Kimchi w. Carrots, Ginger and Spring Onion

Yummi ❤

Kimchi is the most amazing fermented cabbage. It is said to be good to your digestion, but even better, you can freestyle it just to your likings! This recipe is with carrots, ginger and spring onion, but to be honest, you can add whatever you like, as long as you keep it spicy and fresh.

There are two tricky things here: the waiting game, but be patient, it is worth it! And the fact that you need to be very careful to use completely clean tools and hands, whenever you deal with the kimchi, otherwise you can mess up with the natural bacteria that makes kimchi so great and special.

Ingredients

• Chinese cabbage/Napa-cabbage (this is the only kind of cabbage that goes for real, Korean kimchi — it can be either purple or green)
• A couple of carrots
• Spring onions to your likings
• Garlic
• Ginger
• Fine salt
• Water
• Korean chilli paste — Gochujang Hot Pepper Paste (buy it in an Asia-shop, e.g. Istedgade 134, Kbh V)
• Fish sauce
• Sesame Oil
• Plastic gloves

How to prepare it

1. Cut cabbage in big chunks

2. Rinse it with water

3. Prepare water/salt-solution to start fermentation process: for 1 liter of water add 50 grams of salt to make a 5% salt-solution.

4. Put the cabbage in the solution and add weight on top e.g. with the help of a stack of kitchen plates. Wrap it air-tight with plastic kitchen wrap and leave it on the kitchen counter (not in the fridge!). Let it rest for minimum 48 hours, and preferably as long as you can wait (a week is nice).

5. When it has rested, unwrap it and take the cabbage out of the water and squeeze it tight. Keep the salt-solution. Put the cabbage in another (bigger) container.

6. Grind carrots, chop spring onions, ginger and garlic and add it to the cabbage.

7. In a separate bowl mix your own Korean kimchi paste with hot pepper paste, fish sauce and sesame oil, depending on how hot you want your kimchi to be, add more or less of the pepper paste— then add some of the salt-solution, if you need more water— throw the rest away.

8. Pour your finished kimchi paste over the cabbage-veggie mix and massage it all in until it is soft and moist. Wear plastic gloves to avoid burning your skin!

9. Add the kimchi to sterilized jars together with the liquid and seal it air-tight. See how to sterilize your jars here.

10. Leave it for at least 7 days on the kitchen counter without opening the jar.

Note: be aware always to use clean tools that haven’t touched other food items before, in order to avoid contaminating the kimchi.