Most people's first encounter with kimchi is the red kind — napa cabbage packed in gochugaru paste, pungent and very much alive. But ask any Korean what they reach for when they want something light — when the table is already rich, or when the meal calls for something to sip alongside it — and they'll point you toward mul-kimchi.
Mul means water. Mul-kimchi is exactly that: a water-based kimchi, clear and pale, fermented in a gently seasoned brine. No paste, no red, no burn. Just the quiet tang of live culture, the sweetness of fruit, and the faint mineral backbone of good salt.
We learned this recipe from Kimchi Master Lee Ha-yeon — Korea's Food Master No. 58 — during the Kim'C Market Culinary Odyssey. She sat with us and taught two recipes that afternoon; this was the first. It's made with green cabbage: mild, forgiving, and findable in any American grocery store.
The Kimchi That Gets Passed Around the Table
Koreans eat mul-kimchi year-round, but it finds its moment most naturally in summer — when the heat makes anything heavy feel like a burden, and a cold bowl of pale, tangy brine is exactly what a meal needs. It's the kimchi that doesn't compete. Where a spicy kimchi commands attention, mul-kimchi does the opposite: it refreshes, it resets, it makes the next bite better.
It's also one of the few kimchi varieties that Korean families serve to children and the elderly without hesitation. No gochugaru, no sharp heat — just the slow, fermented brightness that has characterized Korean preserved food for centuries. The brine itself is prized. Many Koreans drink it straight from the bowl, the way you might reach for a glass of cold water at the end of a meal — except the glass is a ceramic bowl, and what's inside earned its place on the table.
Kimchi Master Lee Ha-yeon's version uses green cabbage rather than the napa variety most people associate with kimchi. Green cabbage holds its crunch longer through fermentation, absorbs the brine cleanly, and can be found in any American grocery store — which makes this an easier starting point than most Korean kimchi recipes.
Ingredients
For salting the cabbage
1 kg green cabbage, cut into bite-sized pieces
50g Korean sun-dried sea salt (Haeyeareum Premium Mineral Bay Salt; fine sea salt works as a substitute)
Vegetables
½ kohlrabi, thinly sliced (Korean radish works well in its place)
50g carrot, thinly sliced
25g green onions, cut into 2–3cm lengths
Broth and seasoning base
½ apple
½ Korean pear
50g whole garlic cloves
10g fresh ginger
50g dried red chili peppers
90g glutinous rice porridge (about ½ cup)
1 cup kombu broth (dashima, dried kelp — see Method)
25g Korean sun-dried sea salt (Haeyeareum Premium Mineral Bay Salt)
2L water
Method
Salting the cabbage
Cut the cabbage into quarters and place them in a large container or bowl. Dissolve 50g of Korean sun-dried sea salt in enough water to submerge the cabbage, then pour it over. A useful rule: use 5% of the cabbage's weight in salt — for 1kg of cabbage, that's 50g. Leave for about 10 hours, turning the cabbage over halfway through. After 10 hours, the cabbage should have softened noticeably — the leaves will bend without snapping and look slightly translucent at the edges. That's exactly what you want. Rinse lightly, drain well, and cut into rough bite-sized pieces before assembling.
Making the glutinous rice porridge
Rinse 3 tablespoons of glutinous rice, then simmer with 1 cup water over low heat, stirring frequently, until it thickens to a loose porridge consistency. Let it cool completely before using — like the kombu broth, warm porridge can interfere with fermentation.
Making the kombu broth
Place one piece of dashima (roughly 10g, about the size of your palm) in 2 cups of cold water and bring slowly to just below a boil over low heat. Remove the dashima before the water reaches a full boil — boiling extracts bitterness from the kelp. Ten minutes is enough. The finished broth will be pale gold and faintly oceanic; let it cool completely before using, as warm liquid can interfere with fermentation.
Preparing the vegetables
Slice the kohlrabi and carrot into thin, flat rectangles — Korean cooks call this nabak-sseolgi, a flat even cut that lets each piece absorb the brine uniformly. Cut the green onions into short lengths and set aside.
Making the broth base
Blend the apple, pear, garlic, ginger, dried chili peppers, glutinous rice porridge, and kombu broth until smooth. If you prefer no heat at all, the dried chilies can be left out — the brine will be paler and milder, but no less refreshing. Both the kombu broth and glutinous rice porridge should be fully cooled before they go into the blender — warm liquid can interfere with fermentation. Mix with 1L of water, then strain through a fine cloth until the liquid runs clear. If you used the chilies, it will be a pale blush; without them, almost completely clear. Either way, take your time with the straining — a murky brine makes for a murkier final kimchi.
Assembling and fermenting
Layer the salted cabbage and prepared vegetables into a clean container. Dissolve the remaining 25g of Korean sun-dried sea salt in the final 1L of water, combine with the strained broth, and pour over the vegetables until everything is submerged. Leave at room temperature for one full day. After 24 hours, you should notice a faint sourness in the air and small bubbles forming around the edges of the container — that's the fermentation doing its thing. Move it to the refrigerator at this point and let it continue to develop. Mul-kimchi is best eaten young — between two days and two weeks — when the flavor is bright and lightly fermented rather than deeply sour.
What to Eat It With
Mul-kimchi works as a palate cleanser, a side dish, and sometimes a drink all at once. In Korean homes, it typically appears alongside heavier dishes: grilled pork belly, a bowl of doenjang jjigae, or pajeon — green onion pancakes, crisp-edged and savory, which pair well with something cold and clean on the side. The brine cuts through fat cleanly, the way a well-made pickle might at a European table.
It also pairs naturally with bibimbap — cool and tangy against a warm, sesame-dressed rice bowl. If you're putting together a larger spread, mul-kimchi is the quiet element that makes everything else taste more considered. At its simplest, a bowl of mul-kimchi alongside plain white rice is a complete meal. The brine counts.
Green cabbage is in every American grocery store, in every season. The rest of the ingredients — garlic, ginger, carrot, apple, a pear — are just as easy to find. What this recipe asks for, more than any particular ingredient, is patience: ten hours in salt, one day on the counter, and then time in the refrigerator as the flavors settle into themselves.
Kimchi Master Lee Ha-yeon has spent decades understanding what kimchi becomes when left to ferment on its own terms. This is the version she taught us — and a bowl of it, cold from the refrigerator, is one of the more quietly satisfying things you can put on a table.
About Kimchi Master Lee Ha-yeon
Kimchi Master Lee Ha-yeon is Republic of Korea Food Master No. 58, designated in 2014 for her haemuul ssekbakji — a seafood-and-radish kimchi reconstructed from an 1809 Joseon-era recipe that is widely credited as the work that established her reputation. She runs the Lee Ha-yeon Kimchi Cultural Institute in Namyangju, offering kimchi education programs, and is the founder of Bongwoori, a Korean fine dining restaurant with locations in Yeoksam and Euljiro, Seoul — selected for Seoul's 100 Best Restaurants list in 2024 — as well as an online kimchi shop at bongkimchi.co.kr. Her book Byeolbyeol Kimchi, covering 78 kimchi varieties and their regional and historical contexts, was published in 2025.
FAQ
Is mul-kimchi spicy?
The recipe calls for 50g of dried chili peppers. It isn't — at least not noticeably. The dried chilies are blended into the broth base, which is then strained through cloth before use. What remains in the brine is a faint background warmth and a subtle depth you can't quite place. The heat stays in the solids, which are discarded. And if you'd rather skip the chilies entirely, the recipe works without them — the brine will simply be clearer and more neutral in flavor.
Why does glutinous rice porridge go into kimchi?
Glutinous rice contains amylase — an enzyme that converts starch into sugar. Those sugars give the fermenting bacteria something to work with, which is part of what gives mul-kimchi its rounded depth rather than a flat sourness. It's a small addition that quietly does a lot.
Does the cabbage need to be salted first?
Not necessarily. Salting draws out moisture and gives the cabbage a softer, more yielding texture — which means it absorbs the brine more evenly once assembled. That said, Kimchi Master Lee Ha-yeon has noted that the recipe works without the salting step too. If you're short on time, skip it and use the cabbage fresh; the kimchi will still ferment well, just with a slightly crunchier texture.
Can I use napa cabbage instead?
Yes. Napa cabbage is the more traditional base for many mul-kimchi recipes and works well here. The texture will be softer and fermentation slightly faster. One adjustment: napa cabbage has a higher water content, so it needs longer in the salt — plan for 12–15 hours rather than 10. Kimchi Master Lee Ha-yeon's recipe calls for green cabbage for good reason: it holds its crunch longer, absorbs the brine cleanly, and is easy to find anywhere.
How long does it keep?
Mul-kimchi is best eaten young, within one to two weeks of refrigeration. Unlike paste kimchi, which builds complexity over months, mul-kimchi is prized for its freshness. If the brine becomes too sour over time, it makes an excellent base for cold noodle broth or a light soup.