kickin' kimchi

I tried making kimchi in the past and like many of my creations, was afraid to truly eat it.  I did a little taste test and found it to be pretty good, but threw it out due to a sudden germ phobia.  Weird since I wanted to make kimchi for it's naturally occurring beneficial bacteria.  So I gave it another whirl and once again came up with pretty good kimchi.  It wasn't as tart as I had hoped, so next time I will leave it out on the counter for another day or so before refrigerating it.  It has been sitting in my fridge for over a week now but still hasn't ripened to a desired degree.  I like to eat it with a very salty or slightly sweet and salty meaty dish and rice; something like this Carmelized Shrimp and Pork Belly works good (make sure you open ALL your windows or have great ventilation when cooking with fish sauce...consider yourself forewarned!).

Here is my half gallon of kimchi made from Dr. Ben Kim's recipe. I used the Korean pepper I purchased for my first batch a year or two ago, but it wasn't as brightly colored as in the past due to oxidization from being stored.  It's still good, though.

A close up view of what it looks like.  Pretty authentic, eh?

Kickin' Kimchi

Adapted from Dr. Ben Kim

Yields: About half a gallon

2-3 lb head of Napa cabbage
1/3 cup sea salt, pickling salt, or Kosher salt
Water
1/4 - 1/2 cup fine Korean red chili flakes (do not use regular hot pepper flakes)

1 small daikon radish, sliced into thick matchsticks, optional
1-2 carrots, sliced into thick matchsticks, optional
1-2 tbps minced garlic
1-2 tbsp minced ginger
5-6 green onions, sliced
2 tablespoons anchovy or fish sauce (optional)
1/2 yellow onion
1/2 ripe apple
1/2 ripe pear

 

1. Slice cabbage in half along its length and then chop along the width into 1 1/2 inch bite-size pieces.

2. Dissolve a half cup of salt in a bowl of warm water, then pour salt water over cabbage leaves. Give cabbage a gentle toss to distribute salt water. Allow salted cabbage to sit for at least four hours.

3. Give cabbage a good rinse to remove excess salt, then transfer cabbage to a large bowl.

4. Combine a half cup of fine red chili flakes with warm water, stir gently with a spoon to create a red chili paste, then transfer chili paste to cabbage.

5. Add daikon, carrots, garlic, ginger, green onions, and fish sauce.

6. Blend yellow onion, apple, and pear with one cup of water, then add this natural sweetener to the cabbage.

7. Put on a pair of plastic gloves and give everything a thorough toss and rubdown. You want to evenly distribute all ingredients, especially the red chili paste.

8. Transfer seasoned cabbage leaves into a large glass bottle. Be sure to use firm pressure with your hands to push down on cabbage leaves as they stack up inside the bottle. 

Transfer any liquid that accumulated during the mixing process into the bottle as well - this liquid will become kimchi brine. Some liquid will also come out of the cabbage leaves as you press down on them as they are stacked in the bottle.
 

Be sure to leave about 2 inches of room at the top of the bottle before capping it tightly with a lid. Allow bottle of kimchi to sit at room temperature for 24-48 hours or longer, depending on how warm the room is.  The warmer the environment, the faster the kimchi will ferment.

9. Your kimchi is now ready to eat. Refrigerate and take out portions as needed. The refrigerated kimchi will continue to ferment slowly in the refrigerator over time. So long as you use clean utensils to take out small portions, it will keep for up to a month in your refrigerator.

I didn't add carrots this time, but I will next time.  I also tried making his Cucumber Kim Chi, which came out really good.  Unfortunately, I don't have pictures of it due to camera issues.