Hi Natasha! I love the way you’re thinking about miso paste because it’s also fermented and has tons of umami. This recipe uses tamari/shoyu/soy sauce as a fish sauce substitute. If you can’t get any of those, then yes. Go ahead and try miso paste. I would add about 1/4 cup and blend it in the food processor as part of the paste. I would use a dark or red miso. For the peppers, I would try red pepper flakes aka red chile flakes or fresh red chile peppers (maybe 5 with the seeds). I would choose jalapeno over bell peppers for the spiciness factor. It will be very interesting to taste your kimchi. Let me know how it turns out:)

I just had this 2 nights ago with rice, an egg, and my pork ribs. Ever since I first made this recipe 4 years ago, I’ve had a jar in my fridge ever since. I won’t live without it:)