How to Make Kimchi with Green Onion and Garlic: A Mild Fermented Side Dish Without Gochugaru
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You want kimchi, but not the fire. Here’s the deal: skip the gochugaru (Korean fermented chili flakes), lean into garlic and green onion (scallions), and you get a mild, genuinely delicious fermented side dish that’s ready in days, not weeks. No heat, all flavor.
Make gentle, garlicky green onion kimchi by building umami with fish sauce or soy, ferment at room temperature for 3–5 days, and you’ll have a crisp, tangy banchan (side dish) that pairs with everything from rice bowls to sandwiches.
Why Green Onion Kimchi Is Worth Your Time
Most people think of napa cabbage when they hear “kimchi,” but green onion versions are less known and criminally underrated. You get fermented tang and garlic funk in under a week, the texture stays crisp (not mushy), and the flavor is forward without aggressive heat. It’s an ideal entry point if you’ve shied away from traditional kimchi because of the spice.
The other win: green onions are cheap, available year-round at any grocery store, and they don’t require the prep labor of blanching and salting a whole head of cabbage. You’re looking at maybe 15 minutes of hands-on work.
Ingredients You’ll Need
This isn’t complicated, but being specific matters. You want quality garlic (fresh, pungent) and green onions that are still perky, not limp at the store edges.
- Green onions (scallions): 2 large bunches (about 12–14 stalks), washed and cut into 2-inch pieces
- Garlic: 6–8 cloves, minced fine (or thinly sliced if you prefer chunks)
- Fish sauce or soy sauce: 2 tablespoons (for umami; fish sauce is traditional, soy is vegetarian)
- Salt: 1 tablespoon (fine sea salt, not iodized)
- Water: 1 cup (filtered or tap, room temperature)
- Optional: ginger: 1 teaspoon minced (adds warmth and complexity without heat)
- Optional: sugar: 1 teaspoon (feeds the fermentation; you won’t taste sweetness)
Note on sourcing: If you’re buying Korean ingredients online, Amazon carries most basics—fish sauce, quality sea salt, and even bulk garlic powder or fresh heads from specialty vendors. Local Korean or Asian markets usually have fresher green onions and garlic at lower cost.
Step-by-Step Instructions
1. Prep the Green Onions
Rinse bunches thoroughly under cold running water. Pat dry with paper towels—excess moisture dilutes your brine and can invite mold. Trim off any brown or yellowed tips. Cut into roughly 2-inch pieces, keeping white and light green parts together; the dark green tops are fine to use but slightly tougher, so you can set those aside for soups if you prefer.
2. Make the Brine Base
Combine 1 cup water, 2 tablespoons fish sauce (or soy sauce), 1 tablespoon salt, and 1 teaspoon sugar in a bowl. Stir until salt dissolves. Taste it—it should taste noticeably salty and funky (from fish sauce) or savory (from soy). This is your fermentation engine. If it tastes too mild, add another ½ tablespoon fish sauce or salt. You’re building an environment where good bacteria thrive and bad ones can’t.
3. Combine Aromatics
Pour the brine into a clean glass jar. Add your minced garlic (all 6–8 cloves). If using ginger, add it now. Stir to distribute. The aromatics will float at first—that’s normal.
4. Layer Green Onions
Add the cut green onion pieces in layers, pressing gently after each handful so they start to wilt and pack down. You want them submerged in brine (crucial: exposed vegetables = mold risk). If they’re floating too much, place a small dish or even a ziplock bag filled with a bit of brine on top to weight them down. The brine should cover everything by at least an inch.
5. Seal and Ferment
Cover the jar loosely with a lid—don’t screw it tight. You want gases to escape, especially in the first 24 hours when fermentation is most active. Leave it on your kitchen counter, away from direct sunlight. Room temperature (around 68–72°F) is ideal. If your kitchen is warmer, fermentation will speed up (2–3 days); cooler, and it’ll take 5–7 days.
6. Taste and Adjust (Day 3–5)
After 3 days, open the jar, sniff (it should smell funky, garlicky, and alive—not rotten), and taste a piece. The green onion should be softened but still have a slight crunch. The brine should taste tangy and complex. If it tastes flat, let it sit another 1–2 days. Once you love it, cap tightly and move to the fridge to slow fermentation.
Pro tip: “Burping” your jar daily (cracking the lid for 10 seconds) prevents pressure buildup and lets you monitor progress. Day 1 might smell cabbage-like and sour (normal); Day 2–3 gets funkier and more complex. If you see white or gray fuzz, that’s mold—toss the batch and check your salt levels next time.
Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
Not enough salt. Kimchi ferments because salt creates an inhospitable environment for pathogens while letting lactobacillus thrive. If your brine tastes bland, it is bland—add more. You can’t over-salt fermented vegetables; the salt itself gets incorporated into the fermentation chemistry.
Vegetables floating above brine. Mold loves oxygen. Keep everything submerged. Use a weight, a smaller jar, a ziplock bag, or even a clean leaf tucked over the top.
Fermenting in direct sunlight. UV light degrades the fermentation and can cause off-flavors. A dark cabinet or a shaded corner of your counter is perfect.
Impatience (or over-fermenting). Taste at day 3. Some prefer mild tang; others want a sharp, aged funk. There’s no “right” day—it’s personal. Once you hit your sweet spot, refrigerate to slow fermentation. (Refrigerated fermentation still happens, just slowly; your kimchi will continue to sour over weeks.)
Flavor Variations and Tweaks
Ginger-forward version: Add 1–2 teaspoons minced ginger to the brine. This gives a gentle warmth and slight bite—complexity without chili heat.
Sesame and nori: After fermentation, top with toasted sesame seeds and shredded nori (seaweed sheet). Visually striking and adds nutty umami.
Apple or pear juice: Replace ¼ cup of the water with fresh apple or pear juice. Fermentation eats the sugar, leaving subtle sweetness and a rounder flavor.
Miso paste version: Instead of fish sauce, dissolve 1 tablespoon of miso paste in the water before adding salt. Earthier, less funky, but equally fermented.
How to Serve and Store
Once fermented and refrigerated, green onion kimchi keeps for 2–3 weeks. It’s best eaten fresh (within the first week), when the garlic is still punchy and the green onion has a gentle crunch. After that, it softens and the flavor becomes more intense—ideal for cooking into soups, fried rice, or stews rather than eating straight.
Serve it as a side (banchan) with rice and grilled meat. Add it to bibimbap (mixed rice bowl). Chop it into a grain bowl or salad for a fermented kick. Some people even mix a spoonful into cream cheese for a wild, funky spread.
The brine is liquid gold—don’t throw it away. Use it as a dressing base for greens, marinade for tofu, or a punch of funk in a soup broth.
Sourcing Quality Ingredients Locally and Online
Fresh garlic and green onions are year-round staples, so local farmers markets or grocery stores will always have them. Look for garlic that feels heavy (sign of freshness and moisture) and green onions with no slime or brown spots on the white base.
For fish sauce, soy sauce, and specialty Korean fermentation salts, Amazon carries most basics, often cheaper than specialty stores if you buy bulk. Red Boat, Three Crabs, or Golden Boy are reliable fish sauce brands.
If you have access to a Korean market (online or local), you might find pre-made green onion kimchi (called “pa-kimchi” or “pajon” variants). That’s a fast shortcut, but making it yourself takes minutes and costs pennies—plus you control salt and fermentation depth.
- Ready in 3–5 days (faster than napa cabbage kimchi)
- Mild flavor; no heat (approachable for spice-averse eaters)
- Crisp texture persists (doesn’t get mushy)
- Cheap and simple ingredients
- Green onions are always available
- Shorter shelf life than cabbage kimchi (2–3 weeks max)
- Fish sauce smell can be strong (soy sauce is a milder alternative)
- Fermentation is fast—easy to over-ferment if you forget
- Less “traditional” in Korean cuisine (but still legitimate)
Who This Kimchi Is For (and Who It Isn’t)
Perfect for: Spice-sensitive eaters, quick fermentation enthusiasts, people who want umami without fire, anyone testing whether they like homemade kimchi, folks with dietary restrictions (easily adapted to vegetarian with soy sauce or miso), and home cooks with limited time and ingredients on hand.
Not ideal for: Heat-lovers who expect traditional gochugaru kick (though you can always add a pinch of red pepper powder or chili oil on top), people who prefer aged, complex fermented funk (you’ll get some, but it’s milder), those who need months of shelf life (it’s short-lived compared to cabbage versions), and purists who believe true kimchi must contain gochugaru (they’re not entirely wrong, but they’re also gatekeeping).
Related Recipes and Guides
If you like this approach, explore other mild or spice-forward fermenting techniques. You might enjoy our guide to quick fermented cucumber kimchi with chili flakes (still gentle but with a hint of heat), or the sweeter, earthier daikon radish and apple kimchi. For the classic reference point, see our napa cabbage kimchi without fish sauce—proof that you can ferment without gochugaru and still nail the essentials.
Green onion and garlic kimchi is fast, forgiving, and proof that fermented funk doesn’t need heat to be delicious. Build your brine with salt and umami, pack in the aromatics, let time do the work, and in 3–5 days you’ve got a crisp, tangy banchan that belongs on any table. Start here if you’re nervous about kimchi; you’ll be surprised how simple and rewarding it is.
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