kimchi recipe/ food safety/ submerged under liquid

Thank you Lori!

Yes, even in the refrigerator you still need to keep your fermented veggies under brine. The parts that stick out are subject to mold, because the good lactobacilli are living in the brine. You can do this with weight of some sort. The easiest way is to use a glass pickling weight, but failing that there are other ways. You can use the top of an apple, cut large enough to press the pickled veggies beneath the brine, with the peel of the apple intact to keep that safe. You can also use a small ziplock baggie partially filled with water or brine on the top. And you can, in a pinch, use a properly sized smooth rock which you have scrubbed and poured boiling water over- and if you are nervous you can wrap that in plastic wrap or put in a ziplock baggie. Sounds crazy, but it works.