Simple Napa Cabbage Kimchi Recipe from Scratch

Ingredients

• 1 kg of Napa cabbage (about 2 heads of cabbage)
• 5 green onions, finely sliced
• 1 leek, finely chopped
• 1 onion, minced
• 3 Tbsp minced garlic
• 2 Tbsp minced ginger
• 2 carrots, julienned or grated
• ½ cup sea salt or Kosher salt, divided
• ¼ cup fish sauce (or soy sauce to make it vegan)
• ¼ cup Korean chili flakes gochugaru (see notes below)
• 3 tsp sugar
• Optional: 1 ½ tsp. salted shrimp sauce (for a more authentic flavor)
• Chlorine-free water as needed (I use filtered water)