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!

kimchi notes (to self)

kimchi batch 05.

.ingredients.

half a small purple cabbage

1 bunch of bok choy

several radishes

1 leek (added after salting)

1 white peach

chunk of ginger

several garlic cloves

2 T red pepper flakes

.process.

soaked over night & following day in 2 T salt & water to cover.

rinsed veggies and added chopped leek, pinch of salt.

mix all in paste of shredded ginger, garlic, peach, and red pepper flakes.

filled 1 full jar and 1/3 of another jar.

let it sit/ferment in cupboard for 3-4 days (pushing down each day w/ a spoon) & then,

put in fridge.

.results.

yummy! The color of the juice is vibrant purple and the addition of radish is delicious.

kimchi : batch 03 is the most successful yet! it smells great and is packing a spicy punch. it's still lacking a bit in complexity of flavors and I did under salt this time to compensate for salty, inedible batch 02.
notes:
used one head of bok choy
soaked overnight in 2 Tbs salt + water (enough to submerge leaves)
1/4 cup of red pepper flakes + water
3 cloves of garlic
1 ripe pear
2 green onions


so, i left out ginger, as i had none, & fish sauce. i think those two ingredients definitely make a difference. we'll find out in batch 04. also, it will be nice to use napa cabbage as i love, love the texture and flavor. looking forward to making kimchi fried rice when batch 03 gets too sour for my liking.

recent projects

i feel obsessed with making! i must knit the perfect sweater and make the perfect necklace! i don't know how i will make the perfect anything, as my tastes change so quickly. nonetheless, that seems to be the goal. pictured above, i've just finished knitting my version of the "tala tank top" from Wool and the Gang. i couldn't bring myself to spend the $80 or so dollars on the kit (though their yarn is gorgeous), so again, as with all things, i made up the pattern. tank tops are pretty easy, especially if you're not shaping the body part. anyhow, i'm gonna draw up the pattern to post it soon. then on to figuring out a cardigan pattern...

last tuesday, i went to fire salt & time w/ valerie and we made our own batches of kimchi (via research club classes)! it was pretty awesome; a good way to learn with nice people. my batch is done and i ate some and it had a good texture, but wasn't packing the spice-punch. so, i've bought some bok choy from the People's farmer market and i'm gonna make batch #2 with red pepper paste.

lastly, i've learned how to crochet today. i want to reproduce this free people necklace pouch. i'm not gonna try stitch for stitch; i'm just going to try and learn some sort of beginner's lace pattern/stitch. we shall see. but, i found all the supplies at the thrift craft store, hurray.