There’s no better way to warm up on a cold day than with spicy-hot kimchi!
Good thing I have an annual tradition of making approximately 18 litres of the Korean red pepper cabbage ferment with my friend Joel.
But in preparation for the day-long event, I had to eat the rest of last year’s kimchi, which had been aging nicely in my fridge. You know it’s old when it starts to get a a little sparkly. But it’s not bad, then! And what you’re supposed to do at that point is cook with it. Two of the classics are a pork-based soup/stew with tofu called Kimchi Jigae and kimchi fried rice.
I made both. And I skipped the pork belly in the kimchi jigae, using a little homemade chicken broth to make it rich and deep instead. Besides, why would I add pig when there’s a ton of flavour already in the kimchi? It was absolutely delicious with tofu (rare that I write those words). If I could digest soy better, I’d eat that stew all the time!
The appeal of the kimchi fried rice is that the recipe is so simple. Leftover rice, whatever stir-fry-able vegetables (and/or meat) you have, and kimchi. It looks pretty interesting – bright red and all – but it’s amazing.
Kimchi 2016
Then there’s the kimchi extravaganza itself. We usually use fish sauce, which is traditional and makes it really funky as the cabbage ferments. But fish sauce has all kinds of junk in it (preservatives, caramel colour, hidden wheat and gluten), and as I can’t read Vietnamese (and am skeptical of the labelling, since even in Vietnam, there’s all sorts of words listed after “Ingredients:” on the label).
So Joel found a vegan fish sauce recipe online that was mushroom, seaweed and tomato based, and we used gluten free soy sauce in place of the regular wheat-y version. I definitely recommend this recipe from LandsandFlavors.com. After straining out the sauce, I kept the seaweed, mushroom and garlic solids to use as a soup base. It froze nicely. It was also great for snacking as-is. 
And as always, here’s the kimchi recipe we used. It’s rough, as in we adjust to taste and play with the ingredients. But kimchi is forgiving, as long as you use enough salt (and/or fish sauce) and enough Korean pepper flakes. The trick is patience…and having enough fridge space to store all that kimchi for a year…
Happy kimchi-ing!
Korean Kimchi with Daikon, Cabbage and Hot Red Pepper Flakes
Makes six 500mL jars or three 1L jars
Use only Korean chili flakes (“gochugaru”) in this recipe, which you can find at Asian supermarkets. There are many brands. I used Bidan. Just make sure the only ingredient is hot pepper.
Ingredients:
2 lbs Chinese cabbage
1 whole daikon radish or 10 small red radishes
1 to 2 carrots
1 large onion and/or leek (white part only), or 1 bunch scallions or 5 shallots
We also added chives, purple daikons and a yellow onion
Brine:
8 cups of water
60 mg (~1/2 cup) non-iodized salt
Pepper paste:
6 cloves garlic
6 tbsp grated ginger
1 cup Korean red pepper flakes
¼ cup fish sauce or soy sauce (or vegan fish sauce)
Directions:
Chop the cabbage into 1-inch slices crossways. Chop the daikon into rectangular slices about ¼” thick (you want piece that are thin enough to ferment well but won’t disappear into the dish). Chop carrots to match, and slice onions (if you’re using green onions don’t add them yet). Stir salt into water in a very large mixing bowl. Add all chopped vegetables. Leave for 1-2 hours.
In a medium bowl, grate the ginger (you don’t have to peel it unless it’s really old and knobby), grate or mince garlic, and slice scallions or green onions. Add the pepper flakes and fish sauce. Drain the vegetables and taste. They should taste salty, but not so salty that you wouldn’t want to eat it. If too salty, rinse well.
Wearing kitchen gloves, mix vegetables with the ginger-chili paste for 5 minutes, until cabbage softens. Stuff into clean jars. Push down so there’s liquid on top of cabbage. Press parchment paper or plastic bag of brine on top so it touches as much of the surface of the liquid as possible. Remove air bubbles with a chopstick if necessary. Set on a tray to catch overflowing juice. Store in a cool place, smelling and tasting daily for 2-7 days. Don’t seal the jar or it could explode! In a hotter room, the fermentation will happen faster. The more salt, the slower the fermentation (it’s a preservative). If stored in a cool basement (or any colder place), kimchi ferments more slowly, the vegetables stay firmer and they develop more complex flavors. There’s also less chance of oxidation (undesirable sparkly kimchi). If kimchi appears dry, press down on cabbage to force juices to cover all ingredients. When fermented to your taste, cover jars with lids and transfer to fridge. Discard parchment paper or brine bag.
Kimchi keeps for about 6 months to a year. If white mold grows beneath the top layer, discard the kimchi. But if mold develops on top, scrape it off and keep the healthful kimchi underneath.
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