Red Miso Kimchi Food

WATERMELON KIMCHI

Steps:

• Sprinkle the watermelon rind with the salt and toss to combine. Set aside for 30 minutes until the moisture has drawn out. Drain the rind and pat dry on a paper-towel-lined baking sheet.
• Add 1 cup of the watermelon flesh, fish sauce, sugar, garlic, ginger and onion to a food processor. Pulse until combined. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the gochugaru. Add the drained watermelon rind and the scallions and toss to combine. Transfer to a jar and let it rest for at least 12 hours before serving.

QUICK KIMCHI

Steps:

• Make this spicy Korean condiment, then turn it into fried rice or serve it with your steak: Pulse 3 chopped red jalapenos, 4 garlic cloves, 1/4 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons chopped ginger, 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes and 2 tablespoons each fish sauce and salt in a food processor. Cut 1/2 head napa cabbage and 6 scallions into 2-inch pieces; toss with the jalapeno paste. Refrigerate at least 4 hours.

KIMCHI

Steps:

• Brine cabbage: Cut cabbage vertically into 4-6 wedges (depending on cabbage size), keeping the root ends intact so the leaves remain attached. In a small bowl, combine salt and sugar. Place cabbage wedges on a flat surface. Working with one wedge at a time, separate leaves and spread sugar/salt mixture between every layer.
• Place prepared cabbage in a large, nonreactive container and add water. Cover cabbage with plastic wrap and put a weighted bowl on top. In less than an hour, the cabbage will soften and shrink as the leaves release water, and the level of brining solution will rise. Let sit at room temperature, 8-12 hours. Meanwhile, make the marinade, Steps 3 & 4.
• Start marinade: Place gochugaru in a bowl and hydrate with ½ cup water and set aside, 5-10 minutes. Peel the Asian pear, cut into pieces, and place in food processor; add the salted shrimp and peeled garlic cloves. Purée until smooth, 30 seconds; pour mixture into the hydrated gochugaru. Set aside.
• Finish marinade: Trim ends of the radish, cut in half, and slice away the fibrous outer layer. Using a mandoline fitted with the thin julienne blade, carefully make long matchsticks of each radish half, stopping when the radish pieces get too small to safely continue. (Reserve leftover radish for use in another recipe, such as Chef Kim's Seafood Soft Tofu Stew.) Place julienned radish in the bowl with the other marinade ingredients. Peel the onion, cut in half, thinly slice, and add to the marinade. Trim scallions, slice into 1-inch batons, and add to the marinade; then add fish sauce. Put on rubber gloves and thoroughly mix the marinade to combine all the ingredients. Add remaining water and continue mixing until the marinade is thick, like wet sand. Cover with plastic wrap placed directly on top of the marinade; refrigerate until the cabbage is fully brined and ready to be marinated.
• After 8 hours of brining, check the cabbage: the leaves should be pliable and bend easily. (If they are not yet ready, continue brining.) Remove as much liquid as possible from each wedge: starting at the larger end, squeeze and twist the brine from the cabbage as though you're wringing out a towel. Discard the brining liquid.
• Marinate cabbage: Using rubber gloves, hold the cabbage and turn the leaves as though you're turning the pages of a book; use your free hand to rub the marinade liberally on each leaf. (This can get messy; be aware that the marinade can stain surfaces.) Once there's marinade between every layer, fold the cabbage wedge in half to make a tidy bundle, and stuff into a jar. Fill jars as tightly as possible with marinated cabbage, about 2 bundles per jar, and fill in any air pockets with leftover marinade. Place lids tightly on the jars and wrap in aluminum foil to keep out the light; store jars in the back of the refrigerator, where it's coldest. Allow kimchi to ferment for 2 weeks, opening the jars every 3-4 days to release built-up pressure and to taste. (It's an opportunity to experience how the flavor and texture change throughout the fermentation process!)
• After 2 weeks, each leaf should be consistent in color and texture, and you will have kimchi that's ready to serve. To serve, slice off the root end and slice the kimchi horizontally in 2-inch pieces, keeping the leaves neatly stacked. Serve alongside rice and soup or a main dish.

KIMCHI AND MISO NOODLE SOUP

Steps:

• First, put your mushrooms into a bowl with the tamari, lemon juice and 1 tablespoon of the honey, and put to one side to marinate for at least 15 minutes.
• Cook the soba noodles according to packet instructions. Drain and run under cold water, then toss in 1 tablespoon of the sesame oil.
• Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in a large soup pan over medium to high heat. Once the mushrooms have had their marinating time, drain them but keep the marinade Add the mushrooms to the pan in a single layer with a pinch of salt (you can do this in batches if you need to). Cook until the mushrooms are golden where they meet the pan, then toss and keep cooking until the mushrooms are deeply browned all over-this should take 5 minutes or so. Remove from the pan and set aside.
• Fill and boil the kettle. Put the empty pan back over medium heat, add the scallions and sauté for a few minutes before adding the ginger and gochujang paste. After another minute or so, add the garlic and the drained kimchi. Sizzle until the garlic is starting to brown around the edges. Add 5 cups (1 1/4 liters) of water from the kettle along with the remaining tablespoon of honey and bring to a boil. Now, add the broccoli and simmer for 1 minute, or just until the broccoli becomes bright green.
• Remove the soup from the heat. Place the miso in a small bowl and whisk it with a splash of the broth to thin it out. Stir the thinned miso into the soup. Taste your soup; you really need to get the balance right here. If the broth tastes a bit flat, you might need more salt or miso, or a splash of soy sauce.
• Just before serving, cut the tofu into little 3/4-inch (2-cm) pieces-you'll have about 1 cup-and drizzle it with the reserved marinade from the mushrooms.
• To serve, divide the noodles among four bowls and ladle over the soup. Top with to tofu, mushrooms, and a sprinkle of sesame seeds. Finish with more soy if you like, a squeeze of lemon or lime, and the shiso or cilantro leaves if using.

INSTANT KIMCHI

Steps:

• Tear Napa cabbage into bite size pieces. Cut Romaine lettuce into 1/3 inch strips. Toss in large bowl with spring onions. In a small bowl combine red pepper flakes, ginger, garlic, sesame oil, vinegar and soy sauce. Pour over greens and toss well to coat. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

BAECHU KIMCHI

Steps:

• For the cabbage: Shave off any brown areas near the root of each cabbage and remove any outer leaves that are wilted or have holes, leaving a few for wrapping the cabbage in a bundle at the end of the coating process. Using a knife, make a 3-inch incision lengthwise from the root end of each cabbage and split open in half with your hands. Make another 3-inch incision from the root end of each half and split in half again into quarters.
• Make the brining solution: Combine 1 cup of the salt and 10 cups water in a large bowl and mix until most of the salt is melted. Dip each cabbage quarter in the brining solution and shake dry directly above the solution.
• After all of the cabbage is dipped and dried, use the remaining salt to distribute among the cabbage, working a quarter wedge at a time. Place the root end of each facing you, working over another large bowl. Gather the leaves with one hand and flip them open as though you're turning the pages of a book; use your other hand to salt the leaves, 1/2 teaspoon to 1 teaspoon per leaf at a time, depending on the size of the leaf. Salt well on the thick white part, closer to the root, rather than the leafy ends. Make sure to use the entire 1 cup salt for this step. (If you run out of salt while salting, continue with more salt up to 1/2 cup; oversalting can deter the fermentation process, so do not go over 1/2 cup.)
• Once the cabbage is all salted, place back in the brining solution cut-side down. If there is any salt left behind in the large bowl (or any salt sticking to your hands), add it back to the brining solution. Rotate and gently press down on the cabbage every 1 to 2 hours to ensure each quarter is submerged in the brining solution at some point. In the beginning of the brining process, not all of the cabbage quarters will be sitting in the brining solution. Let sit at room temperature until the thickest white part of each becomes pliable and bends over in half without breaking, 6 to 8 hours. If the thick white part cracks loudly and there is a rip where you folded it over, then it needs more time.
• For the dasima anchovy broth: While the cabbage is brining, add the dasima and 4 cups cold water to a medium pot. Let sit until the dasima doubles in size and the water turns a slight green-yellow, about 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, remove the heads of the dasima anchovies and split them in half along the spines to remove the guts. Set aside.
• Bring the dasima pot to a boil over medium-high heat; boil until the dasima starts to foam around the sides, 1 to 2 minutes. Discard the dasima, then add the cleaned anchovies and dried shiitake. Lower the heat to low and cook at a gentle boil (where you see 2 to 3 bubbles appearing on the surface at most), for 10 minutes. At this point, some broth will have evaporated and the remaining broth will be slightly darker. Turn off the heat and let sit for 5 more minutes. Strain through a mesh strainer. Reserve the pot for later use. Cool the broth completely in the refrigerator.
• When the cabbage is properly brined, drain it and discard the brining solution. Submerge the cabbage in a running bath of cold water and wash, massaging and rubbing the thick white part of each quarter between your fingers, one leaf at a time. Drain and repeat this 2 to 4 more times, until the thick white part closest to the root is no longer slippery. Tear off a piece of cabbage and taste. The cabbage should taste seasoned after a thorough wash. Hold each quarter wedge root-side up and with one hand, gently squeeze out the water from the leafy part. Be careful not to rip the leaves as you squeeze. Shake gently to separate the leaves and place back in a colander root-side up to drain for 1 to 2 hours.
• For the rice glue: Add the glutinous rice flour, sugar and 2 cups cold dasima anchovy broth to the reserved pot and whisk until combined. Place the pot over medium-high heat and cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture starts thickening and comes to a boil, 5 to 6 minutes. Switch to a silicone spatula, lower the heat to medium low and continue to cook, stirring, until the mixture is thick enough to coat the spatula, about 1 minute. (This mixture will thicken as it sits; you should have a total of 2 cups.) Remove from the heat and transfer to a heatproof container to cool immediately in the refrigerator.
• For the paste: Put the fish sauce, dried bori shrimp, garlic, salted shrimp, quartered onion, ginger and apple in a blender and process until smooth. Transfer the blended mixture to a large bowl and whisk in the gochugaru and glue until combined. Add the radish, chives and sliced onion and stir again until incorporated. (Keep in mind that this paste is supposed to be salty.)
• Place a quarter wedge of cabbge, root end facing you, in a big bowl. Gather the leaves with one hand and flip them open as though you're turning the pages of a book; use your other hand to brush with roughly 1 tablespoon of the kimchi paste one leaf at a time, working from root to tip. Coat the entire leaf thoroughly with paste; slide most of the vegetables in the paste down by the thick white part closest to the root before moving on to the next leaf. Make sure not to coat too heavily in the beginning, as there are many cabbage quarters to coat. When finished coating, press down on all the leaves and curl up the leafy parts. Wrap the two largest, outermost leaves of each wedge around the entire wedge in a tight bundle. Repeat for the remaining wedges.
• Pack the cabbage in a clean, airtight container as tightly as possible, pressing down gently to squeeze out as much air as you can. Use a weight or a plate to weigh down the cabbage, leaving an inch or more of space on top, as the cabbage will release liquid and build up pressure as it ferments. Allow the cabbage to ferment for 2 to 4 days at room temperature on a kitchen countertop, away from the sunlight or heat, opening the container every 1 to 2 days to release built-up pressure and press down to submerge the cabbage in its juices. The kimchi will release more liquid as it sits, and bubbles will start forming; it will become slightly effervescent. (Keep in mind that the kimchi juice ferments faster than the cabbage, so taste the cabbage, especially closer to the thick root parts, as it ferments.) The kimchi will change in level of salt, flavor and texture throughout the fermentation process; when the kimchi has reached the desired level of pungency and taste, store in the refrigerator for up to 6 months.
• To serve, slice off the root and cut the kimchi horizontally in 1- to 2-inch pieces, keeping the leaves neatly stacked. Serve alongside rice and/or soup.