We have been really enjoying Korean cuisine for a while now, and my dear friend Barb (Profiteroles and Ponytails, in hiatus) gave us a wonderful jar of gourmet Kimchi for Christmas. The first time I ever tried Kimchi was in Paris with my friend Charles (Five Euro Foods, also in hiatus) when he took us to a Korean BBQ place. It was a delicious lunch filled with bright and heady flavours but I have to tell you that I did not love my first experience with Kimchi. Fortunately, since then, I have tried many different versions and I am very happy to report, I LOVE IT! My friend Sissi over at With a Glass is the Kimchi expert, she has made several versions and recipes using Kimchi, check out her lovely blog. In fact, it was the persistence of Sissi’s recipes on her blog that made me want to make my own, plus that jar that Barb so generously gave us was awesome and I wanted more! Thank you, Sissi and Barb.
The recipes are as easy as they sound, the most difficult part will be the waiting until it ferments and then dig in. It works well with Korean but we’ve also had it with Indian and it is wonderful. This makes a smallish batch but it is enough for a few meals.
Kimchi
Please click here for original recipe.
To print recipe, click here.
Makes 1 650 mL jar
Ingredients:
- 450 g chopped and grated vegetables (see notes)
- 75 g table salt
- water to cover
- 20 g ginger, grated
- 16 g garlic, grated
- 6 g Korean red pepper
- 13 g sugar
- 30 mL fish sauce (or 45 mL, to taste)
Directions:
- In a large bowl, add the coleslaw mix (minus the celeriac). Pour the salt over the entire mix and rub in with your hands. Cover with water. Allow to sit at room temperature for 12-24 hours, stirring occasionally.
- Rince the salted coleslaw mix 4-5 times with fresh water. Add the green onions and celeriac and mix thoroughly.
- In a small glass bowl, combine the ginger, garlic, red pepper sugar and fish sauce and mix well to create a smooth paste. Pour over the coleslaw mix.
- Using a gloved hand, rub the paste into the slaw until it is fully incorporated and evenly mixed. Pack the entire slaw mix into a sterilized jar, pressing down to remove large air bubbles, leaving about 2.5 cm space at the top, then cap with the lid. Allow to ferment for 2-3 days in a cool spot but not the refrigerator. It’s probably a good idea to open the jar every-so-often to release the gases that build up during fermentation. Once it has reached your desired flavour, refrigerate. Some recipes need to sit in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks but this one you may use right away, knowing that the flavours will only get better as it ages.
Notes:
- Buying an entire cabbage is far too much for just the two of us, it would take us a year to go through it all, so I buy the pre-shredded coleslaw mix in the bag salad section and augment it with what I have at home, this time it was celeriac and green onions.
- I would use gloves to massage the paste into the vegetables, the red pepper may stain your hands and nails.
I have made my own Sauerkraut, but not kimchi yet. So kudos to you!
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And I have yet to make sauerkraut!
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For me, kimchi was love at first bite. But I’ve never attempted to make my own. Bravo!
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Thanks Frank, I have to admit, the fermentation process frightened me a touch, but after reading several blogs I am confident it is fine. Like anything in the kitchen, it’s important to be clean.
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I guess persistence must be the key. Kimchi scares me to death!
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That made me laugh for some reason. I had an image of giant kimchi chasing you down Michigan Avenue. 😉
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Kimchi is something I’ve never even tasted! I have a feeling I’d love it!
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Thanks for the comment Liz, it is a bit of an acquired taste, I wouldn’t dig in like I would with coleslaw, but eaten with certain dishes, it really enhances the flavours. Apparently it is good for digestion too!
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I’m laughing about all your blogging friends who are in ‘hiatus’. That’s a lovely way to describe it. I’m on-again, off-again, in and out of hiatus but wish I was more ‘on’ than ‘off’. Your kimchi is so beautifully presented and I keep hearing about how good it is for us to eat. I’ve replied to your comment on my blog. I’m not sure if you receive notifications?
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Oh, how great! The celeriac mix-in is such a good idea too. I’ve been treated to some delicious resto kimchi, but have not had a lot of luck with store bought versions (have tried many) so this recipe is most welcome. What a lovely gift from Barb and such a handsome jar – a keeper for sure :). I hear you on the bagged /small batch coleslaw – we go through a ton but I really appreciate the convenience at the end of a busy day.
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You are onto something! Kimchi seems to be really popular now. I think fermented foods are the hardest to get to like if you didn’t grow up with them, but Korean food has really become a favorite with so many people that your recipe is right on track.
How popular is it? Well, here in Ann Arbor we have a restaurant called “Miss Kim” that has offered kimchi tasting menus with lots of home-brewed varieties of kimchi.
best… mae at maefood.blogspot.com
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It’s been years since I made kimchi. It’s much easier than one might think as you say. I just have to share this video I made of me making kimchi from way, way, way back in the early days of my blog. The punch line of the video (again as you say) is how hard it is to wait for the fermentation to occur. GREG
https://www.sippitysup.com/the-kimchi-deficit/
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Congratulations, dear Eva! Your kimchi looks and sounds wonderful! You are so clever to use all these mixed vegetables! I’m happy you’ve finally made it! Thank you so much for all the kind words and links… you are so generous! It’s such a joy to encourage a friend to prepare something and realise she likes it too…
I also always try to choose smaller Chinese cabbage because it’s a lot for us, who don’t eat it every day! The good side is it keeps forever in the fridge (I now have a one year old kimchi and it still smells fantastic! and tastes great, especially in cooked stews and fried rice…).
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That looks like terrific kimchi Eva! I love the stuff and make a Japanese version (I know it’s Korean) that is a bit softer than the really strong kimchi.
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I’m so tempted to make kimchi! I’m just not too sure what to do with it once I’ve made it. I did see kimchi pancakes recently so I’m going to have to track them down! And I have a fermenter that I got as a Christmas gift from my daughters….
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Kimchi is good stuff! I like mine spicy. 🙂 Haven’t made any in ages, and now you have me craving it. 🙂 Thanks!
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Thumbs up for you making your own kimchi! Thanks for sharing, Eva.
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Hi Eva. Thanks for this recipe I was just going to go and look for one!
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