Kimchi
Over the past few months I have been trying some Korean cuisine. One thing that keeps coming up in my exploration of Korean cuisine is kimchi. Kimchi is fermented raw vegetables. One of the most common forms of kimchi is made with cabbage and chili. Up until now I have been buying my kimchi in little jars from the store but it was a bit expensive. I have seen several posts about how to make your own kimchi that sounded pretty easy. I decided to try making my own kimchi.
Making your own kimchi turned out to be really easy. There was only a few minutes of work and a lot of waiting. I let my kimchi ferment for about 2 weeks before trying it. I did a side by side comparison with what was left of my store bought kimchi and my homemade kimchi. I liked mine a lot better than the store bought one. It had a lot more flavour and it was more balanced. Given that kimchi only gets better with age I will have to see how it is in a few more weeks. I should get started on another batch as well. I wish I had a bit more room in my fridge...
Making kimchi requires fish sauce which you should be able to find in the Asian section of your local grocery store. Kimchi also requires gochugaru which is Korean chili flakes. You should be able to find big bags of the gochugaru at your local Asian grocery store. Gochugaru is not quite as hot as red pepper flakes and is a little sweet and all round very good. It is used in many Korean dishes.
Ingredients:
1 napa cabbage
1/2 cup salt
1 bunch green onions (sliced into 1 inch pieces)
4 cloves garlic (chopped)
1 inch ginger (grated)
1 cup gochugaru (Korean red chili flakes)
2 tablespoons fish sauce
Directions:
1. Cut the napa cabbage in half, remove the core and slice the cabbage into 1 inch wide strips.
2. Place a layer of cabbage into a large bowl and sprinkle some salt onto the cabbage. Repeat until all of the cabbage is in the bowl and salted.
3. Let the cabbage sit in the salt for a few hours.
4. Rinse the salt from the cabbage.
5. Mix the cabbage, green onions, garlic, ginger, gochugaru and fish sauce in the large bowl.
6. Place the cabbage mixture into a sealable container leaves a couple of inches at the top.
7. Seal the container and let ferment at room temperature for 2-3 days.
8. Place the container in the fridge and let ferment for a couple more days.
Recipes that use Kimchi:
Kimchi Bokkeumbap (Kimchi Fried Rice)
Bibim Guksu (Soba and Kimchi Salad)
Kimchi Jjigae (Pork and Kimchi Stew)
Take a look at the Weekend Herb Blogging roundup at Kochtopf.
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40 comments:
That looks like the real thing. Well done!
I love Korean food, kimchi with Korean BBQ, bibimbap and a chilled beer- I'm in heaven!
Yes I'm low maintenance like that. Haha.
Man, I love cabbage and I love kimchi, but I've never thought about making it myself. Thanks for the recipe and inspiration!
how cool that you made your own kimchi!
Hey, your kimchi turned out great! Thanks for the link. Much appreciated. See, it is easy! You can ferment all kinds of things like this. If you can find the baby korean daikon, they make a kimchi out of that that is dynamite.
Sounds very interesting... in Polish cuisine we make sour cabbage and soured cucumbers... (my favourite after 3-4 days, when they half way ready and still crunchy).
Have a nice weekend Kevin! :)
Margot
They look great!
My friend is in Korea now, she just made some kimchi with her local friends,
They have a saying in Korea (my friend told me this): If you can make good kimchi, you can be a good wife too!
Kudos to you! It would never occur to me to make my own, though I love eating it!
I'm almost embarrassed to tell you that I've tagged you. You can visit my blog to check out the "rules".
I've never tried making it but my older brother does and it;s wonderful... I think he actually buries it. That may be taking it too far...
One of the few foods that I refuse to eat. I am impressed that you made your own though.
I would love to know more about you, so you've been tagged! - Greedy Gourmet
It does look like the real McCoy...job well done and I do like me a side of kimchee.
Wow! Another authentic offering!
I'm not a sour-food-loving guy, but I can always eat a mound o fkimchi with some bulgogi on the side... Got some? :D
Wow, I'm so impressed!! Anthony Bourdain was talking about Kimchi on one of his No Reservations shows. Sounds like it was a great accomplishment!
you could serve me a bowl of that with some of your french bread I'd be happy.
very cool.. I wanna try now! thanks for sharing.
I love homemade kimchi! But I get it like every 2-3 years :( Knowing that it's that easy, I must try for myself! It looks so yummy!
You're right it looks so easy to make. I never experimented with kimchi before.
That look so authentic, great job Kevin. I love kimchi, so thanks for the recipe. I discovered "Koren Town" in a part of the city by accident, and I crave for the bulgogi often.
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Wow...this looks really great and sounds interesting too.
Love this post. The picture is great--and I've thought of making my own kimchi, so this was very interesting to me.
I learnt over a TV pgm here that kimchi is also known as mother's love. Because, the traditional way of making kimchi, those korean ladies actually have to "stroke" each napa cabbage leave with the fermenting paste...yes, every stroke on it on a single leave. Does it remind you of Mother's Love? :D
That looks great! And I trust it tasted good too. It sure sounds easier to make kimchi than I thought it would be. I would add some sliced or shredded daikon or carrots too. Thanks for posting that recipe. I might just be tempted to try my hand at it at some point :)
Such a great, informative post! Your kimchi looks and sounds amazing... I'm so glad to learn about the Korean chili flakes, too!
My wife makes kimchi in the recreatiion area of our retirement village because I will NOT allow her to make or store it in our unit.
The stench is too powerful.
We do love her homemade kimchi, however, particularly her summertime mul (mool?) kimchi that she makes super hot and spicy.
Wow, very impressive. I've eaten Kimchi, but only from a jar. I do like it though I haven't heard of this type of Asian chili flakes, but they sound like something I would love. Is it anything like Aleppo pepper do you know?
I can taste that pickled heat from here! Love kimchi, but have never made it myself. Very well done, Kevin!
wow... you made your own kimchi!! That's nice. I should really try this once!
We cleared out the NCO club one night by opening a fresh, homemade crock of that stuff when we were int he military.
LOL!
I have not had Aleppo pepper so I am not sure if it is similar. I will have to look for some to try.
Wow, are you sure you're not Korean? That kimchi looks awesome! I learned to make kimchi from my friend from Pusan. I used to make it regularly when kimchi was hard to find, but living in Hawaii now I've gotten lazy. This post reminds me that homemade is always the best! BTW, Aleppo is kind of like Korean peppers, sweet and hot, but is so much more pricey I can't imagine using it to make kimchi. You might substitute the other way around though. Great post!
kimchi looks fabulous! I just posted my ultimate kimchi recipe and cannot wait to try it again. What else can we kimchi? mustard leaves, kohlrabi?
I love Kimchi too, its very refreshing, unfortunately the Kimchi in England is abit hit and miss... I think each time I have tried to make it I haven't waited long enough, the temptation is too much! What is the longest you have left it for?
Kumiko: Kimchi seems to keep really well in the fridge and I have had batches in the fridge for months.
Great! I love kimchi. I only have to find that Korean chilli flakes.
Thanks and congrats for your dishes!
Only if my boyfriend would cook...
hi got to yr post from a link at indonesian curry (?)
anyway, i love that you reviewed your world view and took command of your kitchen and your mouth (eating, i mean).
i have a chinese dragon pot for quick pickles, but it's been years since it was more than garniture.
you've inspired me; look out organic grocer: I need rice bran and veggies!
BTW, re: Cindy's comment about good kimchee = good wives. in Japan, there's a little twist. don't be too effusive when complimenting the farmhousewife on her pickles: you're suggesting she's great in bed!
Kevin, I tried this recipe and it's awesome! I'm so excited to be able to say that I have made kimchi. Thank you SO MUCH!
I've been living in Korea, in Seoul for the past 6 months. I find the scent of kimchi rudely all pervasive, truly the among the most disgusting odors I've ever experienced. Why would anyone in their right and educated mind decide to eat something -- no matter how "healthful" it may be considered-- only to have the stench ooze out of the pores? There are plenty of other beneficial foods that do not exact such an odor.
@Anonymus: have you ever thought that would be because they like it? Personally I love the taste (even though the odour is an unpleasant one). And no, I'm not korean :)
By the wary, it's not the only Korean "smelly" food.
I stumbled on this blog after looking to see whether Aleppo pepper can be used as a substitute for Korean pepper flakes for making Kimchi. I can find Aleppo pepper flakes easily for around $8.99/lb (which is VERY reasonable IMO) and I used it to start my very first batch of kimchi yesterday. I'm no expert on kimchi, and I haven't yet found the Korean pepper flakes, but I LOVE Aleppo pepper and I hope it turns out great.
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