A really tasty fermented product from Korea; to eat on it's own or with Asian style dishes. Remember any fermented product will lose it's efficacy if you heat it up, so avoid if possible.
My kitchen is smelling pretty pungent at the moment! I've got both kimchi and sauerkraut on the go, all for the greater good though...
There are a few variations that you can do for kimchi, but the first thing to note is that it ISN'T vegetarian, however you can get around this.
Ingredients
1 Chinese cabbage~ napa or bok choi~ about 500g
1 Daikon radish~ or a few normal radishes or extra carrot~ about 200g
1-2 Carrots~ I like to peel in thins trips with a peeler
6 Spring onions~ or onions~ or leeks
6 Cloves of garlic
thumb sized piece of ginger
2 tbsp Gochugaru~ Korean chilli flakes~ buy online
2 tbsp Korean shrimp paste~ or fish sauce~ or miso
4 tbsp good quality salt~ pink Himalayan or Celtic sea salt
Method
Chop cabbage into 4cm pieces and put in a large bowl
Sprinkle over salt and massage in with you (clean!) hands
Cover with cold filtered water, top with a plate and leave for 2hrs
Drain, reserving some of the brine and rinse with filtered water squeezing down the cabbage
Put garlic, ginger, shrimp paste and Gochugaru in a mini chopper and blitz (add in a bit of the brine if needed)
Peel carrots into strips and finely chop spring onions
Mix in the paste wearing disposable gloves.
Put kimchi in a large Kilner jar and press down, add in some extra brine to cover if necessary
Leave on the kitchen side, covered with some kitchen roll secured with an elastic band, for 2-5 days
Transfer to the fridge. Kimchi will keep for at least 3 months
Enjoy!
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