7Up Is the Secret Ingredient to David Chang's Mul Kimchi

In 2011, we were still figuring out how to explain to people in the United States what kimchi was. And even today, many people still don’t know that there are thousands of types of kimchi — they still think of just one, baechu-kimchi, the kind made with fermented napa cabbage and gochugaru.

On a trip to Korea in 2010 for a Food & Wine story that came out the following year, I went to Buddhist temples and had some of the most delicious Korean food I’d ever had, period. Because at Buddhist temples, all the nuns and monks do is pray, meditate, eat, and cook. I was especially inspired by their white kimchi, or mul kimchi. There’s several versions of it, but it’s typically cabbage fermented for a few days in a flavorful brine.

This recipe was a way to introduce people to a world of different kinds of kimchi. For the audience then, it was tricky to figure out how to name it — we decided to call the recipe Sparkling White Kimchi, which might be redundant for those familiar with it since white kimchi is almost always fizzy, but I thought it was the best way to describe it at the time. This kimchi is inspired by the ones I tried at the temples, which were made in accordance with the most traditional methods and ingredients and were fully vegetarian.

But I was also inspired by how many Korean mothers make mul kimchi for their families. While I can’t speak on behalf of every Korean household, 7UP or Sprite is typically added at home to get the right balance of acidity and sweetness. Mul kimchi is white kimchi, but it’s also an example of water kimchi, where the vegetables are submerged in a drinkable broth.

My version is a super basic recipe for mul kimchi. You can easily turn this into a dongchimi, which is more like a white kimchi pickled soup, if you add some citrus, radishes, or some fruit, like pears or apples, but this recipe is just cabbage with a few vegetables and the brine. The taste of it reminds me of something we always had in my house growing up. My mom cooked with 7UP; she’d put it in noodle dishes or even add it to beef stock. While I’ve never made this exact recipe for my older son, Hugo, he eats a version of this sweet, sour, and spicy kimchi, too.

Though the addition of soda deviates far from the technique used for the kimchi that I tasted at the temples more than a decade ago, you’d be surprised how perfectly balanced it makes a dish. You might not usually think of 7UP as a cooking ingredient, but people use mirin or sugar in a dish to add a similar sweetness. The reason it tastes so good is due to the balance it brings, plus the carbonation, which adds artificial effervescence that mimics the lactobacillus fermentation, which is what happens in kimchi that takes more time to make. Soda brings the fizz immediately.

You could use ginger ale or another soda, but a lemon-lime soda like 7UP is what I grew up with my mom using, and it’s what I’d stick to. Looking back, the main thing I’d change is the name. In 2023, I wouldn’t call it Sparkling White Kimchi. This is mul kimchi, and it’s based on the true story of mul kimchi.