Cut cabbage head into quarters. Place in bowl. Dissolve 1/2 cup salt in a quart (1 L) of water. Pour over cabbage. Add water until bowl is filled. Set aside three to four hours (until cabbage is wilty and begins to taste salty).

In a separate bowl, mix radish, onion, garlic, ginger, pepper to taste and sugar. If this is your first time trying kimchee, i'd recommend limiting pepper to 3 T. If you're a veteran korean food fan, 5 or 6 will probably be more toward your liking. Use 7 or 8 only if you like really hot food.

Remove cabbage from salt water, reserving brine. Rinse, then chop quarters into 1 inch / 2.5 cm strips (bite size pieces). Discard core.

Mix cabbage and seasoning mixture thoroughly. The easiest way to do this is to put on a pair of sterile rubber gloves and knead away. If you use bare hands, they'll feel sunburned for a day or two. Taste for seasoning. Add more salt and pepper if needed.

Once the mixture is complete, pack it into a glass jar.

Rinse mixing bowl out with brine and pour this over it. Keep adding brine until cabbage pieces are just submerged. Close the jar and stick it on the counter for a couple of days to help it "ripen" (i.e. begins to ferment). Finally, stick it in fridge (tightly-capped, or everything will take on a distinct kimchee aroma).

The taste will continue to change as it ferments. It's crunchier in the beginning, limper and more sour after its been sitting around a few weeks. Eat as a side dish to any korean meal. Fry with rice and sesame oil (and shitake mushrooms and seaweed and daikon, etc. be creative!); Or try it stir-fried with tofu. This is the "holy grail" of korean food and the one dish i'd really missed since i quit eating any animal products. Traditionally, it's made with a tiny bit of shrimp or some other fish product. Despite the claims of my korean friends, it's just as good without the dead stuff.