kimchi.08

Recently, Trader Joe's started carrying kimchi, in a bag no less. Ryan found it & pointed it out to me. It was only $1.99, so I tried it, AND it was good! As in better than all the kimchi I've had since coming to Portland. oh my. I looked at the ingredients list and it was simple and things that are suppose to be in kimchi. So, I decided to modify my recipe to see if I could make even better kimchi.

The thing I've never tried, other than adding fish sauce, is making a flour and water base. I also poured in the left over juice from the TJ kimchi to help kick start the fermentation. I'll be really surprised if none of the kimchi at TJ explodes at some point (seriously, it's in a bag). 

Here's what I did (modified from Bap Story):

.ingredients.

half a Napa cabbage

1 C water

1 T sweet rice flour

7-8 cloves of garlic

good hunk of ginger (2-3")

3 T red chili powder

1 T agave

1 apple

2 shakes o' sea salt

3 green onions, cut however you like

.process.

cut cabbage into 1 inch hunks. place in bowl w/ some sea salt dissolved in hot water. then cover cabbage with cool water, so it's submerged. placed a plate and weight on top and let it sit overnight.

next day, drain and rinse cabbage. set aside.

warm 1 C water and add 1 T rice flour and whisk until combined. let simmer until runny glue consistency.

pour  water/flour mixture into mixing bowl. grate apple, ginger, and garlic into bowl. add 1 T agave or honey. add 3 T of red chili powder - less if you want less heat. add green onion and cabbage and mix with your hands (careful if you have cuts)!

stuff all into clean jar. press it a little to see the juice and have everything submerged. store in dark, cool spot for a few days. check it everyday and push everything down to submerge in juices. while checking, give it a taste and see if it's fermented to your liking. 3 days is usually good for me and then I stick it in the fridge and enjoy!

kimchi mixin'

i need a large jar!