Kimchi
Kimchi is a fermented Korean condiment that is salty, spicy, sour & sweet at the same time. Known for being good for your gut biome and boosting your immune system, Kimchi brings both flavour and health benefits to any meal you prepare.
This small batch recipe is forgiving, giving you alternatives to specialist ingredients used in traditional Kimchi recipes. I’ve tossed Kimchi into fried rice, on burgers and even scrambled eggs. It’s a great way to pack in flavour.
Makes 1 litre bottle of Kimchi.
Ingredients
- 1 large nappa cabbage, chopped into chunks
- 1 bulb fennel, sliced thinly or Korean radish, grated
- 1 carrot, jullienned
- 1 Asian pear or African pear, peeled and cored ?
- 1 bulb of garlic
- 2 thumb size pieces of ginger
- 1 bunch spring onions
- ¼ cup Chili paste or Gochujang ?️
- ½ cup of salt
- ¼ cup Korean chilli powder/flakes
- ¼ cup soya sauce or fish sauce or shrimp paste or miso paste
- ½ cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp palm sugar
Equipment
- Glass mason jars with loose fitting lids
- Large mixing bowls
- Measuring cups & spoons
- Large spoon
Process
Soak the napa cabbage in a litre of water with 1/4 cup salt for 90 minutes.
Once soaked, rinse thoroughly with cold water.
In a blender, whizz up the pear, garlic, ginger, chilli paste, chilli flakes, salt, soya sauce or fish sauce or shrimp paste or miso paste, salt and sugar.
You may want to put on some food-grade gloves to protect your hands for the next step.
In a large mixing bowl, toss in the cabbage, carrots, white onion, fennel, spring onions and season with the spicy blended paste. Gently massage the paste into the vegetables.
Pack the Kimchi into a glass bottle, ensuring that the vegetables are submerged into the brine.
Leave the bottle of Kimchi to ferment for 5-7 days on a kitchen counter. Make sure to place the bottle on a tray to catch any liquids that may seep out from the bottle during the fermentation process.
Check the Kimchi daily and if there are any air bubbles, gently push down the vegetables to pack them tighter to reduce the air bubbles in the bottle.
Taste the Kimchi as the flavour develops and when you feel that that the Kimchi has the depth of flavour you require, tighten the glass bottle life and store in the fridge for up to a month.
