Super long post time!
Something about wintertime and the season for napa cabbage harvesting, I really thought about kimchi. I remember some of my friends tell me to make kimchi... I didn't get why then, I didn't really like kimchi then either... two words: Kimchi Breath. But... I had a change of heart with this winter season's super cold weather and seeing so much napa cabbage on sale in the markets.
My family loves kimchi. The spicy kick. The garlicky aroma. A bite of something savory, while enjoying the veggie's sweetness. My cousin, oldest of two, discovered how delicious it is over a simple bowl of hot, fluffy white rice. My uncle and my cousin likes this one place on Geary St, their kimchi is fresh, sweet, crunchy, and a bit spicy. It was more or less recently, my uncle said, "Man, I think making kimchi would be cheaper than constantly purchasing it." So... I bit the bullet and said, "I'll try to make kimchi."
*A lot of referencings (image and step by step) will be from Maangchi.
I basically followed the recipe to Maangchi's Napa Cabbage Kimchi. I like her pic-by-pic on how to prep kimchi through her Easy Kimchi Recipe, as well. The only difference I did from her's is that I totally omitted the raw oyster/squid. My family is very cautious about cholesterol, and seafood is always red flagged. But overall, the taste is still the same. My recipe will make about 6 liters of kimchi (yeah, I went out and got a 12 liter kimchi container at the Korean market, JUST for making kimchi), and lunchbox-size of kakdugi.
* Mimi's Tip: How to pick a good napa cabbage. *
I use to pick one that is huge and green. WRONG! Turns out, it isn't how green it is, but how yellow it is. Yellow leaves mean young tender leaves. Very much like the inner core of the napa cabbage. So pick one that has more yellow-green leaves. As few blemishes like dark spots/"freckles". Tight leaves. Make sure that the head of cabbage has a good weight to it. You should be good to go. If all else fails, you can totally ask the workers in the produce section to help. I give 2 thumbs up for the super great help from the guy in the Korean market.
Not exactly the best shot, but dang was it good.
Ingredients:
5 large heads of napa cabbage (quartered into wedges)
1 small Korean radish; 1/4 julienned (3/4 cubed reserved for Kakdugi)
1 medium carrot; peeled and julienned
2 bunch asian chives; cut into about 2" sections
1 bunch green onion; cut into about 2" sections
1 small onion
1 handful of garlic
1 cup Mochiko
3 - 4 cups water
1/2 cup sugar (plain white granulated)
1 cup fish sauce
Lots of sea salt/kosher salt (I used sea salt, it didn't turn out salty, just a light taste)
3 - 4 cups hot pepper flakes (I use Wang: Maewoon Gochu Gaaroo)
How-To:
Salting Napa Cabbage:
- Clean, trim, and quarter napa cabbages. In a large bowl/roasting pan, start salting EACH leaf. Let stand for about 1hour and 30 minutes, rotating each wedge of cabbage every 30 minutes.
- Once time is up, rinse out each wedge of cabbage under cold water. Takes about 3 washes to get the salt out. Squeeze out the excess water. Set aside to dry a bit.
Kimchi Paste:
- In a food processor, puree garlic and onion.
- In a medium pot, cook Mochiko with water and sugar until thickened (about glue-consistancy).
- In a large bowl, pour out garlic-onion puree and Mochiko mix.
- Add in julienned carrots and radish.
- Add chives, green onions.
- Add hot pepper flakes.
- Add fish sauce.
- Mix everything in the bowl.
Napa Cabbage Kimchi:
- Strap on some gloves and roll up your sleeves! Its time to apply a good smear of the kimchi paste mix to the cabbage... LEAF BY LEAF! Put each freshly "painted" cabbage wedge into an airtight container. Make sure to place each wedge tightly together, and to press out as much air out of the kimchi mass. You want to make sure that there is no pockets of air that can have bad bacteria form during fermentation.
- Eat right away, or you can put a layer of plastic wrap on the kimchi to cover it for more protection and refrigerate to ferment.
...
Great, do you have some leftover kimchi paste? Remember that reserved bit of radish?
As soon as I finished making it, it was eaten up.
How-To:
- Cube leftover radish.
- In a bowl, sprinkle with enough salt help draw out the extra water in the radish cubes. Toss to coat evenly.
- Wait about 1 - 1.5 hours, stirring the radish every 30 minutes.
- Rinse out under cold water, about 3 washes to take out the saltiness.
Kakdugi/Radish Kimchi:
-In a clean airtight container, pour leftover Kimchi Paste over radish. Mix. Eat right alway or put into fridge to ferment.
Done. That's it. Pretty easy overall. The hardest part is the wait time during the salting process. I had a lot of fun making it. Fresh kimchi is sweet and crunchy. Fermented kimchi spicier, bit saltier, while still crunchy. I hope you guys try your hands on making your own kimchi. Enjoy!
