Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Korean KimChi

My MOM gave me a Chinese cabbage yesterday. I am not sure what I am going to do with it. I mean, I don't want to cook it since there are still food left over in the fridge from yesterday. Certainly, I don't want it to go rotten either. What to do? What to do? Then I came up with an idea. Why not make Kimchi? I don't have to eat right away;yet, it can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 months.


I started out with a Chinese cabbage.



After cutting it into small pieces, I added the salt.



Then, I rinsed with water a few times. Below are the items I will add next.


I added the following: ginger, spring onion, and garlic.


After that, chili powder was added.


Then the rest of the remaining ingredients were added : fish sauce, sugar, a little bit of water. Mix well.




Let it sit over night. Then it will become like this.



Taste it again. Add more sugar, salt, chilli powder if needed. Then put in jar.





Ingredients:
1 fresh Chinese cabbage
1/2 cup salt
1 cup Korean chilli powder (use less if you don't like it spicy)
2 Tbps fish sauce
2 tbsp white sugar
7 spring onions, washed and sliced on an angle into slices about 1-2″ long
7 cloves of garlic, (1/2 crushed & 1/2 sliced)
2 Tbps of ginger
Method:
1. Cut the cabbage in halves or quarters and put in a large bowl.
2. Add salt to the cabbage. Set it aside.
3. After an hour, drain water from the cabbage.
4. Rinse the cabbage a few time in clean water, then squeeze as much water out.
5. Add the garlic, ginger, and spring onion.
6. Add the chilli powder, and mix well.
7. Add the rest of the ingredients (fish sauce, and sugar)
8. Taste it.
9. Let it sits overnight.
10. Taste it again.
11. Put in jar.
12.This can be stored in your fridge for up to 3 months.
Note: When you taste your kimchi, add sugar if it's not sweet. Add salt or more fish sauce if it's not salty enough. Add more chilli powder if it's not spicy enough for you. Usually, people put outside for at least 3 days before they put in their fridge. I don't like my kimchi too sour. Therefore, one day is good enough for me. Verdict: It's crunchy, sweet, a little sour, and spicy! Just the way I like it.

Kimchi would go well with any meat dish. Enjoy!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Trucvy-Zoe,
Thank you for such a wonderful website. My son was born in Korea and adopted into our family as an American/German dual citizen. I do not have experience in cooking Korean or Vietnamese foods but want for him to know the flavors of the culture he comes from. It is really great to see the dishes and have recipes so that I can learn to cook authentic Korean foods for our family. Your site is organized in such a great way and I am SO HUNGRY after I browse through the great photos. My sister-in-law Ji told me about your site. It's a treasure!
Sandra

Zoe said...

Hi Sandra,
Thank you for visiting my blog. I guess I have to thanks Ji for this. I am glad that you like my web site. As for Korean food, I don't cook it as much compare to Vietnamese or Chinese food. I guess I will try to make more Korean dishes since I do enjoy Korean food as well. Hope you have a great Thanksgiving!

Cheers,
Zoe

little corner of us said...

Hi Zoe
This one too! I just leave my comment on your cucumber kimchi.
My husband and I love korean kimchi. We have lot of korean markets and restaurant around but I have never tried to make it. This time, will definitely try your recipe. THanks.