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Vegetables from Chungcheong, Jeolla and Gyeongsang, Korea

Kkaennip kimchi (perilla-leaf kimchi)깻잎김치

Kkaennip kimchi is a stack of perilla leaves with seasoning spread between them. In the common method the leaves are first soaked in brine until they soften, then stacked three or four at a time with a paste of anchovy sauce, chilli powder and shredded radish, chestnut, garlic and ginger, and left in a jar until they turn yellowish.

Fully documentedVegetables24 h – 10 days

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedHousehold recipes with no fixed amounts.
Perilla leavesSoaked in brine, steamed, or simply washed and drained, depending on the region[nfm-kkaennip]
Salt brineFor the soak that softens the leaves[nfm-kkaennip][han1995]
Anchovy jeot liquidSeasons the kimchi, since the leaves are strong-smelling and bitter[nfm-kkaennip]
Chilli powder[nfm-kkaennip]
Radish, chestnut, garlic and gingerCut into fine strips; only a little ginger, to keep the leaf aroma[nfm-kkaennip]

Total time across the recorded steps: 24 h – 10 days

Start
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Close-up: salt moving into a bean

What changes: Perilla leaves soak in salt water until they soften

Step 1 of 5
Soak the leaves in brine until soft
Time
24 h – 10 days
Reported
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Pediococcus acidilactici

Output: brined perilla leaves.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
leaves soften
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

At a glance

Kkaennip kimchi is a stack of perilla leaves with seasoning spread between them. In the common method the leaves are first soaked in brine until they soften, then stacked three or four at a time with a paste of anchovy sauce, chilli powder and shredded radish, chestnut, garlic and ginger, and left in a jar until they turn yellowish. Made in 5 steps over 24 h – 10 days. The longest step, soak the leaves in brine until soft, takes 24 h – 10 days (National Folk Museum of Korea 2026). Pediococcus acidilactici (strain PMC48), isolated from Korean perilla leaf kimchi does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step24 h – 10 daysReported[nfm-kkaennip][han1995]Soak the leaves in brine until soft

What makes this one different

Kkaennip kimchi is a leaf stack, not a cut or tossed vegetable. The leaves are bitter and strong-smelling, so it is seasoned with anchovy sauce, kept light on salt and ginger, and often soaked in brine first to soften the leaves.

Related ferments

Variants

  • Jeolla raw-leaf kkaennip kimchiWashed raw leaves brushed one by one with a glutinous rice paste of chives, green onion, chilli powder, garlic, ginger, sesame and anchovy sauce (Dogang Kim family, Jeongeup).
  • Andong steamed kkaennip kimchiLeaves steamed, squeezed and briefly sun-dried, then layered with coarse chilli powder, soy sauce, garlic and sesame (Uiseong Kim head family); made in autumn.
  • Soy-sauce kkaennip kimchiDrained leaves brushed with a soy sauce and jeot seasoning with chilli powder.

Safety

Perilla leaves soften fast in summer heat, which is why the Andong head family made the kimchi mostly in winter before refrigerators. Its steamed-leaf version keeps well and is eaten fresh or after 5–6 months of ripening (Folk Encyclopedia). The salt is kept light and the seasoning is anchovy sauce.

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

The Folk Encyclopedia account of the Andong Uiseong Kim head family says that before refrigerators the leaves softened fast in summer heat, so the kimchi was mostly made in winter and kept for eating.

Starter
The sources we found do not say how its fermentation begins.
Temperature, salt and pH
The sources we found give no temperature, salt or pH figure for any of its steps.
  1. [nfm-kkaennip] National Folk Museum of Korea, Encyclopedia of Korean Folk Culture, Korean Food, Clothing and Housing (한국의식주생활사전), 깻잎김치; KOGL type 2, facts only; read 2026-10book
  2. [han1995] Han Ji-suk 1995, Standardizations of traditional special kimchi in Kyungsang province, Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life 5(2), 27–38 (abstract)paper
  3. [kim2020] Kim S., Seo H., Mahmud H.A. et al. 2020, Melanin bleaching and melanogenesis inhibition effects of Pediococcus acidilactici PMC48 isolated from Korean perilla leaf kimchi, Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology 30(7), 1051–1059 (title and abstract)paper
  4. [KoWiki] Korean Wikipedia, 김치 (sections 역사, 종류, 지역별 김치; one-line definitions follow the Standard Korean Language Dictionary), read 2026-10-16: regional listswiki