Kimchi

At June 16, 2010
By megan
In cabbage, CSA Challenge, kimchi, pickled things, Savory Spice Shop
0

Our CSA from Ollin Farms had 2 large heads of napa cabbage. I had never bought napa cabbage. Never cooked with it. Never did anything with it, ever. So, I had no idea what to do with 2 large heads of napa cabbage.

I googled it… turns out napa cabbage, also known as Chinese cabbage, is often used for Kimchi. Since my sister-in-law (or common-in-law if that exists?) lives in Korea, I happen to know what Kimchi is. It is a staple in Korean diets, made of fermented Chinese cabbage.

I recently bought a book titled The Joy of Pickling, and I followed its Kimchi recipe, which reads as follows:

3 TB plus 1 tsp pickling salt
6 cups water
1 large head napa cabbage, cored and cut into 2-inch squares
6 scallions, slivered lengthwise and cut into 2 inch slivers
1.5 TB minced fresh ginger
1.5 TB minced garlic
2 TB Korean ground dried hot pepper
1 tsp sugar

The directions say to dissolve 3 TB of pickling salt in the water, put the cabbage in a large pot, and cover it with the salt water. Weigh it down with a plate and let it sit for 12 hours.

Then you drain it, reserving the brine, and mix it with the rest of the ingredients.

Next, you pack it into a large jar, cover the top with some brine, put a bag into the top of the jar and fill that with brine, and then let it sit and ferment for 3-6 days. We’ll see if I like it.

By the way: I had all of the ingredients at home except for Korean dried peppers, so I went to Savory Spice Shop. Wouldn’t you know… they sell Korean dried peppers!