For the Love of Kimchi
When thinking of gut health, you need not look further than a lively batch of kimchi. Brought to us by Korea, I have found this spicy sour crunchy saucy bit of goodness addictive. I eat Kimchi at least once if not twice daily. It goes with a variety of food.
The traditional kimchi made with napa cabbage is perhaps the most familiar and available in most grocery stores in the refrigerated sections. But, in fact, there are many types of kimchi on the Korean table, made with a variety of ingredients. The health benefits of fermented foods are becoming widely known. In case you missed it, read my “Why Ferment?” article for more information on that.
But today, I want to dive head first into Napa cabbage kimchi. My first exposure to kimchi was in San Jose, California. My first job when I came to California (a New Hampshire transplant) was in a circuit board factory. My closest ally was a young Korean lady named Jung. She wanted to share her culture. What better way than to serve me kimchi! She warned me about the aroma of kimchi, as well as the spiciness. At 21, I was not ready for what I tasted. I’m sure it was the best kimchi ever, but my palate wasn’t prepared. We’ve long been out of touch. If only I had embraced that experience better!
After all these years, I have been researching recipes, trying out different brands from the Asian markets and looking at many videos as well as some k-dramas. I developed my own ideas on what I want from my kimchi and formulated a recipe that works well for my family’s taste. I use the traditional napa cabbage, carrot shred, Korean radish and lots of green onion. I make my slurry, or porridge, from cooked rice, onion, apple fish sauce, fermented shrimp paste, garlic, ginger and ample amounts of korean coarse grind red pepper and a bit of sugar.
I prefer using cooked rice rather than rice flour because I don’t have to cook the porridge before adding it to the cabbage mix. My container of choice to allow my kimchi to ferment is a box like storage with an inner lid used to squeeze out excess air. After a week, with regular checking and adjusting the inner lid, the kimchi is ready! It’s juicy and funky, sour and very spicy. My kimchi is great by itself, a great compliment to Korean dishes. It also works well in making kimchi stew, kimchi fried rice and kimchi pancakes. I will follow with my kimchi recipe. I hope you will try it and enjoy kimchi of your very own.
