Kimchi

[mama_bel]

I have a lot of Chinese cabbage from the garden right now and want to make kimchi (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kimchi). Anyone here have a good recipe or tips?

[milkymumma]

No idea! But interesting reading, on the 1996 dispute.

[Nyree]

Cabbage rolls are always yummy, and Chinese cabbage is easier to roll than the regular type.

[jodiemiller]

My friends make Kimchi in a plastic bag or non-reactive bowl. While it is pickling, they weigh it down with a brick or a dictionary, to keep the cabbage immersed. (Friends in Japan would put it outside on their balcony in a plastic bag but still press it with a brick - I think to bruise the cabbage? I don't really understand why.)

[Astra]

I have also heard about kimchi being feremented outdoors. A student once told me that in Korea they leave it to ferment for months outside and layer it with pork. That student tried to bring some into Japan in his luggage and strangely got caught, who would have thought they would pick up on cabbage and pork that had been fermenting in the sun for months.

[moo]

yum...........but nfi how to make, soz

[mama_bel]

LOL Astra! I think they do it outside to attract the certain type of bacteria that makes Kimchi, kimchi. :)

So no one here has made it?

[Hailstorm]

I've never even heard of it :2lol

[jodiemiller]

No, I've never made it myself (how would I ever eat that volume of spicy cabbage pickle??) but I have watched it being made, and the process seems very simple (like, it takes one minute) - plus a bit of a wait for it to be ready after that.

[Astra]

You could use it to cook Kimchi Nabe, simple and delicious! The more kimchi the better.

[soulmama]

http://www.cuisine.com.au/recipe/kimchi-korean-chilli-pickled-cabbage

:shrug

Otherwise, I've never even tried it. :2lol

[mama_bel]

And here I am thinkin' I'm the last hippy on earth who hasn't made kimchi. Well, be prepared for the kimchi story everyone, I'm going to have to share the fermented cabbage love, you know that! ;)

[jodiemiller]

You can buy Kimchi in a jar. Honestly, does anyone still make it from scratch??

[milkymumma]

But then what would Bel do with her surplus chinese cabbage??
I think it sounds like a messy but fun experiment!

[mama_bel]

Jodie, telling me "you can buy it in a jar" is like the proverbial red flag to a bull! Tell me I can buy a product just makes me want to grow/milk/cook/ferment/pickle/preserve it, LOL.

[Mercurious]

Yum, I miss Kimchi, I used to get it a lot in Sydney, not a lot of asian food out my way now.

[Soulcarer]

I know this is an older thread but DP and I make Kimchi every few months is you are still interested in making it :) If you want we have a few other meals that go really well with it...but I am hooked now and can eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner!

[mama_bel]

I never made it. I forget what I did with all that cabbage, but for some reason I didn't make kimchi.

I have more Chinese Cabbage growing though, and would like to make some kimchi this winter if you want to share your method, soulcarer?

[Soulcarer]

2 cabbages
8 cloves garlic
Anchovy sauce (roughly ¼ cup)
Spring onions
3 chillies (birds eye if you like it HOT!!!)
Gochutgaru (Korean chilli powder)
Small piece of ginger
Big bag of cooking salt
Sugar (1/4 cup)

Slice cabbage in half (length ways)
Wet them thoroughly making sure all the leaves are wet not just the outside
Give them a bit of a shake and get rid of excess water
Then rub a generous amount of salt in between each of the leaves, not so their coated but generously scattered
Put salted cabbage, tightly packed in to a container (we use plastic however traditional clay pots are used and they were buried under ground for months)
Leave then on the bench for four hours then turn them, then leave them for another 4 hours

While they are pickling make your chilli sauce...to do this
Put 6-8 tablespoons of the chilli powder in a bowl (this will depend on your taste for chilli)
Also mince or very finely chop the garlic and add that
Add the ¼ cup of fish sauce
Add the ¼ cup of sugar
Chop the chillies and add
Chop the ginger and add
Chop ½ the bunch of spring onions and add

So, after 8 hours take the Chinese cabbage out and get all of the salt off them!
Then once ‘clean’ rub the chilli mixture on to all of the leaves, similar spread to the salt, generous but not coating
Then put them back in the air tight container and put them in the fridge.

It is up to you how long you leave them in the fridge before eating...I usually have some straight away...then I leave it for a week and then have some more...its just too bitter and sour in the first week as it ferments. We keep eating ours for about 2 months.

There it is :) this lasts about 2 months with LARGE chinese cabbage :)

[mama_bel]

Thank you so much!

[jodiemiller]

Yum!

[boy wrangler]

So I'm reviving this thread after I attended/hosted a cheesemaking workshop on the weekend. We had kim chi for lunch and it was delicious! Then, in a moment of pure serendipity one of the ladies attending left her shopping in our fridge and there was a cabbage!!!!!

I've got the Nourishing Traditions recipe that has whey in it, but all thw whey i've got ATM is in 2 cup bags in the freezer. So I'm wondering if I could use some kefir instead. Or just use soulcarer's recvipe and leave it out all together.

I'll let you know how it goes!

[mama_bel]

I have a spare cabbage this week, and whey, I will give it another go on Sunday I think!