, and that acid is what gives the finished kimchi its tangy, sour bite. Acidity resets the palate between mouthfuls, which is why a squeeze of lemon works on fried fish and why pickled walnuts have always turned up next to cold cuts.
There is a hosting argument as well. Kimchi can be made entirely in advance, needs no oven space on the day, and gets better rather than worse while it sits in the fridge. On the 25th of December, oven space is a currency.
One more useful point for a mixed table: our Kimchi Making Kit is vegetarian, vegan, gluten free and lactose free, which is a rare combination at Christmas.
When should you start a Christmas batch?
About a week before you want to eat it. The hands-on part takes an afternoon, roughly an hour and a half of brining plus making the paste and mixing, and then the kimchi ferments in the fridge for five to seven days.
So a batch started on the 17th or 18th of December is at its first proper peak on Christmas Day, mild and fresh and crunchy. Finished kimchi keeps for around two to three weeks in the fridge and carries on slowly souring, so it is mild in week one and pleasingly punchy by week three. A batch made at the start of December will be at its most assertive by Christmas, which some people love and some find a bit much next to the turkey.
The kit makes two big batches, which is worth knowing when you are planning. Make one early to eat now and one later for the leftovers, or give a jar away, because homemade kimchi is a very good thing to arrive holding.
What do you need, and how does it come together?
The kit brings the specialist ingredients: sweet rice flour for the porridge, dried seaweed powder, Korean dried red pepper, plus gloves and a fermentation bag. From your kitchen you need a large and a small mixing bowl, a small saucepan, and a chopping board and knife.
The fresh shopping list is short and all of it is in any supermarket: one Chinese leaf, also sold as napa cabbage, 50g of salt, two teaspoons of sugar, seven cloves of garlic, 5g of fresh ginger, a quarter of an onion and two spring onions. Daikon radish and carrot are classic additions.
The method runs in five steps. First, brine the cabbage: rinse, quarter it from the base, cut into bite-size pieces and soak in salted water for about an hour and a half, stirring every half hour, then rinse three times. Second, make the porridge by heating the sweet rice flour with sugar and water until thick and shiny, about the consistency of natural yoghurt. Third, mix the cooled porridge with minced garlic, ginger and onion, the seaweed powder and the dried red pepper to make the chilli paste. Fourth, glove up and work the paste through the drained cabbage and sliced spring onion, then pack it into the fermentation bag, squeezing out as much air as you can. Fifth, ferment in the fridge for five to seven days.
Two things to expect. The bag will puff up, which is simply the fermentation producing gas, so check it daily and release the pressure whenever it builds. And it will smell strong. Fermenting kimchi has a proper pong, which is the sign of a healthy ferment rather than a problem, though you may want to warn the household before the in-laws arrive.
What quick pickles should you make alongside?
Kimchi is the centrepiece, but a couple of quick pickles round out the table and take about ten minutes each. These are refrigerator pickles rather than preserves, so keep them in clean jars in the fridge and eat them within a week or so.
- Pickled red onion. Slice as thinly as you can, cover with vinegar loosened with a little water, add a spoonful of sugar and a good pinch of salt, and leave for half an hour. It turns brilliant pink and goes with everything cold.
- Cucumber ribbons. Peeled into long strips, salted for ten minutes, squeezed dry and dressed with vinegar and a pinch of sugar.
- Pickled red cabbage. The traditional British one, and the natural companion to cold meat and a slab of cheddar.
- Carrot and daikon. Cut into matchsticks in the same sweet and sour brine, excellent stuffed into a leftover turkey sandwich.
Serve them in small bowls rather than in their jars. Their job is contrast.
What do you actually eat kimchi with on the day?
More than you would expect. It is very good next to cold ham and pork pie on Boxing Day, excellent on a cheese board where its sharpness plays against a hard cheese, and outstanding chopped into bubble and squeak, where fried potato and sour cabbage were clearly always meant to meet.
It also works as a side dish in its own right, in a bowl for people to help themselves, which is how it is eaten in Korea. If you have made both batches from the kit, the second jar carries you through the strange days between Christmas and New Year, when everything is leftovers and everybody wants something that tastes of vegetables again. The kit is hand-packed in Britain.
Christmas kimchi FAQs
How far in advance should I make kimchi for Christmas?
About a week. An afternoon of preparation followed by five to seven days fermenting in the fridge lands a fresh, crunchy batch right on the day.
Is the kimchi kit suitable for vegetarians and vegans?
Yes. The kit is vegetarian, vegan, gluten free and lactose free, so it suits most of the dietary requests that turn up around a Christmas table.
Can I make it less spicy for a mixed table?
Yes, simply add less of the dried red pepper when you make the paste. The kit makes two batches, so you can go milder on the first and bolder on the second.
How long does finished kimchi keep in the fridge?
Around two to three weeks once fermentation is done. It carries on slowly souring, so it is mild in week one and considerably punchier by week three.
My kimchi does not taste tangy yet, what should I do?
Give it time. Fermentation speed depends on temperature, salt and the cabbage itself, and the flavour keeps developing across the five to seven days, so leave it a few more days and taste again.
Fancy something sharp on the table this year? Browse our kimchi making kits.
