Not all cuisines have staple accoutrements but those that do have them because they found something so great that it had to be eaten with every single meal. Mexicans have salsa, Peruvians have aji, and Koreans have kimchi. It’s the topic of heated debates, mostly because of its overpowering taste and smell. It’s garlicky, funky, stinky, spicy, and delicious. It can be made with pretty much any vegetable but for the sake of simplicity we’ll only talk about the OG cabbage version here. There’s rumors that it is banned from the dorms at the Culinary Institute of America, also that it is what saved Koreans from the avian flu when the outbreak happened all across Asia. Apparently, the lactic acid bacteria and fermentation metabolites in kimchi inhibit the growth of influenza virus, so say a bunch of sources (PRN, BBC, WSJ). Bottom line, it’s stinky but super good for you.
Ingredients
– 1 Head napa cabbage (~2.5kg / ~5lbs)
– 2 cups coarse sea salt
– 4 scallions
– 1 sheet dashima (about the size of your hand)
– 1 tbsp glutinous rice powder
– 2/3 cup gochugaru (Korean red chili pepper flakes)
– 1/4 cup saeujeot (salted fermented baby shrimp)
– 2 fresh oysters (optional)
– 3 tbsp fish sauce
– 5 tbsp fermented ginger and garlic
– Small handful scallions, green onion and/or chives
Cut the cabbage lengthwise into 4 pieces. In a large bowl dissolve a cup of salt in water and bathe the cabbage, making sure you get water in all the nooks and crannies. Take turns with each quarter if the bowl isn’t big enough. Shake off the excess water and generously sprinkle salt between each leaf, concentrating on getting the salt in the thick white parts of the cabbage. This will soften the cabbage to make it malleable. Once salted, submerge in the salt water for 5 to 8 hours. Rotate the pieces if needed so they all spend time underwater. Once the cabbage leaves are easily bendable, rinse it thoroughly.
Boil the sheet of dashima in a cup of water, let cool and add the rice powder. Bring back up to a simmer to make a thin paste. Mix in the ginger+garlic paste, the gochugaru, saeujeot, fish sauce, and diagonal-cut scallions in the paste. Let sit for a few minutes to get the pepper flakes re hydrated. It should have a thick but easily spreadable consistency. Add water if necessary. If adding the fresh oysters, do this process in a blender and add the scallions after it’s blended.
Cut enough off the bottom part of the cabbage for the leaves to still be held on together. Spread the paste evenly between all the leaves. When done, fold the quarters nicely wrapping them with the outermost leaf and place in the container you’ll use to ferment it in. You can definitely just eat it as is but if you want truly magical kimchi, let it sit in room temperature for two to 3 days. Weather, temperature, and how ripe you like your kimchi will determine how long you leave it out. Just taste it as you go.