Kim Chee Number 5
Submitted by janetlv
Homemade kimchi with napa cabbage, daikon radish, scallions, garlic, ginger, pear, and cayenne pepper. Salt-brined and fermented for 3 days in a traditional crock method.
YIELD
12 servingsPREP
30 minCOOK
0 minREADY
3 daysThis is traditional crock-fermented kimchi built the old-school way: napa cabbage salted for 3 hours, packed with a fiery filling of daikon radish, scallions, garlic, ginger, and a serious 4 tablespoons of cayenne, then weighted down and left to ferment for 3 days or longer.
The pear is the ingredient most people don’t expect. A hard, semi-sweet pear sliced into strips and mixed into the filling adds natural sugars that feed the fermentation and round out the heat from the cayenne. It’s a traditional Korean technique that gives the finished kimchi a deeper, more complex flavor.
Packing the vegetable filling between the leaves of each quartered cabbage head, rather than just tossing it all together, is what gives this kimchi its authentic layered structure. Every leaf gets coated, and the flavors penetrate evenly during fermentation.
Chef Tips
- Use non-iodized salt (kosher or sea salt). Iodized salt can inhibit the beneficial bacteria needed for fermentation.
- The cabbage must produce its own brine during the 3-hour salting. If it doesn’t release enough liquid, add a small amount of saltwater to the crock so the kimchi stays submerged.
- Keep at around 60°F (15°C) during fermentation. Too warm and it ferments too fast and turns mushy; too cold and it barely ferments at all.
- The longer it sits, the stronger and more sour it gets. Three days is mild; a month produces deeply funky, complex kimchi.
Variations
- Add diced fresh red chili peppers to the daikon mixture for even more heat.
- Stir in a tablespoon of fish sauce or salted shrimp paste for a more traditional umami depth.
- Use Korean gochugaru (red pepper flakes) instead of cayenne for a more authentic, smoky heat.
Ingredients
Directions
- Remove (do not discard) the outer leaves from the cabbage. Quarter the cabbage and place together with the outside leaves in a large bowl.
Sprinkle on the salt. Let stand 3 hours, turning occasionally.
- Peel the daikon and cut into long thin strips. Cut the onions into 1 inch strips and then shred lengthwise into slivers.
Mix the daikon and onion strips together in another bowl and let sit while the cabbage and salt mixture is sitting.
- Peel and mince garlic and gingerroot. Cut celery into 1 inch lengths and shred lengthwise.
Peel, core, and slice the pear and then cut into long strips.
Mix these ingredients together with the cayenne and granulated sugar and combine into the daikon and onion mixture.
- The cabbage will have produced a brine after sitting. Remove the outer leaves from the brine and set aside.
Take a quarter of the cabbage head, rinse it under running water then pack the daikon and onion mixture between the leaves.
Set it in the bottom of a crock or other container.
Repeat this procedure with the remaining three quarters.
Any remaining mixture should be layered over the cabbage.
Press down.
- Place the outer leaves in a layer on top of the cabbage and Set a small weight on top of the cover and let sit for 3 days.
The longer it sits the stronger it gets! It can be stored for a month prior to opening. Keep it in a cool (60 degree) place.
After removing the Kim Chi from the crock it can be stored in glass jars and used as needed.
This is a strong recipe and if it is still not hot enough, diced red peppers with seeds can be added, to the daikon and onion mixture, but do so at your own risk! Enjoy.
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