Kimchi has been gaining its popularity for its extreme flavours in fusion cooking and also for its great health benefits. For those that love a kick on the side of their plate, this is a great addition to any meat or vegan meal. Traditionally, kimchi includes some kind of fish sauce or paste, but in this recipe I used easy-to-find vegetables and miso for an additional fermented element.
WHAT YOU WILL NEED TO GET STARTED
– Cutting board and knife
– Large mixing bowl
– Sauce pan
– Spoon
– Ferment vessel
– Weights or improvised weights such as a smaller glass jar filled with water, a clean-smooth stone, a plastic bag with water… get creative
– Gloves to protect hands from capsaicin oils in the peppers *optional but reccomended*
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You will notice that the ingredients below include rice flour, and that part of the process we will be creating a rice paste to add all the spices to and add to the vegetables. This is a step that most people don’t include, but I find that it brings just the right consistency to the kimchi and is a great way to spread the spices all over the cabbage. Try it at least once and see how it works for you!
INGREDIENTS
– 2-3 Heads Nappa cabbage (Chinese cabbage)
– 1/8 cup sea salt
– 1 1/4 cup filtered/ dechlorinated water
– 2 tablespoons sweet rice flour (mochiko)
– 1 red pepper
– 4 garlic cloves
– i inch piece ginger, peeled
– 3-4 small onions
– 3 tablestpoons gochugaru (red pepper flakes)
– 1 Tablespoon miso paste
LET’S GET STARTED!
1. Chop cabbage in quarters and then widthwise into chunks and toss with salt. Set aside for 30 minutes to let the salt pull the water out of the cabbage.
2. Make a rice paste sauce by whisking together water and rice flour. Heat in saucepan until mixture just comes to a boil, stirring constantly. Cool slightly.
3. Chop ginger and garlic finely.
4. Chop pepper and onions and add to cabbage.
5. Mix garlic, ginger, miso, and gochujang pepper spice mix to warm rice paste.
6. Pour paste over vegetables and mix to distrubute evenly. ( I used a spoon so I didn’t have much direct contact with the spicy peppers on my skin, but if you mix by hand, gloves are suggested)
7. Pack into Jar. You will notice the brine levels rising and no additional water should be needed. Add cabbage leaves to cover and fermentation weights to kimchi and leave outside the fridge to ferment for 3 days to 1 week. The brine will continue to increase.
8. If in a large vessel, transfer to smaller jars and refrigerate or continue culturing in a cool location.