Kimchi is Great on French Fries

tomturbomatic · Jan 14, 2017

Sorry, all. The other day, I found kosher kimchi. It is made in South Korea. The brand name is Chongga. I guess the main difference between it and most kimchi is that it does not contain the shrimp sauce, but it tastes like the kimchi I have had in a noodle restaurant, is vegan and halal. So I tried it on French Fries and it was good. It is good on hard cooked eggs. Tonight I tried it with hummus and liked the additional flavor. Finally, I made tuna salad and chopped some kimchi into it and that tasted good, too.

I have no idea what sort of assault the fermented cabbage and red chili peppers will wreak on my guts, but kimchi, like sauerkraut and half sour pickles contains beneficial Lactic Acid Bacteria and in the case of kimchi, Lactobacillus kimchii along with essential vitamins and carotenes.

So that is my big adventure, finding a food that I like in a form I can eat. I guess if anyone has allergies to shellfish, they could enjoy this particular kimchi, too.

http://https//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kimchi

mikael3 · Jan 15, 2017

I would think the problem with kosher kimchi is the production line and storage vessels, which of course have to be up to kosher standards. Really, all sorts of Asian recipes are kosher, but because pork and shellfish are so common in Asian food, they render all the cooking vessels and refrigerators treif. There’s also the issue of processing the cabbage and such properly to make sure there is no danger of insect infestation.

I’m in shock that anyone would find it worthwhile to do the work necessary to produce kosher kimchi in any quantity, but I suppose a kosher sauerkraut business could easily expand into kimchi.

sudsmaster · Jan 15, 2017

I love kimchi. I make my own 2-3 times a year (it keeps in the fridge for a long time). I guess mine would qualify as kosher, because I don't use shrimp either. Instead I use bonito powder and flakes for fish component. I've made it the traditional way with Napa cabbage etc, but also with coleslaw shredded cabbage and carrots. Either way it's good, although the western cabbage is tougher and takes longer to ripen in the fridge.

I've never tried it on french fries, but find the kimchi makes an excellent topping for, of all things, hot dogs. Yum. Sort of like a hot sauerkraut, esp the kimchi made with coleslaw cut cabbage.

The only thing that might mean my kimchi isn't 100% kosher is that I use rock salt for the brine mixture. Typically I buy it in a big sack, designed for water softener systems. It's 99.8% pure with no additives, so no worries about anything interfering with the fermentation. The pepper flakes I get from local Asian groceries, and I make sure it's from Korea.

I usually add thin sliced radishes, or grated radish, either red globe or Asian white, as well as plenty of minced garlic and ginger. I've also added other veggies like bok choy and gai lan (chinese broccoli).

As for the gut, yes, the microbes in kim chi, properly prepared, are considered to be beneficial. The hot peppers are usually not strong enough to upset the gut, but if one's gut is sensitive to spicy stuff, then one should probably avoid things like kim chi anyway.

mikael3 · Jan 15, 2017

It’s very tedious to make sure that leafy vegetables are kosher. I can’t remember the details, but you have to submerge them in water for a certain amount of time, look for bugs, repeat if necessary. I can’t quite imagine how it’s done on a large scale.

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mikael3 · Jan 15, 2017

I agree that kimchi is easy to make at home. There are lots of recipes online for Westerners who don’t routinely cook Asian food, and they have just Nappa cabbage, salt, and chiles, with a few extra flavorings. Kosher fish sauce is also available, but I have no idea about the different brands. Kimchi is also good without the fish sauce, and I think that’s a common style in many parts of Korea.

tomturbomatic · Jan 16, 2017

I tried it on fried okra and find that I prefer what in the south is called pepper sauce, which is hot peppers in vinegar. Okra just needs more than what this kimchi offers.

sudsmaster · Jan 16, 2017

Well, there are many varieties of Kimchee. Some hot, some not as hot. I can vary the hotness when I make it at home. Sometimes I've added hot fresh peppers like Serrano or Superchili. Depends on what you want. But it's not really meant as a sauce, per se, although the kimchee juice can liven up a soup.

tomturbomatic · Jan 17, 2017

This was not a question of heat, just that the additional flavor was not needed so the hot vinegar worked great.

daveamkrayoguy · Jan 18, 2017

I remember a Chinese buffet having these black veggie thingies being Kimchi that I didn't try and another visit didn't see, but fortunately at another one I'd gone to years later, did get to...

Here is a sauce I bought that I put on just about everything--even macaroni!--that I better have a good glass of ice water by me when I use:

-- Dave

sudsmaster · Jan 18, 2017

Never seen black Kimchee.

Usually it's reddish, from the hot peppers.

joe_in_philly · Jan 20, 2017

Koreans usually eat kimchi with every meal. I was in Korea a couple months ago and stayed at my friend's parent's home a few days. They have a separate, full-sized specialized kimchi refrigerator. That thing held a lot of kimchi! They also had a built-in dish towel/cutting board/utensil sterilizer, something I had never seen before.

https://m.alibaba.com/product/115710547/-PSECO-Built-in-UV-Sterilizer.html

http://https//www.elandappliance.com/products/daewoo/frkq38nbs.html

vacerator · Jan 20, 2017

What an experience Joe!

My neighbors son in Surprise (zip 85379) is living in Japan for two years. He is a Nissan engineer.
They visited in September and said it was amazing. They are from Poland, emigrated here in 1972, and enjoyed tasting all the new cuisine.
Korean's also ferment many types of beans to use in cooking.
For each year they ferment, the aroma's flavors change.
Koreans in Los Angeles also do this.
I have learned so much about the world not only in my job, but from knowing many people from all over.
I volunteer at a hospital, and another volunteer went to Korea last year to help adopt a baby for a couple.
Our mail carrier adopted their son from Guatemala. The birth mother was too young, single, and wanted to become a nurse.
His grand parents live on our street. He is now in the 5th grade, and very intelligent.

norgeway · Jan 21, 2017

Kimchi

Is something I have heard of but never seen..

vacerator · Jan 21, 2017

Hans,

it is likely hard to find in some areas.
It's cabbage, it's spicy, sour, and with varying degrees of heat.
You could make it.
Chinese nappa cabbage, vinegar, a bit of oil, salt, and hot chili pepper of most any variety, paprika, you can get the hot type also.
It must cure for at least two weeks in the refrigerator.

tomturbomatic · Jan 21, 2017

If you can find a pho noodle restaurant, it is a standard condiment. If you can find an Asian grocery or a grocery with an international section, it will be in a refrigerated case.

daveamkrayoguy · Jan 21, 2017

DaveAMKrayoGuy & The Kimchi Cabbage/Kimchi Cabbage Sauce

Well, maybe the stuff that I saw at the buffet was a dark red--I remember it having a pungent odor & being not so sure if I would want to try it or not, and when I went to that buffet the next time I don't think it was there--but I go to try some oysters in the shells there at least...

So years later, I did try the kimchi at another place & it was quite good... As for my sauce, I can't believe it but have been one of the most expensive that I'd ever bought... That and some Chinese mustard that I have, too, after missing out on a big bottle of it the same size as other mustards that was naked down; but found a good size...

So definitely try this stuff while you can & while it's here if hoy udon't ever get the opportunity to go there...

-- Dave

sudsmaster · Jan 21, 2017

Mediocre kimchee may be easy to make.

Real kimchee is not all that easy. You have to follow rules.

One: don't add vinegar. It's pointless. You want the bacteria in the fermentation to supply their own acid.

Two: don't omit the brining step. This involves soaking the cut veggies in a saturated salt water solution at room temp overnight, in a cylindrical container with a plate or disk holding all the veggies under the solution.

Three: Rinse off the brine and then toss the brined veggies with a mixture of korean red pepper flakes (if the package has Korean all over it, it's probably OK), ginger, garlic, a little salt, a little sugar, fish sauce/powder/flakes, and enough water to make it flow and allow it to coat the veggies with a little left over. The purpose of the fish and sugar is to add enough protein for the desired bacteria munch on. It also adds some flavor.

Four: Incubate the coated veggies for 2-3 days at room temp, again with a plate on top to keep everything submerged. When it starts bubbling from fermentation action, it's ready for the next step.

Five: Keeping the material submerged, move it to a fridge to complete the process. Usually (in my experience) two weeks is needed for full flavor to develop. Although Kimchee fresh from the first fermentation isn't bad, either.

Six: The kimchee should be quite acidic with a nice spicy flavor. If the veggies were properly brined, they won't be soft and mushy, but will still have some crispness and bite.

Seven: The kimchee can keep a long time in the fridge, if it's kept covered and submerged as described. We're talking weeks to months.

Kimchee uses a method not unlike that used for naturally fermented sauerkraut or pickles, which these days a very hard to find in markets. It was developed in Korea as a way to preserve fresh fall vegetables (cabbage, radish, etc) for the coming winter months. I understand the acidity is from bacteria that produce lactic acid. Not sure if it's the same as in yogurt, but it's said to be good for digestion. You could say it gives your gut a head start.

The bacteria that grow in the initial room temp fermentation stage are said to be different from the bacteria that grow in the second refrigerated stage. The first ones grow rather quickly at room temp. The ones that grow and "cure" in the second refrigerated stage seem to grow a lot slower. I've read that for best results a fridge temp over 40 F is best. My fridges are set to about 334-36F, but the kimchee seems to do OK anyway. As stated earlier, Korean family often have a fridge dedicated for storing kimchee. This is partly because the aroma can be unpleasant for other fridge items. I don't find this to be an issue, but then my kimchee goes fairly light on the fish side (I use bonito powder or flakes instead of fish, clams, shrimp, or anchovies).

If you kimchee gets moldy... you did it wrong!

vacerator · Jan 22, 2017

Wow Sudsmaster,

thank's for all the information!
The program I saw on fermenting the bean pastes and curds they used no refrigeration. It was being done out doors. It may be to humid in some climates to do that? Seems very complex.

sudsmaster · Jan 22, 2017

I understand the traditional Korean method is to bury earthen pots filled with kimchee underground. I suppose that's a natural form of refrigeration. Keeps the stuff cooler in summer and prevents it from freezing in the winter.

I've been on camping trips where we buried stuff like cheese in a pit in the campground, and put a big rock over it (to keep it cool and the raccoons out of it). I've been told a traditional Southern way of storing ham was also to bury it. Most likely after it was smoke-cured.

Kimchi is Great on French Fries

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