Kimchee (from memory, haven't made any for a couple of months)
This is how I make kimchee:
It's in two basic steps:
1) Salting the cabbage
Dissolve 1 cup of sea salt, kosher salt, or water softener salt (make sure it is pure salt with no silicone or other additives) in 1 gallon water.
Chop up 5 lbs (about 2 big heads) napa or chinese cabbage. I like smaller pieces, about 1 inch by 2 inches. There's no law that says you can't make them bigger or smaller.
I usually grate some carrot, julienne a large daikon radish, etc. I had very good results with a green Japanese type of daikon - very flavorful. I've even added sliced broccoli crowns with good results. I've also used regular red round radishes, sliced thin. These add some color. In any case, put the cabbage and other veggies into a large pot (stainless is good) with the salt brine. Press down with a plate that just fits the pot, and weigh it down with a baggie filled with more brine - the idea is to keep the cabbage etc completely submerged. Let it sit overnight.
The next day, blend the following:
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup chinese hot pepper flakes (you can use fresh hot peppers if you prefer, but the color may not be the same)
1 or more cloves garlic, peeled
1 chunk of ginger, peeled and sliced (to break the fibers)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 tsp japanese bonita fish powder
Any other herbs or spices you like
If you use a more funky fish powder or sauce, you may want to boil the spice mix before adding to the cabbage. I don't with the bonita powder (it's very clean) and haven't had any problems.
Drain the cabbage and other salted veggies. Rinse in fresh tap water and drain in colander.
Add the blended spice mix, fold it into the drained salted cabbage mix thoroughly. Weight it down again with a plate that just fits the container. Let this sit at room temp for 1-3 days, until it starts bubbling. Then refrigerate (you can repack it in smaller containers at this point. But place the containers in a dish or tray and keep the covers loose - the fermentation may continue and cause an overflow).
The kimchee can be eaten at any point. Early on it's more crunchy and sweet tasting. Letting it ferment at room temp and later in the fridge causes lactic acid to form, so it becomes more sour with more complex flavors. When you run low, save some of the liquid to add as a "starter" the next batch in the spice mix step.
I like to eat this kimchee all by itself, or with rice and meals as a sort of side dish/condiment. I have also found it adds a lot of flavor to the lowly hotdog, in lieu of relish (but with some mustard). Oh, you can probably add some powdered mustard to the spice mix as well for a more interesting taste.
The salt and the lactic acid keeps the cabbage and other veggies from spoiling and growing toxic bacteria/mold. I have found the kimchee will keep for weeks in the fridge. It does get more sour and a bit more odorous, but I haven't found it to be objectionable like some people claim. I bought a half gallon of authentic Korean kimchee (refrigerated) and found that my home prep is similar, with a less strong fishy taste. The store-bought had bigger chunks of cabbage as well.
My Mandarin teacher says that kimchee is good for one's health. I don't know, I just like the taste. I tend to like things like garlic kosher dill pickles, or pickled ginger.
When the kimchee gets too much character in the fridge, I've read it can be added to soup. I've tried adding it to a mexican tortilla soup (campbell's harvest select) and was pleased with the results. And of course you can add it to ramen to make a real kimchee soup!
