White kimchi (baek kimchi) is a Korean fermented cabbage dish made without chili peppers or gochujang, giving it a mild, tangy flavor instead of the heat of the red kimchi most people know today. It preserves what was, for most of kimchi's history, the norm: before chili peppers were introduced to Korea and gradually became common in kimchi during the Joseon dynasty (1392-1910), kimchi generally didn't contain chili at all.
Napa cabbage is salted, rinsed, and combined with garlic, ginger, radish, Korean pear, and salt, then packed into a fermentation vessel and left to ferment at cool temperatures for days to weeks; lactic acid bacteria convert sugars to lactic acid, giving it a tangy, slightly effervescent taste.
Served as a banchan (side dish) alongside Korean meals, white kimchi can also top rice dishes or go into stews and soups. Like other fermented foods, it's a source of probiotics. Regional and household variations may add onions, chives, or seafood, or vary the fermentation time.