This is by far my favourite Kimchi recipe to date. I say to date, as I have no intention of getting off the experimentation bus, and neither should you.
Kimchi is the national dish of Korea and consists of vegetables which are salted and fermented with garlic, ginger and chilli etc. It’s eaten as a side dish or used as a condiment. I can’t get enough of its umami goodness, smug in the knowledge that every bite is ridiculously good for me has a significant effect on gut health.
Ingredients:
- 2 chinese leaf cabbages
- 4 tbsp salt
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled & sliced
- 5 cm fresh ginger, peeled & sliced
- 2 tsp sugar
- 2 tbsp chilli powder (mild to medium heat)
- 10 spring onions, finely sliced
Method:
I use a large kilner jar with a water trap that prevents pressure building up during the lacto-fermentation process. If you don’t have one yourself, you may want to pop open the lid on your jar every now and again until it’s ready to go in the fridge.
- Chop your cabbages into 5cm chunks and discard the tough core. Place in a large bowl with the salt and give it all a good scrunch up.
- Pour in enough cold water to cover the cabbage and leave to stand for 2 hours with a plate over the top to keep it all submerged in the brine.
- Rinse the salt from the cabbage in a colander. Leave it to stand for half an hour to drain thoroughly.
- In a mortar and pestle (or small food processor), mash the ginger, garlic, chilli and sugar together into a paste.
- Squeeze any excess water from the cabbage and then thoroughly mix all of the ingredients together.
- Pack the mixture into your glass jar, pushing it all down until the juices rise up. You need to make sure that you leave a reasonable air gap at the top.
- Seal your jar and leave to ferment for 3 to 5 days before transferring to the fridge, where it will last for up to three months.
