Of Cabbages and Kimchi: A Practical Guide to the World of Fermented Food

Product Information

In Korea, kimchi is eaten every day. It can be a side dish to almost anything, or it can be incorporated into the cooking process. Kimchi is nutritious, delicious, and very versatile.Alongside Asian dishes, here are some more ways to eat kimchi. We love this beginner-friendly kimchi recipe! So, if you’ve been considering making your own kimchi, now is the perfect time to give it a go! Trust us, it’s easy, especially with our easy-to-follow recipe and helpful tips. What is Kimchi? Green Cabbage (the regular kind used to make coleslaw) kimchi appeared pretty recently in the Korean food scene, probably because many Koreans who lived outside of Korea could not get any authentic Korean Cabbage (Celery Cabbage is the exact one but Napa Cabbage is very close). I first tasted cabbage kimchi in 1976 when we moved to India. With no access to any kind of Korean vegetable, the only vegetable we could get was the good old cabbage. I actually did not like it as a kid. I thought it only made me miss the real Korean kimchi more. But now, I actually like it and enjoy it. There’s a lightness in flavor to Green Cabbage Kimchi that makes it go better with some foods than regular kimchi which can sometimes overpower other dishes. When chopping the yangnyum, don’t kill it and make it into a smoothie 🙂 . Stop when the you can still see each piece. Add 1 T sugar and 2 T dried red chili powder (고추가루 gochookaroo) and mix. Taste it. Add more or less red chili powder to your taste. It should taste quite spicy, salty and pungent. Don’t worry because this will be blended with the cabbage and the taste will get smoother with fermentation. You can also add more sugar if you like. But adding more sugar will make the kimchi sour faster.

While Korean red chili pepper powder (gochugaru, 고추가루) is indispensable for authentic kimchi, this yangbaechu kimchi is a good kimchi for you to experiment with other types of chili pepper powder available to you. Some readers have reported a success with their substitution. Also, if your chili pepper powder is extremely spicy, puree some red bell pepper (or mild fresh red chili peppers) with a little bit of water and mix it with your chili pepper powder. It’ll give the kimchi a bit more red color and flavor. Combine the ginger, garlic, reserved spring onion whites, miso, sugar and gochugaru in a food processor, and pulse until you have a paste a little looser than peanut butter. You may need to add a little water. Some people allow the kimchi to ferment at room temperature for a day or more. This speeds up your fermentation, but we prefer to simply slide our jar into the fridge and let it ferment there. It’s a little slower, but after a couple of weeks, the refrigerator-fermented kimchi has all the same sour, funky notes. How Long Does Kimchi Last? Nutrition facts: The nutrition facts provided below are estimates. We have used the USDA database to calculate approximate values. Note that sodium is difficult to determine with this recipe. This brings the preparation time of Kimchi down considerably. Some people prefer to make “instant” Kimchi, and green cabbage is perfect for this type of Kimchi.Green cabbage has a much higher water content than what Napa cabbage has. Napa cabbage, however, has more fiber than green cabbage. Place out of direct sunlight and ferment at room temperature for 1 to 2 weeks. Once you are satisfied with the level of fermentation, refrigerate and chop to serve. Kimchi will keep, refrigerated, several months. If your kimchi shows signs of spoilage or you are for some reason worried that your kimchi has been compromised, it is advised to discard said kimchi and rather start a fresh batch. Conclusion Who’s the author? James Read is a man obsessed with fermenting things. After experimenting with cauliflower kimchi to make the perfect ‘zombie brains’ for a Halloween pop-up restaurant, James grew curious about the world of fermentation and living foods. He went on to found Kim Kong Kimchi, selling tens of thousands of jars of kimchi distributed through hundreds of stores in the UK. He was recently been appointed Chief Trading Officer of the UK Fermenters Guild. It takes about two to three days at room temperature and two to three weeks in the fridge for the lactic acid to fully develop and the fermentation process to start. The fermentation process will keep going indefinitely. The older the Kimchi, the softer the texture and stronger the flavor.

Serve Kimchi on a grain bowl. Korean Bibimbap is very similar to the grain bowls that are currently trending. You can spice up any variety of grain bowls by adding Kimchi. green onions. Trim and discard the root ends and slice the green onions in half, lengthwise. Cut onion halves crosswise into 2-inch pieces. Don’t be afraid to improvise with a kimchi recipe. Kimchi is very forgiving and versatile. Feel free to add any vegetables that you might have lurking in the fridge. Because kimchi is a fermentation, making kimchi from vegetables will keep them edible for longer. Can You Make Kimchi With Any Vegetable?

It’s very important to ensure that the kimchi you make is handled in a sterile manner. The containers and jars used to store Kimchi need to be heat sterilized like you would for preserves and fruit jellies. If the jars are not sterile, you can potentially grow deadly pathogens. Recipes we love: Chilled Radish Noodle Soup, Mango and Scotch Bonnet Hot Sauce, Kimchi and Goat’s Cheese Quesadilla, Raspberry Almond and Kefir Crumb Cake, Soy Caramel Dark Milk Chocolate Tart. the cabbage. Cut the cabbage in half, lengthwise, and remove the core. Cut the halves into small wedges, then slice crossways to cut the cabbage into 1 ½-inch pieces. In the refrigerator, kimchi can typically stay fresh for several months. However, its flavor and texture will continue to change gradually over time. Some people prefer the taste of well-aged kimchi, while others enjoy it when it’s relatively fresh. Personally, I prefer fresher styles of kimchi. Please note that our recipe below is not intended to be shelf stable (do not can or leave unrefrigerated for an extended period). More Frequently Asked Questions

Radishes are great Napa cabbage substitutes. Radishes of all varieties have a satisfying crunchy texture with a sharp, crisp flavor. Kimchi pairs really well with eggs. Try Kimchi in an omelet or stir into scrambled eggs just before they set. If you prefer crunchy kimchi, it is advised to use kimchi within three weeks. Kimchi is, however, still safe to eat beyond this point. Homemade Kimchi is safe to eat for about six months if stored in the fridge. Signs That Your Kimchi Has Gone Bad Remove any damaged outer leaves plus the bases from the cabbage and discard (retaining a large outer leaf as a weight, if desired). Red cabbage makes a very brightly colored Kimchi. The purple color of the cabbage will stain the other vegetables in the recipe and give the whole dish a lovely purple hue. Use red cabbage in Kimchi in the same way you would green cabbage.There are over a hundred traditional Korean kimchi recipes. Kimchi can be made with many different types of vegetables. Firm, crunchy vegetables work best in kimchi. Besides cabbage, kimchi recipes can also include radish, beet, cucumber, onion, scallions, eggplant, carrots, chili peppers, celery, bamboo shoots, and apples. Napa cabbage comes from the Beijing region in China. Napa cabbage is widely used in East Asian cuisine. We have been cultivating Napa cabbage in the western world since the 20 th century.

Yangbaechu kimchi is one of my mother’s favorite summer kimchi varieties, so we grew up eating it a lot. She would tell me not to use a lot of seasoning because this kimchi should be light and refreshing. However, feel free to increase the amount of gochugaru or salted shrimp (or fish sauce) to season the kimchi a bit stronger if preferred. How to store yangbaechu kimchi Wash and clean green onions and chives. Cut green onions and chives into similar length pieces (2 in or so) and set aside.James Read is on a mission to smuggle bacteria into our kitchens. In Of Cabbages & Kimchi, he takes the ten greatest ‘living’ ferments – fermented foods that are neither cooked nor pasteurized – and places them under the microscope, before cooking with them in all their delicious versatility. You can certainly make Kimchi with green cabbage if you can’t get hold of Napa cabbage in your area. Even some very traditional Korean American families opt for green cabbage in Kimchi to save time. In the meantime, prepare the kimchi yangnyeom (seasoning) by finely chopping garlic, onion, red pepper and ginger in a chopper. * If using a blender (as in my pic), add 4 T fish sauce because it will not chop without additional liquid.