Wintertime means Kimchi time: Radish and Napa Cabbage

Okay, so with back-to-back holidays, filling-in for my manager for 2 weeks, and just wanting to make time for myself... yes... I ignored this blog for a bit. So, I'm sorry. To make up for it, I'm putting up 2 recipes. Both... kimchi related: Kakdugi (radish kimchi) and Kimchi (napa cabbage kimchi).

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:

Salting Radish:
- 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!

My mama's specialty for Thanksgiving Potluck: Spinach Dip

Hi everyone~ I'm sorry for the SUPER long hiatus. I seriously blame school for this. *shakes angry fist at Anatomy class* I've been lacking sleep and proper appetite cuz of it.

Wow... Thanksgiving is around the corner... And this particular dish is my mama's specialty come any holiday that calls for food. I warn: THIS is not for the health conscience. If you plan to eat this, you will have to throw all thoughts of healthy eating into the wind. Haha.

Anyways, My mama made this for as long as I can remember, and I was always her sou chef. She told me she learned it from a former co-worker from back in the days during a Christmas office party, and then she also found out that the co-worker got the recipe from the back of a soup mix package. But my mom made it her's by altering the recipe little by little over time. For instance, my family prefer a little more mayonnaise because of the bit of tanginess that it has over sour cream. When I make this dish (my mama "retired" from making it), I have to make it in a HUGE batch: one HUGE tub for my cousin, one small tub for the family, and one regular tub for whoever is having a potluck party.

I'm going to post here the a more... reasonable and SANE... measurement... I hope, it works. I'm so use to of making large batches, so please forgive me if it doesn't quite work. But the best part about cooking is that you can adjust/eyeball recipes to your own taste.

Also! I HIGHLY recommend for you to use Best Foods Mayonnaise. Not advertising, but it is tried and true by my family. Best Foods has a more tangy taste to it. It really helps cut the sour/rich taste of the sour cream, and it just rounds out the whole dish. Adjust to your taste of course.

I do warn though... there is going to be A LOT of chopping, and you will probably need arms of steel to do some squeezing. Lol. Its a good workout... at least it is a workout for me when I make it. Lol~

Are you drooling yet?

Ingredients:

1 box frozen chopped spinach

1 small can water chestnut (whole is best, sliced is good too)

2 hard boiled eggs

1 package Korr's Vegetable Soup Mix

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup mayonnaise (I use Best Foods.)

1 sprig green onion, chopped.

Salt, to taste

Cracked Black pepper, to taste (white pepper is just as good)

How-To:

- In a pot filled halfway with water, boil the spinach until it is thawed and the spinach is warmed through. Once thawed and warmed through, drain over a colander and set aside to cool.

- Boil eggs for about 7 minutes for hardboiled eggs. Once cooked, separate egg whites from egg yolks.

                 - Chop egg whites finely, and put into a big mixing bowl.

                 - In a small bowl, mash egg yolks with a bit of mayonnaise, and mix until smooth (or as smooth as you can get it). Set aside.

- Finely chop green onion, all of the whites and greens.

- Open can of water chestnut, drain well. Chop water chestnut finely. Over a colander in the sink, SQUEEZE a handful of the chopped water chestnuts. It does not have to be completely squeezed dry, but still slightly moist. Toss squeezed water chestnuts into same big mixing bowl with egg whites.

- In same big mixing bowl with squeezed water chestnuts, do the same with the cooled spinach. Squeeze a handful of spinach over a colander, and toss into bowl for mixing.

- In same big mixing bowl, add in soup mix. (Optional, pick out dehydrated pea bits.)

- Add egg yolk + mayo mix, sour cream, and 1/2 cup of mayonnaise.

- MIX!!!! Remember to give a little taste test to adjust level of mayo or sour cream.

- After well incorporated, season with black or white pepper to taste, and season with regular table salt to taste. Remember to give it a taste test to adjust level of mayo, sour cream, or salt.

- Cover bowl with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight.

- Serve with slices of soft french bread and/or nice slices of crusty french baguette.

Yes... you should refrigerate overnight so the flavors can marry together. BUT!!!! You can eat this right as soon as you finish making it ('tis what my family does). But I highly recommend to give it a little patience and let it sit overnight. Lots of steps and is time consuming, but it is good. I hope you guys enjoy this recipe as much as my family.