Kim Chi

[pdilley]

As promised a picture of Kim Chi and Son of Kim Chi.

4 Tablespoons sea salt just a tad too salty for my taste, next batch will drop to 3 Tablespoons. Still great when consumed at the same time with some tasty home brew!

I increased the green onion content, and kicked up the ginger as well as I love the taste. I left the garlic alone as its nice and strong and comes through quite well. I upped the heaping Tablespoons of Korean Crushed Chili for Kim Chi to 5 Tablespoons. The only thing I'd change is slightly less salt used next time.

 

[Mantis]

Great stuff BP
Will have to give this a try for sure. I will be the only one in our house that eats it but thats ok.
Does it give off much aroma as it ferments??

Cheers
Mantis :icon_chickcheers:

 

[altone]

As promised a picture of Kim Chi and Son of Kim Chi.

4 Tablespoons sea salt just a tad too salty for my taste, next batch will drop to 3 Tablespoons. Still great when consumed at the same time with some tasty home brew!

I increased the green onion content, and kicked up the ginger as well as I love the taste. I left the garlic alone as its nice and strong and comes through quite well. I upped the heaping Tablespoons of Korean Crushed Chili for Kim Chi to 5 Tablespoons. The only thing I'd change is slightly less salt used next time.

Is all the liquid just juice from the cabbage or did you need to fill up the jar with water?
Can you give us a rough volume of liquid to the 3or4 tablespoons of salt you used?

Been looking into English Dill pickles and the NY kosher (garlic) pickles
They both suggest a brine salinity of around 4-5% so I guess that's around 40-50g per litre of liquid.

I'd suspect Kim Chi should be a fair bit lower than that though, as it doesn't seem anywhere near as salty as cucumber pickle.

I'm going to give the NY garlic pickles a go, in the spring.

Here's my recipe (untried untested - based on quick internet searches)

45g salt
1 litre boiled and cooled water (to get rid of chlorine etc.)
Around 1.5 Kg Dill/baby cucumbers (not the waxy skinned ones)
3 cloves of garlic

Thinly slice or crush garlic into a 2l glass jar
optional: Place fresh grape leaf into jar (releases tannin that helps keep pickle crisp)
slice baby cucumbers/dill cucumbers lengthways and fill jar to top
pour over brine solution to fill jar

I'm also going to try some more English style pickles - same as above except replace garlic with cloves
and add a sliced onion.

Will try them earlier if I can get some fresh vine leaves, but my vine is totally bare atm.

Also interested in doing some Sauerkraut ( good recipe anyone?)
and maybe some Tsukemono if I can get that sake mold.

 

[Count Vorlauf]

Yeah, Koreans consider kimchi to be the miracle cure-all. It has been attributed for (South) Korea's lack of SARS, Bird Flu, and now Swine Flu cases.

When the Japanese sports teams visit, the Korean press claims that they pack their bags full of kimchi jars so that they can play as well as the Korean teams.

Kom-be!

 

[pdilley]

Is all the liquid just juice from the cabbage or did you need to fill up the jar with water?
Can you give us a rough volume of liquid to the 3or4 tablespoons of salt you used?

Its all liquid from the cabbage, if its too dry its ok to top up with water or with brine although I wouldn't do too heavy a brine as you don't want to add in too much salt as it needs to be just seasoned not tasting salty at all. I'd err on a slight water top up alone with a tiny pinch of salt in it to compensate.

Its a young ferment so you can start noshing on it right away or if patient it just gets better.



The pickles sound yum. The garlic ones in NY delis are Jewish I think as the stores are all run by them

The closest recipes I have found so far to work with are:

Recipe 1:
Use a 11 to 12 litre jar, which takes about:

2 1/4 kilos of small cucumbers (note that salad cucumbers are too soft and will not produce the crispness that pickling cucumbers do)
1 teaspoon table salt per cup of boiled water
7-12 cloves of garlic
1/4 cup vinegar (optional)*
several sprigs of fresh dillweed (about 1/2 cup, packed)

Scrub the cucumbers.
Pack them snugly in the jar/crock, interspersing the garlic cloves.
Pour in the salted water, leaving a few inches headroom.
Add the vinegar.
Top with the dillweed.
Cover.
Set on a large plate, to catch spillage (which is likely when fermentation
starts) in a warm or sunny spot.

During warm weather, these can be at the half-sour stage within as few as
three days.

When they reach the level of flavor you're seeking, refrigerate.

*(For a smaller jar/crock, use a few tablespoonsful of vinegar.)

Since I like a more developed level of garlic flavor, I usually let them
stand for about 10 days before declaring them ready. (But the regular
tasting to check the development is a major perk in preparing them.)

Enjoy! (Let me know how they turn out.)


Recipe #2:

Eeghirkis (Kosher-style Dill Pickles)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is from "Memoirs and Menus-The Confessions Of A Culinary Snob," by
Georges Spunt.

24-36 small, not too ripe, cucumbers
3 bay leaves, crumbled
6 cloves of garlic
6 whole peppercorns, bruised
6 sprigs of dill -- or --
2 Tbsp dill weed and 1 Tbsp dill seed
6 Tbsp coarse salt
9 cups boiling water

Scrub the cucumbers. Place them in a large bowl or crock. Scatter the bay
leaves, garlic, whole black peppercorns, and dill among the cucumbers.
Sprinkle all over with salt. Pour boiling water on top of the cucumbers.
Remove any scum as it appears.

Put a plate on top, weighted with a brick (this is to keep the cucumbers in
the brine). Cover with a cloth and store in a dark place for a week in warm
weather or for 10 days in cool.

This simple recipe makes the real Jewish dill pickle -- no vinegar, no sugar,
and no packaged pickling spice.

For your Sauerkraut, I already have you served Making Sauerkraut Made Easy.


For Kojikin for making sake, miso paste, soy sauce, etc. I'm still in the process of trying to get a viable culture going from very old spores and will post to the Get To Know Your Koji Kin post if anything comes of it. For now I've contacted my old mycological company for any growth data, but nothing so far. I'm about to just go out and wing it and decide upon either a rice inoculation method or a standard liquid slurry. But its a one-shot go either way so thats why I'm dragging a bit.


Cheers,
Brewer Pete

 

[pdilley]

Great stuff BP
Will have to give this a try for sure. I will be the only one in our house that eats it but thats ok.
Does it give off much aroma as it ferments??

Cheers
Mantis :icon_chickcheers:

Post got snuffled off to another forum....

... but yes there is a slight odour given off, that of um kim chi probably the garlic and red pepper spice more than anything. Nothing too offensive but if you let it sit around for a while you'll start to smell it if you let it keep off gassing in the fridge.

Cheers,
Brewer Pete

 

[rendo]

I'm not a huge chilli fancier, but do rather enjoy spicy, traditional foods and methods. I even make tandoori paste from scratch with my own garden's produce, (turmeric is easy to grow, grab a piece from the greengrocer and treat it like ginger). IMO, food doesn't have to be painfull (either going in or coming out) to enjoy spicyness, but personally a moderate chilli level is OK in my books. Interesting how the best rogan josh I've had was in Pitlochry in the middle of Scotland, not that I've even been to its birthplace and sampled the originals though.

RdeVjun, that is a MASSIVE coincidence. I am a big curry nut and of all places, the best Korma curry I have ever had was a dodgy little town near Airth Castle in Scotland. Who would have thought....I was there for the scotch, not curry. This stuff was AMAZING...I went back the next day for more and it was just as nice. I thought I might have been delousional at first, but nope, fantastic.

Anyway, I will be making PB's Kim Chi very soon, ULTRA YUMMY STUFF!!

Rendo

 

[pdilley]

Sounds good, just remember to back off on the
salt from the first recipe. You want to
still taste the sweet in the cabbage (supermarket
cabbage sits around a long time so you may not
get one as sweet as fresh picked or farmers market ones).
Its easier to put salt in than take salt out


Cheers,
BP

 

[rendo]

Hi BP & All,

I have (successfully) made my first batch of Kimchi. I dont have too much time to go into detail, but I roughly followed BP's method, with a couple of tips/modifications from a friend who makes fantastic kimchi.

Here is a pic of Rendo's Kimchi and Son of Rendo's Kimchi...

THANK YOU BP!!!

​

Sounds good, just remember to back off on the
salt from the first recipe. You want to
still taste the sweet in the cabbage (supermarket
cabbage sits around a long time so you may not
get one as sweet as fresh picked or farmers market ones).
Its easier to put salt in than take salt out


Cheers,
BP

 

[Howlingdog]

As promised a picture of Kim Chi and Son of Kim Chi.

4 Tablespoons sea salt just a tad too salty for my taste, next batch will drop to 3 Tablespoons. Still great when consumed at the same time with some tasty home brew!

I increased the green onion content, and kicked up the ginger as well as I love the taste. I left the garlic alone as its nice and strong and comes through quite well. I upped the heaping Tablespoons of Korean Crushed Chili for Kim Chi to 5 Tablespoons. The only thing I'd change is slightly less salt used next time.

View attachment 26995

Are you going to bury it in the ground as I've seen the Koreans do in a documenary recently?

HD

 

[pdilley]

Hehe No

Not going to bury it in the ground. Thats a different way of making it with crockery. I only have modern glass jars available. Kim Chi is said in the old style to be good only when it blows its top off, then you know its ready to eat

Rendo's Kim Chi looks devine. Most modern Kim Chi I have has a tang from the fermentation reminiscent to the CO2 in carbonated drinks, an almost effervescent tastiness. Just keep the Kim Chi around to get stronger flavours. If you store it in the fridge and the lid is not tight, the fridge sucks all the moisture out and eventually will dry out your Kim Chi so keep loose lids on the original fermentation outside if you wish. Then in a sealed container and into the fridge.

Cheers,
BP

 

[rendo]

Guys, my $0.05 worth....if you are going to do this, do NOT SKIMP on using proper KOREAN chilli powder. Yes you can use normal chilli powder, but in my opinion it just isnt REAL kimchi without the real KOREAN chilli powder. Sure it tastes nice etc, but its just not quite right...

So...do urself a favour, goto the asian grocer store (it will prob have to be a korean store) and get the right stuff. Maybe you can buy it online somewhere for those who dont have anywhere near by. Here is a pic of what the stuff looks like:

Any brand, just aslong as it looks red and like this, ur fine. (http://momofukufor2.com/blog/photos/2010/0...mofuku-0180.jpg)

PS...Chinese cabbages are in season!!

rendo

 

[rendo]

Guys....check it out...just made some CUCUMBER KIMCHI!!

Here are some pics. Here is the page I 'roughly' followed....have fun

Cumcumber Kimchi
http://drbenkim.com/how-to-make-cucumber-kim-chi.htm

​

​

​

​

PS...This is a good link for normal cabbage kimchi (http://drbenkim.com/how-make-kim-chi.htm)
​

 

[redbeard]

Rendo, cucumber is just wrong - ok ? Lucky you bought up on sodium percarb to clean your jars out

 

[rendo]

Rendo, cucumber is just wrong - ok ? Lucky you bought up on sodium percarb to clean your jars out

well, I hear ya RB, I was thinking cumcumber....NO WAY. But then someone gave me some to try...whammo, I was hooked. Do you like normal Kimchi RB? If you do then u will like this for sure, unless u really really dont like cucumbers normally.

Anyway, yes, sodium perc does a great job in getting out kimchi stains and smells, not much else can claim that prize. Now if only I could somehow make a "sodium perc kimchi...." hmmm not. I have enough sodium perc for a long time.

Rendo

 

[Ninegrain]

Have any of you guys tried using fish sauce as a salt substitute (full or partial) in your Kim chi? I may have imagined this, but I seem to remember seeing it listed as an ingredient on the side of a commercial pack I have bought
That aside how do you best enjoy it? We regularly make fried rice with it, bacon, egg and some Asian herbs and greens...is delicious! 'Raw' on steamed rice is good and simple too. Do you have any other creative ways or recipes to eat it without incorporating a cooking stage that you can share? Other cooking recipes we have tried include pancakes and omelettes. Soup is on the list to try soon too But raw is of interest due to a desire to preserve the health benefits that may come from the living flora


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[benno1973]

I use fish sauce generally when I make the paste. Actually, mostly it's an anchovy sauce, which seems to have poor little whole anchovies floating around in this gloopy liquid. Smells awful, but adds a great flavour. If I'm making it vegan, then I'll add some dried shiitake mushrooms blitzed down into a powder to give it that umami kick.

Kimchi soup is awesome! I love it on rice too. Or just by itself as a late night snack! I've dehydrated it and make kimchi chips, which are pretty similar to salt and vinegar chips. I've also dehydrated it and then blitzed it to make kimchi powder, which works as a nice seasoning.

 

[verysupple]

Have any of you guys tried using fish sauce as a salt substitute (full or partial) in your Kim chi? I may have imagined this, but I seem to remember seeing it listed as an ingredient on the side of a commercial pack I have bought
That aside how do you best enjoy it? We regularly make fried rice with it, bacon, egg and some Asian herbs and greens...is delicious! 'Raw' on steamed rice is good and simple too. Do you have any other creative ways or recipes to eat it without incorporating a cooking stage that you can share? Other cooking recipes we have tried include pancakes and omelettes. Soup is on the list to try soon too But raw is of interest due to a desire to preserve the health benefits that may come from the living flora


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I've never actually made it myself, so I can't comment on the use of fish sauce. I do use bought kimchi in fried rice like you do, and damn that's good. I add it right at the end after turning off the stove and just mix it in, so it's not really cooked as the heat from the rice etc only warms it. I know you asked for non-cooked recipes but I love kimchi okonomiyaki (Japanese savoury pancake - there seems to be a lot of cross-over between Japanese and Korean food). Of course, I have it the common way as a condiment/side dish with Korean food in general.

 

[Deep End]

Bumped into Kimchi on the tele the other day and got inspired, bought some from the local Asian grocery, liked it, then made a batch. Think I've found my new favourite healthy food

 

[rude]

I am hooked also have been doing it for a year now

Have been fermenting it at 21c for 3 weeks with stc 1000 cont,
anyone else using a controlled ferment