Kim Who? Kim Chi

So anyone who knows me well knows that i have a tendency to stick to something i like until i get sick of it or move on to that "next" interesting thing. I will listen to a band i like exclusively for  months (my best friend once threw out my Highlander Sound Track because she was so sick of hearing it), I will read only one author until i run out of books they have written and in that vein I have been on an all out Asian food kick for about a month now.

So whats a girl on an Asian diet to do....well when life gives you cabbage, make Kimchi.

I have had Kimchi before..the nasty stuff you buy at Wegmans that tastes like overly fermented, fizzy mush.  I grew up listening to my Grandfathers horror stories about the smell of Kimchi and how when he was in Korea he could not stand the stuff.  You would thing that the those would both be good enough reason for me to be incurious about it. Not the case. I made my own. I have to tell you, Its GOOOOOD!!!!!

I adjusted the recipe I found on Tigress in a Pickle's Website.

http://tigressinapickle.blogspot.com/2009/07/kimchi.html  (i suggest going to her website...she has step by step pictures)

Kimchi

Ingredients
3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 tbs gouchujang (fermented chili paste)
6 cups water
2 pounds chinese, savoy, or nappa cabbage, chopped into 2 inch squares
6 scallions cut into 2 inch lengths & slivered
1 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
1 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh garlic
2 tablespoons korean pepper flakes, or 1 tablespoon cayenne
1 tablespoon Hungarian paprika
1 cup shredded Korean or diakon radish
1 cup shredded carrot





2 tbs fish sauce
1/4 cup salted shrimp
1 teaspoon sugar (i use raw)
2 quart jar
zip-lock food grade plastic bag


(to make the vegetarian version omit the fish sauce and the shrimp they are optional)
 

first night-

1. dissolve 3 tablespoons of sea salt in water, chop cabbage and place in large crock or bowl. pour brine over cabbage and place a plate inside of bowl to weight down cabbage. i place a bowl of salt water on top of plate, you can use a large can of food, jar of pickles, etc...
2. let stand for 12 hours overnight.

next morning-

1. drain the cabbage and save the brine.
2. chop scallions, ginger and garlic, shred carrots, combine with cabbage.
3. add sugar, last teaspoon of salt, fish sauce, shrimp, chili paste and pepper/paprika to vegetables and mix well. 
4. pack into 2 quart jars, and i mean pack it. i use a wide mouth funnel and then pack it down with the end of a spoon.
5. once all the vegetables are in, pour in the brine to cover. you should have quite a bit left over.
6. pour some of the brine into the plastic zip lock bag and zip. push the filled bag into the neck of the jar. this serves the purpose of weighting it down. putting brine in the bag rather than water ensures that if the bag happens to break you still have the proper water/salt ratio in the mixture. i find a rubber band used on the bag comes in handy for balancing the filled bag in the jar. i also like to place the jar inside a bowl to catch any brine that may leak. this can happen as everything starts to settle and the bag sinks lower into the jar.
you will most likely have some brine left over, pour this into a container and save, you may need to use some to cover as things progress.
7. let this sit at room temperature for 4-7 days. ideally this should be no higher than 68 degrees.
8. after 4 days check to see if it has soured enough to your taste. I find that a solid week is needed for a real kimchi taste. when done, take the brine filled bag out. if the kimchi is not quite covered, pour a bit more brine in to cover.
9. cap jar and place in fridge where kimchi will last perfectly for up to a year. (not that it ever lasts that long.)

Its a simple, easy to follow recipe and it turned out well.


I took my Kimch experiment one step further and Made:

Kimchi and Sweet Potato pancakes 

These were absolutely delicious. The sweet potato mixed with the salted heat of the kimchi makes for an absolute treat! It helps that they are easy and quick to make.

Ingredients
1 or 2  large sweet potatoes
1 cup kimchi (chopped up into pieces)
1 cup plain flour
1/4 cup water or kimchi liquid
 Oil to shallow fry


Method 
Peel the sweet potatoes, grate into thin strings.
Take the kimchi out of the container. Do not squeeze out the juice, cut kimchi into small pieces (best to use scissors).
In a large mixing bowl, put in kimchi, flour, potato string .
Add enough water to combine all the ingredients together. Mix quickly until just combined.
Add oil in a hot frying pan so you have about 1cm of oil. When the oil is hot, spoon ¼ cup pre pancake shaped mixture into frying pan . Cook on both sides until golden brown.

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Kimchi bokkeumbap

(kimchi fried rice)

  

This is another simple, quick and tasty dish. Add meat if you want it to be a main dish, leave it without for a side. I made it with just the veggies.

Ingredients:

1 cup short-grain cooked rice (day-old is best)
1/2 cup cabbage kimchi, chopped (remove the brine)
1 large red chilli pepper (If you like less heat just a red pepper will do in a pinch)
1 stalk green onion
1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
1 tbs Gochujang (chili paste)

1 tbp sesame oil
1tbs  garlic, minced
1 tbs light soy sauce or to taste

Method:

Firstly, heat up your pan until almost smoking.  Add 1 tbsp of cooking oil.  Turn heat to low.  Add garlic, kimchi and Gochujang.  Stir fry about 30 seconds.  Add sesame oil and add in the rice and start stir-frying.  Turn heat to high.  Continue stir-frying for about 3 minutes to get everything mixed in well.  Add kimchi and the sliced chilli pepper and fry again.  Season with the light soy sauce to taste, remove from heat and spoon into bowl.  Garnish with some green onions and sesame seeds.