Monday, October 17, 2022

Time to Make the Kimchi

Last week in the garden we had three heads of Napa cabbage that had been just slightly frosted. The frost wasn't a big problem but three heads of cabbage for just two people was a lot. I made a big batch of Napa cabbage salad and then remembered something else. I had gotten John a kimchi kit for Christmas and since it's been sitting in the pantry for three years, it was time to finally use it. 

First, you cut up the cabbage into bite-size pieces and brine it in salt water for 1.5 hours. 


Then you drain it and rinse it well to get rid of any extra salt. 


While the cabbage is draining, you mix the packet of rice flour with 125 ml of water and cook it for a few minutes to basically make wallpaper paste. 


To the cooled rice flour concoction,  you add chopped ginger, onion, garlic, dried seaweed powder, and red pepper. This is supposed to make a thick paste that sticks to the cabbage pieces and allows it to ferment.


Then you just mix the rice flour paste and seasonings together with the cabbage, put it in a big bag to ferment in the refrigerator for a week or two, and voilĂ , you've made kimchi.


It helped to have everything in a little box so I didn't have to search for rice flour or seaweed powder. John loves kimchi, so we'll see what his verdict is in a week or two. At the very least, it used up plenty of Napa cabbage and hopefully produces something good to eat!

9 comments:

  1. I'll be curious to hear the verdict. I'm not a fan of Kimchi, but Colin & Mailing love it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm a bit skeptical of authentic kimchi in just a week, but I know you'll report back and let us know how it is!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ooo! We love kimchi... and have never tried making it! I suppose we are lucky to have a lovely Korean woman who makes the most delicious kimchi! I can't wait to see how it turns out! We eat kimchi fried rice at least once a week!

    (P.S. If you like a Reuben sandwich... it is most incredible with the addition of some kimchi!)

    ReplyDelete
  4. I am very fond of kimchi, so I am anxious to hear if this works well. I have to say, it is very typical that the man who received the kit never made the kimchi, and the woman who gave him the kit, eventually did. LOL!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I adore kimchi (Tom does, too) . . . but we've never tried to make it ourselves. (We're lucky to have friends who always make "too much" and share.) I can't wait to hear how yours turns out! What fun! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  6. I LOVE kimchi (my husband does not....). Never seen this kit though - soo cool.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I've never had kimchi, but I imagine I'd like it since I enjoy sauerkraut on a hot dog. I hope it turns out to be delicious!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm not a big fan of sauerkraut or kimchi, but John says it tastes okay!

      Delete
  8. I'm sheepishly admitting that I've never had kimchi. I'd love to try it, though, and I'm pretty sure I'd like it if I did.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for visiting and taking the time to comment! :-)