Green Onion Kimchi or Pa-kimchi is one of the quickest kimchi to make. No brining, shorter fermentation time, but gives the same spicy, sour freshness a kimchi brings to any meal time!
It is not a secret that side dishes are a must for Korean meals, and kimchiβno matter what typeβwill always be present. Regardless if it is cucumber, radish, chive, napa cabbage, or even a non-spicy type like dongchimiβkimchi will always be on our table.
Pa-kimchi is probably one of the easiest kimchi recipes Iβll be teaching you. Thereβs no need to brine the vegetables and you just need to prepare the sauce and spread it evenly to them. Furthermore, you only need to ferment this for a day and it should be good to go. It does not take that much time yet you will have an aromatic, spicy, sour, crispy, and fresh kimchi ready to be paired with any meals!
Ingredients for Green Onion Kimchi
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Green Onion
In Korea, we typically use green onion that is long and thin known as jokpa, however, here in the US, itβs very rare to find. Regardless, it is still okay to use scallions as a substitute.
Kimchi Paste
- Gochugaru or Korean Red Pepper Flakes – This is the main ingredient of the kimchi paste. This will bring a bright red hue and spice to the side dish.
- Onion, Radish, Pear, Ginger – The aromatic component of the dish. Together, these will bring spice, sweetness, and freshness to the kimchi. I highly recommend using Korean pear but the regular ones will do if you cannot find any. You will need to blend all these to form a paste with the other ingredients.Β
- Fish Sauce and Soy Sauce – These are the savory components of the sauce. If you are allergic to fish sauce, you can use soup soy sauce. If you are allergic to soy sauce, just add more fish sauce.Β
- Corn Syrup and Sugar – These are the sweet components of the sauce. It will bring balance to the savor and spice from the other ingredients.Β
- Plum Syrup or Maeshil – The plum syrup is going to add a little fruity flavor, as well as sweet and sour notes to the kimchi sauce.Β
- Rice Flour and Water – This mixture will be the binder for the sauce and scallions, as well as the fermentation starter for the kimchi. If you do not have rice flour, you can also use cooked white rice which you can blend with the aromatics to make the paste.
TIP: This pa-kimchi recipe can turn vegetarian if you opt to use soup soy sauce as seasoning. It has a stronger flavor compared to regular soy sauce and it will minimally change the color of the kimchi sauce.
How is Green Onion Kimchi made?
Step 1:
Wash the green onions thoroughly to remove any remaining dirt, especially near the roots. Cut off all the roots, then set them aside to drain properly. Unlike the napa cabbage kimchi, thereβs no need to salt these as they easily soften once fermentation starts.
Step 2:
Prepare the components of the paste. Blend the onion, radish, pear, and ginger, then set it aside. Combine rice flour and water and boil it until it thickens. Once it is thick enough, allow it to cool down before adding it to the rest of the sauce.Β
Step 3:
Combine gochugaru, onion blend, soy sauce, fish sauce, corn syrup, sugar, plum syrup, sesame seeds, and rice flour mixture. Mix this thoroughly and taste to adjust. It should be a little salty since scallions arenβt salted.
TIP: When you taste it, make sure it’s to your liking. If you want it more spicy, add pepper flakes; more savory, add fish sauce or soy sauce. If you want it sweeter, add corn syrup or sugar. Season gradually until you reach the taste you like.
Step 4:
Spread out the green onion in a flat baking dish and spread the kimchi sauce on every stalk. Make sure to massage it through every crease.
TIP: I highly recommend using your hands in making kimchi because this is how you will be able to do it thoroughly. The hand taste is the taste of love!
Step 5:
Place the pa-kimchi in a long rectangular container, layering each carefully. Allow it to ferment at room temperature for a full day or until it reaches the sourness you like, then store it in the fridge. If you donβt like it too sour, you can also just leave it to ferment in the fridge for a day. This kimchi recipe will last for 2-3 weeks.Β
The green onions will start to wilt, yet remain crisp as it ferments. The flavors will continue to develop as it is stored, and youβll have one of the easiest and tastiest kimchis made at home.
What to Eat with Green Onion Kimchi?
Green onion kimchi is one of the best side dishes to be paired with Korean BBQ. Nevertheless, it is also a great addition to rice meals, ramen, or roasted sweet potato!
Other Korean BBQ side dishes you might like:
- Kimchi Pancake
- Korean Rolled Omelette
- Korean Steamed Egg
- Soy Marinated Onion
- Stir-Fried Fish Cake
- Soy Braised Burdock Root
Make sure to leave a rating, a comment, or tag me on Facebook, Instagram, or Tiktok when you chop them up! Yeobosayo!
Green Onion Kimchi (Pakimchi)
Equipment
- Blender
- Flat Baking Sheet
- Rectangular Kimchi Container
Ingredients
- 800 grams Scallions
- 1 1/2 cup Gochugaru or Korean Red Pepper Flakes
- 100 grams Onion
- 100 grams Radish
- 100 grams Korean Pear
- 1/2 tbsp Ginger
- 1/2 cup Fish Sauce
- 2 tbsp Soy Sauce
- 1/3 cup Corn Syrup
- 3 tbsp Plum Syrup
- 3 tbsp Sugar
- 2 tbsp Sesame Seeds
- 2 cups Water
- 1/2 cup Rice Flour
Instructions
- Clean the scallions by washing them thoroughly, removing any dirt, and cutting off the root and any wilting leaves.
- After washing, set them aside to drain. No need to completely dry but at least remove excess water.
- Prepare the aromatics by blending together onion, radish, pear, and ginger. Set aside.
- Prepare rice flour mixture by boiling water and rice flour together until it thickens. Once thick, allow it to cool before adding to the kimchi sauce.
- Combine pepper powder, blended aromatics, fish sauce, soy sauce, corn syrup, sugar, plum syrup, sesame seeds, and rice flour mixture.
- Mix the sauce thoroughly and give it a taste. It should be a little salty because it will even out later on once mixed with the scallions.
- Lay the scallions on a flat baking sheet and spread the kimchi sauce through every stalk. Use your hands to get the sauce through every crease until everything is fully covered.
- Place the green onions in a long rectangular container, laying them on top of each other carefully.
- Ferment the green onion kimchi for a day at room temperature if you want it a bit sour, otherwise, fermenting it in the fridge for a day is okay too. This will last for 2-3 weeks and the flavor should continue to develop in that span of time.
Anna says
Is this rice flour and not glutinous rice flour? I just saw a kimchi recipe that called for glutinous rice flour but I just wanna double check! Thank you so much I love your content!!
Chef Chris Cho says
Thank you! They are different, but they can sometimes be used interchangeably.
Katielocks says
Awesome π― π―π―π―π―π Excellent Outstanding πΊπ More Than 5 βββββ Love π It π
Chef Chris Cho says
Thank you so much! Yeobosayo!!