Kimchi
Homemade kimchi is delicious and easy to make. This recipe is my go to for kimchi these days after a few years of three-monthly batches. Perfect as a side with any rice dish, a great topping on your next bowl of ramen or even just as a quick snack. Go on, give it a go and make your next fermented homemade goodness be this kimchi.
It’s been too long since my last post but once again, requests for my recipes or the good ole ‘hey, can you show me how you made that’ has push some motivation into me to keep blogging my food knowledge. Thus, here we go again, on maybe my third, fourth or maybe its my fifth? restart on posting on this blog. Maybe, just maybe, I can keep it consistent this time although…I’m just so good at procrastinating and there’s just so many things I want to work on! Did I mention Christmas is only next week as well?
kimchi in our house
Anyway, I love eating kimchi and so do three out of four of my boys, one of which is my partner! In fact, he likes it so much he stores jars of the stuff at work, this does mean I’m often making a new batch to replenish supply and have now perfected the recipe to the point I’m happy to share it knowing it’s the good stuff.
With fermentation time, this recipe takes at least three days and makes two large preserving jars or three big jam jars. The volume can depend on how big your daikon radish and carrots are, I am not fussed if the veg are particularly huge, it just means more kimchi to go around but I would add another carrot if the season is producing small harvests. Make a best guess, where ingredients are not weighed base the ingredients in this recipe on medium sized vegetables.
For making kimchi, I was given a fermenting crock from my partners sister. I think she bought it with good intentions but life got too busy and when she was decluttering we were offered a very useful and a great looking tool for the kitchen.
Salt is important in this recipe and you want to make sure free-flowing table salt is used. I use iodised stuff but non-iodised is good too. Stay away from sea salt, maldon salt, flakey salt or any salt with big granules they are not ideal for making kimchi.
I try and use a nashi pear when possible but if you cannot find one or they are out of season, another sweet variety or pear like a packham is a good replacement. If pears just are not what is on offer in your area then go for a nice sweet apple.
When I cut the cabbage, i like to pull off each of the leave, wash them, drain them then cut off the leafy green part from the thick white stem. I then cut the stems cross-wise to make wide batons and roughly chop into good sized pieces the leafy part. Some people just quarter their cabbage and spread the spice paste in between the leaves. I imagine you would need bigger containers or jars to make that work.
I use disposable gloves to handle the cabbage when I’ve salted it and also when massaging in the spice paste but feel free to use your bare hands if you don’t mind the mess.
Kimchi
30 servings
1kg Napa Cabbage or Wong Bok
2-3 Carrots
6 Garlic cloves
5cm Ginger
1/4 cup Fish Sauce
1/3 cup Korean Red Pepper Flakes or Gochugaru
Wash and slice Cabbage into 3cm slices.
In a large bowl, salt the cabbage, toss and bruise. Then leave for 30 minutes.
Make the paste by grinding up ginger, garlic and nashi pear in a spice grinder or powerful blender until a puree forms.
Combine fish sauce, chilli pepper flakes and ginger paste. Mix together. Set aside.
Cut spring onions into 1.5cm long strips.
Peel and julienne cut the carrots and Daikon radish.
Once rested, rinse the cabbage with water, squeezing the cabbage as you do this until most of the salt has washed off. Drain.
Mix paste into veges.
Pack into fermenting crock or jars, pressing tightly.
Leave for at least 3 days at room temperature.
If using jars make sure to release the pressure at least once a day.
Refrigerate after 3 days or when fermented to your liking.