I decided to make this kimchi for the first time recently just to help with my gut health. I often feel bloated and I have to say I’ve really noticed the difference. It's full of natural probiotics!
I try to have about 80-100g a day with my lunch or dinner. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea flavour-wise (my hubby can't stand the stuff!), but I’ve really come to quite love the tangy, spicy taste of this. And it’s just got better with time.
The only thing that put me off making it before was not having the right jars. Now you don’t have to get fancy ones, you can use ordinary glass jars with lids. You just have to be careful as this is a fermented food and it produces gas - lots of it. And that gas has to go somewhere!
You may want to invest in some fermenting pebbles or weights which makes sure your kimchi stays submerged under the liquid. If it doesn’t, then it may go mouldy. But I really found it hard to find some to fit my jars. Instead of stones, I used a couple of glass shot glasses! Just pushed them into the kimchi which helped raise the brine over the vegetables! After 3 days, I took them out. You can also use a cabbage leaf over the top to try and stop the vegetables floating to the top.
My Kilner jars came with a sterilock lid which is ideal for fermenting. Worth investing in if you’re going to make this lots.
This kimchi will happily stay in the fridge for months. Just use clean utensils each time you take some out.
A word about the recipe. This is adapted from a Kilner recipe. They also added a yellow onion which I omitted. Also, they said to use 50g Kochukaru or gochugaru which is a Korean chilli powder. I couldn’t find of any of this so the next best thing is cayenne powder. And I reduced the amount to 20g. 50g seemed an awful lot! And mine was spicy, but not blow your head off spicy! Up to you though. Mild or spicy it’s your choice. It doesn’t affect the benefits of kimchi.
It also asked for pickling salt which is stupidly expensive. Research told me that iodine-free fine sea salt is fine (just make sure it doesn’t have an anti-caking agent in it). Otherwise, you end up with cloudy kimchi. I just ground up the salt in a pestle and mortar.
Daikon radish - is also called a mooli radish which I found in my local Asian supermarket.
If you can find an Asian pear - you can use this instead of an apple.
Check the kimchi once a day, opening the jar and pressing down on the vegetables with a clean finger or spoon to keep them submerged under the brine. (This also releases gases produced during fermentation.)
Taste a little too! When the kimchi tastes ripe enough for your liking, put on a tight-fitting lid and transfer the jar to the refrigerator. You can it eat it right away, but it's best after another week or two.
Watch out for any brine escaping that may stain your worktop!
Beware that initially, it may taste slightly fizzy and that’s quite normal (a good sign). This disappears with time.
The science bit: Cabbage kimchi is made by lacto-fermentation the same process that makes sauerkraut and dill pickles. In the first stage, the cabbage is soaked in a salty brine that kills off harmful bacteria. In the second stage, the remaining Lactobacillus bacteria (the good guys!) convert sugars into lactic acid, which preserves the vegetables and gives them that wonderful, tangy flavour.
Final tip for fermentation: Use filtered water.
If you are a vegetarian/vegan instead of fish sauce, use 3/4 teaspoon kelp powder mixed with 3 tablespoons water, or just 3 tablespoons of water
Homemade Kimchi...tangy, sour and spicy!
Ingredients: Makes approx 1 x 1 litre jars
900g red cabbage, thinly sliced
50g fine sea salt (I ground mine in a pestle and mortar)
225g carrots, cut into fine strips
225g Daikon Radish (or Mooli), cut into fine strips
6 spring onions, cut into 1-inch segments
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1 apple, peeled, cored or chopped (or Asian pear)
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, chopped (or from a jar of chopped ginger)
1 small yellow onion, chopped (optional)
240ml water
20g Kochukaru (or cayenne pepper)
2tbsp fish sauce
Method:
Place thinly sliced cabbage leaves into a large glass bowl along with the salt.
Massage the leaves until water begins to release.
Cover the cabbage with cold water and leave for about 2 hours. You can weight it down in the bowl by placing a plate on top. Give it a stir from time to time. It should have softened; but if it's still firm, give it another hour.
Strain the cabbage in a colander, then rinse well under the tap, and then return to the bowl. Add the mooli radish, carrot, spring onions, ginger and garlic.
In a food processor or blender, combine the apple, yellow onion (if using), cayenne powder and fish sauce until smooth. Mix with the vegetables making sure everything is coated well. (if you use your hands you might want to wear gloves to avoid purple fingers!).
Pack the kimchi (with all of the sauce) into Kilner jars leaving a good 5cm of headspace. Make sure the vegetables are well pushed down and submerged in the brine otherwise they could go mouldy and then you have to throw it away.
Clean the rims of the jars making sure there are no stray remnants of veg.
Add a loose-fitting lid (or a sterilock lid), and let ferment at ROOM temperature for a minimum of 3 days.
You can taste the Kimchi after 3 days and decide whether to stop the fermentation process according to the sourness. You are looking for a sour or tangy taste and it may even be slightly fizzy.
Once you are happy with the taste, seal the jars tightly and store in the fridge.
Check out my reel on how to make this Instagram:
Enjoy!
Where to buy:
Kilner jars: I bought mine as a pack on Amazon. This is a triple jar pack - you probably won't need 3, so you can gift one to a friend!
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