Kimchilicious!
First I must warn you, that this is by no means a classic Korean recipe. For this recipe, you do not need any fancy ingredients from the Asian supermarket. Also, I never make two batches of kimchi that are exactly alike, the amount of different spices always varies. But with this basic method and the base ingredients – you can make it as spicy, as garlicky, or as gingery as you want. I like to make it quite pungent. If you prefer a milder version, just halve the amount of spices used.
Fermented foods have a key role in many cuisines around the world. They are of course a great way to preserve food. But the real beauty of fermented foods is in their aliveness. Yes! they are full of alive bacteria (probiotics) that colonize our gut and aids our digestive system.
How to incorporate Kimchi into your dishes:
Once your jar of kimchi is ready it’s time to enjoy it. Of course, if you are anything like me, it will be gone in no time. I do occasionally find myself eating it straight out of a jar, and before I know it: Oh no! there is no more kimchi. Lesson learned! never make just one jar…
It is, of course, nice as a side to many dishes such as Asian noodles, veggies, and rice stir-fries. It is also fun to incorporate them into dishes like sourdough pancakes (or any kind of savory pancakes), sushi, patties, stews, and noodle soups.
What you need
For any kind of vegetable ferment you need three basic things:
- Ingredients (such as the cabbage)
- Salt
- container that you can seal – so that there is no air involved in the process.
If you are serious about your ferments it might be worth it to get a fermentation jar – easily available online nowadays. If you plan to make big quantities at a time you can get a ceramic pot typically used for making sauerkraut. It is designed to let air escape but not let any air in, simple and genius. Otherwise, like me, you can just use any glass jar with a good lid you have laying around – it seems to work well for me. I just have to remember to burp the jars to let the gas escape every now and then.
Kimchi
Equipment
- fermentation jar
Ingredients
- 1 chinese cabbage (napa cabbage)
- 3 tbsp salt sea salt or kosher
- 1 tbsp grated ginger
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- soy sauce
- 1 tsp chili flakes or korean chili paste (Gochujang)
- 1 fresh chilli optional
Instructions
- rinse the chinese cabbage leaves, cut them into bite-ssizepieces.
- Put the cut cabbage in a bowl and add the salt – massage the salt into the cabbage to release the juices. If yu have the time you can let it sit on the counter for 30 min.
- add the spices and mix well
- transfer everything into a sterelized glass jar (or your prefered fermenting container)
- compact the kimchi tightly by pressing the cabbage with a spoon until it is fully submerged in brine and there are no air bubbles. Seal the jar.
- let it sit for aprox. 10 days in a warm place. Afterward, you can keep it in the fridge and it will stay good for a few weeks.