Kimchee Food

KIMCHEE

Steps:

• Chop cabbage coarsely and place in a large dish.
• Sprinkle cabbage with salt; let stand 3-4 hours.
• Squeeze cabbage dry with hands and place in another bowl.
• Add remaining ingredients except sesame oil, and mix well.
• Refrigerate at least 24 hours before serving.
• Sprinkle with a few drops of sesame oil on each serving, if desired.

QUICK SPICY KIMCHEE

Steps:

• Remove outer leaves from cabbage. Cut cabbage in quarters and remove the tough inner core. Slice across sections into 1/2-inch slices. Put into a colander, add salt, and mix well. Place over a bowl and let drain, covered, until wilted, about 2 hours.
• In a large bowl combine the vinegar and sugar and stir to dissolve. Add the chili paste, ginger, garlic, and scallions and stir. Rinse the salt off the cabbage with a couple of changes of water. Dry well and add to the vinegar mixture; stir well to combine. Put into a sterilized glass jar and pack the cabbage down; add enough water to cover. Close the jar and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. This is spicy and gets spicier the longer it sits - add or subtract chili paste to your taste.

QUICK KIMCHI

Steps:

• Slice the cabbage into 2.5cm strips. Tip into a bowl, mix with 1 tbsp sea salt, then set aside for 1 hr. Meanwhile, make the kimchi paste by blending the garlic, ginger, fish sauce (if using), chilli sauce, sugar and rice vinegar together in a small bowl.
• Rinse the cabbage under cold running water, drain and dry thoroughly. Transfer to a large bowl and toss through the paste, along with the radishes, carrot and spring onions. Serve straight away or pack into a large jar, seal and leave to ferment at room temperature overnight, then chill. Will keep in the fridge for up to 2 weeks - the flavour will improve the longer it's left.

TRADITIONAL KIMCHI

Steps:

• Place cabbage and radish in a large colander. Sprinkle liberally with salt and mix to combine. Set aside for 1 hour. Add additional salt, mix, and set aside 1 hour more. Rinse cabbage and let drain.
• Meanwhile, combine garlic, onion, ginger, and rice vinegar in a blender. Add water and blend aromatic mixture on high power.
• Transfer drained cabbage to a large bowl and add aromatic mixture. Add persimmon, cucumber, green onions, and red pepper flakes and mix well.
• Transfer kimchi to airtight containers and refrigerate for 3 days.

KIMCHI

Steps:

• Place the cabbage in a large bowl, sprinkle with 2 tablespoons (17 grams) of the salt, and toss to coat. After 15 minutes, massage and squeeze the cabbage until it begins to release liquid. Set aside for another 15 minutes, then massage again and set aside for another 15 minutes.
• Place the daikon in a medium bowl and season with the granulated sugar and 1 teaspoon of the salt. Set aside for 15 minutes.
• Whisk the gochugaru, water, brown sugar, and the remaining 1 teaspoon salt in a third medium bowl to form a coarse paste.
• To make the kimchi flavor paste, use either a mini-food processor, mortar and pestle, or immersion blender and a jar to puree the pear, onion, 10 grams (about 1/6) of the ginger, 6 grams (about 1/4) of the garlic, and the salted shrimp until smooth. Add this to the gochugaru mixture and stir to combine.
• Squeeze as much liquid as you can from the daikon without breaking the pieces and add to the cabbage, along with the scallions, the remaining ginger and garlic, and the kimchi paste.
• Position a gallon-size zip-top bag inside a pitcher or some other vessel that will allow it to be held open for loading. Wearing disposable gloves, mix the kimchi paste into the cabbage mixture with your hands, being sure to thoroughly coat the cabbage with the paste (see Cook's Note).
• Transfer the mixture to the plastic bag, then ditch the gloves and seal the bag, working out as much air as possible. The lactic acid bacteria that will magically transform the humble ingredients into kimchee prefer anaerobic environments.
• Place the sealed bag flat on a sheet pan or large baking dish and leave at room temperature until the mixture has bubbled enough to inflate the bag, at least 24 hours, but possibly up to 3 days. Transfer the kimchi and its liquid into two wide-mouthed quart-size glass jars with lids and refrigerate. Consume immediately for very fresh kimchi, or leave it for a month for a kimchi that's deeply flavored, well-rounded, and slightly effervescent.
• Refrigerated, kimchi will basically never go bad and will actually improve in flavor for months after going into the jar. Cooking will mellow its flavors, so if it gets too funky for you, it's time to make kimchi fried rice.

KIMCHI OR KIMCHEE

Steps:

• Cut cabbage into four sections through the core.
• Starting at the end of the leaves, cut cabbage diagonally back and forth until you reach the core. (Cabbage will be in large square pieces).
• Cut radish into large chunks (if you want to be able to use them independently) or into julienne strips.
• Layer cabbage and radish in your sink with the salt. Put about 1/2 cup salt for every two inches of cabbage. Make sure you end with salt.
• Add water to almost cover cabbage.
• Let stand. After 1 1/2 hours start checking the cabbage by rubbing a piece between your fingers. If it's slippery, rinse it and taste it. If it's pleasantly salty then it's ready. Be sure not to let the cabbage stand too long or it will become too salty and will be inedible.
• Fill the sink with water until it covers the cabbage then fish the cabbage out of the sink. Return the cabbage to the sink and rinse it this way two or three times until all the cabbage is thoroughly rinsed.
• Drain cabbage by placing it in large colander or by letting it sit in your unstopped sink.
• Make the pul by mixing the rice flour and water in a small sauce pan and heating to boiling, stirring constantly. Let cool. If you don't have rice flour you can add water to cooked rice and boil it until the water is very cloudy. Use one cup of this water.
• Mix pul and remaining ingredients in very large bowl. The amount of red pepper you use should depend on how hot you want your kim chee. There are many kinds of fish sauce. The one cup measurement is for a thin sauce (consistency like soy sauce). For thicker sauces, use less sauce (1/4 to 1/2 cup).
• Wearing plastic or rubber gloves, begin mixing the cabbage with the sauce. Use your hands and mix a little cabbage at a time then push it to the side of the bowl until you have mixed all the cabbage. This will help you mix the cabbage and sauce evenly.
• Place kim chee in large containers that have tight fitting lids (otherwise it will smell up your fridge).
• You can eat the kim chee immediately, but most Korean women recommend that you leave it outside of the fridge for one day, then store it in the fridge but wait one week after that before you eat it. I can't tell you what the difference is because my husband doesn't wait that long.
• Enjoy.