dont be afraid of kimchee…
January 12, 2010
Kimchi doesnt smell so nice – its true. It tastes amazing though. If you like sour flavours – souerkraut, pickled vegetables – then you should give this a go. Takes a little while to ferment but really easy to put together. As with many fermented foods, kimchi is high in lactic acid (contains more than live yogurt) and acetic acid and fibre, which makes good for your digestive system as it replenishes the healthy bacteria in the stomach.
RECIPE:
1 nappa cabbage (chinese cabbage) chopped into quaters lenthways and then once again lengthways
carrot, sliced thinly by hand or with mandolin
1/2 daikon or10 red radishes, sliced thinly by hand or with a mandolin
1/2 broccoli, cut into florets
bunch of spring onions, sliced longways
4ltr water
100 gr salt
paste:
1 head of garlic, crushed
thumb of ginger, grated
60 ml fish sauce
100gr korean chili powder or substitute plain chili powder or some chili paste
1 tsp honey
4tbsp roasted sesame seeds
dissolve the salt in the water in a large container and put all the veg in with a plate ontop to make sure it stays submerged – leave this to stand for 2 hours.The salt will draw the moisture out of the vegetables. Mix up all the paste ingredients and massage this into the drained vegetables (wear some rubber gloves) and pack all this tightly into a big glass jar. cover tightly with cling film or lid. This needs to stand somewhere at room temperature for 2 or 3 days. Once it begins to bubble it has started to ferment and you can then keep it in the fridge where it will continue to slowly ferment. Make sure you always use a clean fork to get it out of the jar – you probably want to eat this within a month.
