Please join me and my publisher peeps over at the new STC Cooks blog for the first in a series of posts about making kimchi, Korean fermented cabbage and daikon (or other vegetables; here's a fun list of kimchi types—and some good-looking recipes—from Saveur to spark your imagination). Kimchi is one of the easiest preserves to make yourself: after giving the cabbage and other vegetables an overnight soak in a simple salt brine, you mix them up with a chile powder–orange paste, stuff them into a jar, and just kind of let the whole thing sit there until it tastes good, four or five days. Unlike, say, fermented dill pickles, there's no day-to-day maintenance required. You just leave it alone for a while, then screw a lid on and stick the jar in the fridge. It'll keep for weeks, very gradually becoming a little more sour.Lots of readers (we hope) are going to make their own kimchi along with us, so if you've been wanting to be part of an enormous online community of enthusiastic cabbage and radish fermenters but didn't know where to start, here's your chance!
7 comments:
That looks delicious, I had no idea Kimchi could be made in that way. I definitely want to try it soon, I love asian cuisine.
I don't know how I missed this post - I've been terribly, horribly behind on my reader (and everything else in my life, alas), but I have been thinking about making kimchi and sauerkraut for most of the fall. I've been salivating over the cabbages that have arrived at the market (last week I saw a head of napa that was bigger than my cat), so this post is fantastic and very helpful.
Oh, I almost forgot - I made the spiced apple butter and my adaptation (spiced pear butter) from your book this past week, and they are both fantastic.
I'm getting a slow cooker for Christmas, so I'm planning on making a second batch of apple butter later with the slow-cooker method.
Hi,
You have inspired me to make this wonderful treat. Why do you leave the brine on the cabbage? Yours is the only recipe I have found that doesn't drain off the liquid and squeeze dry. Thanks for your wonderful blog.
Denise: That's a good question. I've done it both ways, and I found that returning the brine to the cabbage rather than using fresh or just trying to pack the cabbage in had much better flavor and the right amount of saltiness. Also more liquid in the jar helps eliminate the air pockets that can cause premature spoilage.
Have fun on your kimchi adventure, and let us know how it goes!
Hi Liana, Thanks for your quick response. Now only need a two quart jar to start fermenting. I will be sure to keep you posted.
Success! Thank you so much - It came out great - but too garlicky which is my own fault - i used garlic scapes as well as cloves, also carrot and an apple - so i think it should make a good kimchi chigae. Another strange thing which also makes sense -
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