Kimchi

[catmoon]

Are there any other kimchi freaks about? I am about to start my second batch....

[jcsuperstar]

i eat it, i like it, but i dont make it or anything... just dont have the time to be burying and digging up pots of cabbage in my yard

[catmoon]

lol I'm not that traditionalist. I use the fridge. Between that and sealed containers the, uh, problem of uncontained volatiles is minimized. But I'm still trying to figure out the basics of methods. Some people top up the jar with brine from the soaking stage, some throw the brine away, and I can't figure out who does what or why.

Current recipe includes

1 napa cabbage
1 small dakon radish, sliced or v. coarse grated
small bunch green onions
2 T or more minced ginger
3 cloves garlic minced

Handful chili powder
1/4 tsp crushed dried chilis

For the soaking stage I use about 2 quarts water and 1/4 cup salt, but I think i need more salt because the cabbage stays so crispy and I think it is supposed to wilt somewhat.

Sourness takes a long time to develop in the fridge, at 2 weeks it is just getting started.

I am collecting recipes for the end product. So far I have tried

Kimchi fried rice (i add a couple of eggs and soy sauce)
Butter fried kimchi on toast - not bad!
"" "" on rice - better!

There must be some kind of kimchi casserole you can do, but I have no recipes fer that yet. Any and all suggestions welcome.

[meindzai]

Haven't really had the opportunity to try it. I saw it in a whole foods type store once already made, but I didn't want my first experience with it to be something from a jar.

-M

[Vardali]

I love Kimchi, I used to have really spicey one home-made by a Korean friend of mine (or rather his wife).

I don't know how to make it though and we can't get it in the shops, only when I go to a Korean restaurant.

But after reading your recipe, I am wondering... maybe ... we'll see ...

[dragonwarrior]

i love kimchi.. very much!

[PeterB]

The "why" Catmoon is the same reason that people who make their own yoghurt use some of the previous batch..It speeds up the process by introducing bacteria, yeasts, and enzymes, which speeds up the fermentation process. Kimchi is very good for the immune system. So, btw is REAL not factory, sauerkraut.

[BubbaBuddhist]

NOM NOM NOM NOM.

*drool*

J

[alan]

It's healthy, like most traditional fermented foods. Good stuff.

[James the Giant]

I make kimchi, with chinese cabbage I grow in my garden. But just today the damn sheep ate all my cabbages! Grrr! My gate blew open in the wind, and the sheep got in.

[plwk]

Kimchi...

[Ben]

Hi everyone

I apologise for the dumb question, but...
What is Kimchi?

I realise Catmoon has given a recipe, so is it a pickle, a cultured product or something else?
Thanks

Ben

[PeterB]

Its fermented cabbage Ben. Associated with Korean cuisine. Layers of salted cabbage are fermented in clay vessels together with garlic and chillis, ginger root and so on. Sometimes with LOTS of chilli..
Its delicious, and has a probiotic effect on good gut bacteria that help in digestion.

[Ben]

Thanks Peter!
I used to make my own pickled daikon back in the dark ages when I was on a macrobiotic diet, but i think Kimchi is in a different league than a simple brine pickle.
kind regards

Ben

[SDC]

I live in a Korean neighborhood in NYC. I have grown quite fond of it.