Kimchi Or Kimchee Recipes

KOREAN KIMCHI

Steps:

• Cut the cabbage leaves into 2 inch long pieces. Spread 1/4 of the leaves into a large, non-metallic bowl and sprinkle with 1/4 of the salt. Repeat layering all of the cabbage has been salted. Let stand at room temperature until a lot of liquid has been pulled from the leaves and the cabbage is tender, 3 to 4 hours; drain. Rinse the cabbage in 2 or 3 changes of water. Drain again very well and return the cabbage to the mixing bowl.
• Sprinkle the cabbage with the minced garlic, green onions, MSG, and red pepper flakes. Season to taste with additional salt and toss until evenly combined. Pack the mixture into a sterilized gallon-sized glass jar. Cover the jar with wax paper and a loose fitting lid so the seal is not airtight.
• Allow the cabbage to ferment at room temperature until it reaches the desired degree of sourness, 2 to 5 days. Store in an airtight jar in the refrigerator.

KIMCHI JIGAE (KIMCHEE SOUP)

Steps:

• Combine kimchi, water, sugar, and garlic in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil. Stir in pork belly, luncheon meat, and kochujang. Add tofu and mushrooms; stir carefully so you don't break up the tofu. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cook until kimchi is softened and pork is slightly pink in the center, 20 to 30 minutes.

TRADITIONAL KIMCHI

Steps:

• Place cabbage and radish in a large colander. Sprinkle liberally with salt and mix to combine. Set aside for 1 hour. Add additional salt, mix, and set aside 1 hour more. Rinse cabbage and let drain.
• Meanwhile, combine garlic, onion, ginger, and rice vinegar in a blender. Add water and blend aromatic mixture on high power.
• Transfer drained cabbage to a large bowl and add aromatic mixture. Add persimmon, cucumber, green onions, and red pepper flakes and mix well.
• Transfer kimchi to airtight containers and refrigerate for 3 days.

KIMCHI

Steps:

• Place the cabbage in a large bowl, sprinkle with 2 tablespoons (17 grams) of the salt, and toss to coat. After 15 minutes, massage and squeeze the cabbage until it begins to release liquid. Set aside for another 15 minutes, then massage again and set aside for another 15 minutes.
• Place the daikon in a medium bowl and season with the granulated sugar and 1 teaspoon of the salt. Set aside for 15 minutes.
• Whisk the gochugaru, water, brown sugar, and the remaining 1 teaspoon salt in a third medium bowl to form a coarse paste.
• To make the kimchi flavor paste, use either a mini-food processor, mortar and pestle, or immersion blender and a jar to puree the pear, onion, 10 grams (about 1/6) of the ginger, 6 grams (about 1/4) of the garlic, and the salted shrimp until smooth. Add this to the gochugaru mixture and stir to combine.
• Squeeze as much liquid as you can from the daikon without breaking the pieces and add to the cabbage, along with the scallions, the remaining ginger and garlic, and the kimchi paste.
• Position a gallon-size zip-top bag inside a pitcher or some other vessel that will allow it to be held open for loading. Wearing disposable gloves, mix the kimchi paste into the cabbage mixture with your hands, being sure to thoroughly coat the cabbage with the paste (see Cook's Note).
• Transfer the mixture to the plastic bag, then ditch the gloves and seal the bag, working out as much air as possible. The lactic acid bacteria that will magically transform the humble ingredients into kimchee prefer anaerobic environments.
• Place the sealed bag flat on a sheet pan or large baking dish and leave at room temperature until the mixture has bubbled enough to inflate the bag, at least 24 hours, but possibly up to 3 days. Transfer the kimchi and its liquid into two wide-mouthed quart-size glass jars with lids and refrigerate. Consume immediately for very fresh kimchi, or leave it for a month for a kimchi that's deeply flavored, well-rounded, and slightly effervescent.
• Refrigerated, kimchi will basically never go bad and will actually improve in flavor for months after going into the jar. Cooking will mellow its flavors, so if it gets too funky for you, it's time to make kimchi fried rice.

BAEK KIMCHI JJIGAE (WHITE KIMCHI STEW)

Steps:

• In a large pot or Dutch oven, combine the pork, ginger and 3 cups of cold water. Season with salt. Bring to a boil over high, then reduce the heat to a simmer, cover and cook until the pork is tender and almost falling apart, about 2 hours. You should have about 2 cups of pork broth in the pot; add more water if you don't.
• Stir in the kimchi, onion and garlic and continue simmering until the kimchi is very tender and the pork is absolutely falling apart, about 1 more hour. Taste the broth for seasoning, adding fish sauce as desired; otherwise season with more salt.
• Right before serving, garnish the top of the stew with the scallions, break the meat up and serve with the rice.

BAEK KIMCHI (WHITE KIMCHI)

Steps:

• Dry-brine the cabbage: Rinse the head of cabbage under cold running water, making sure to get in between the leaves. Trim the root end off the cabbage and cut crosswise into 1-inch-thick slices, carving out the core if it's especially big and tough. Transfer the cabbage strips to your largest bowl. If your daikon came with green tops, cut them off the daikon and add them to the bowl. Sprinkle over the salt and toss with your hands until evenly distributed. Set aside to brine at room temperature until the hard cabbage leaves shrink and become wet and limp (but are still crunchy), 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
• Rinse the cabbage: Fill the bowl with cold water and swish the leaves around to rinse off the salt (and to clean off any remaining dirt). Lift the leaves out of the water and transfer to a colander. Repeat once or twice, until the cabbage leaves still taste discernibly salted, but not so salty that you can't eat them like salad. Rinse out the bowl.
• Make the sauce: To a food processor, add the pear, onion, garlic, ginger and sugar and process until the mixture is so finely chopped that it is almost puréed. Transfer the sauce to the empty bowl and stir in the fish sauce. Cut the scallions into 1-inch-long pieces and thinly slice the daikon and carrot, if using, into coins. Add the vegetables to the sauce. Stir to combine. Add the drained cabbage and toss with clean hands until well combined.
• Transfer the sauced cabbage to a clean 1/2-gallon jar, using your hands to gently pack it down. (A few air gaps are fine; they'll fill with liquid over time.) This amount of cabbage should fill the jar, leaving about an inch of room at the top. Top the jar with any sauce left in the bowl. Loosely close with a lid (see Tip). Wash your hands and rinse off the jar.
• Let the jar of kimchi begin fermenting on the kitchen counter at room temperature for 2 to 3 days, "burping" it every 12 hours or so, which just means opening the lid to let out any excess build-up of gas. After this, the cabbage should have released even more of its liquid; it's OK if the liquid doesn't completely cover the cabbage at this point, though it may. Refrigerate the kimchi to finish fermenting until it's sour, 2 to 3 weeks and up to 6 months, at which point it will be very, very sour and should be eaten or turned into jjigae. Check (and taste!) the kimchi every 2 to 3 days to familiarize yourself with the fermentation process.

KIMCHI

Steps:

• Chop the Chinese leaf into bite-size pieces, weighing it until you have 2kg, then wash under running water. Mix the Chinese leaf with the salt and the seaweed in a large bowl. Set aside.
• Every now and then, over the course of 3-4 hrs, mix the salted Chinese leaf and seaweed with your hands. (You will start to see liquid being released.) You want to be able to bend the Chinese leaf without breaking the pieces.
• Meanwhile, shred the carrot and leek, and chop the spring onions. Set aside. Make the chilli paste by blitzing the onion, garlic, ginger and pear in a food processor until puréed. Add the chilli flakes, then blitz again to combine. Drain the Chinese leaf mixture, removing as much water as you can. This may take about 10 mins.
• Toss the Chinese leaf mixture with the other vegetables, then mix in the chilli paste to coat everything. Tip into a 2-litre sterilised jar. Try not to have too many air pockets and leave a 1-inch space under the lid. Put a fermentation weight on top, or if you don't have one, try using some baking beans in a bag. Keep a plate under the jar in case of overflow. After 24-48 hrs you will begin to see bubbles appearing. That means fermentation is underway.
• At any point during the fermentation, you can taste the kimchi to see how you like the flavour. I prefer to keep mine in the fridge after day 3 to slow down the process and start enjoying it. You can transfer the kimchi into smaller jars for easy access from the fridge. It also makes a great present for family and friends.

KIMCHI CARBONARA

Steps:

• In a large pot of salted water, cook pasta according to package directions until al dente. Before draining, reserve 1 cup pasta cooking water.
• Meanwhile, in a large deep skillet, melt the butter over medium heat, then add the shallot. Cook, stirring constantly, until translucent, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger, and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute more.
• Deglaze the skillet by adding the white wine and stirring to loosen any browned bits, and season with 2 teaspoons salt and the pepper. Let simmer until slightly reduced, about 1 minute.
• Slip the kimchi into the skillet and cook until the cabbage is slightly wilted, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the cooked pasta and toss well to coat.
• Once the pasta is incorporated, remove from the heat, add the kimchi juice, egg yolks and cheese, and toss vigorously to coat the pasta. If the pasta seems dry, add some reserved pasta cooking water. Divide among four bowls and top with the spinach, more Parmesan and a sprinkle of gochugaru.

KIMCHI

Steps:

• Dry-brine the cabbage: Rinse the head of cabbage under cold running water, making sure to get in between the leaves. Trim the root end off the cabbage and cut crosswise into 1-inch-thick slices, carving out any core if it's especially big and tough. Transfer the cabbage strips to your largest bowl. Sprinkle over the salt and toss with your hands until evenly distributed. Set aside to brine at room temperature until the hard leaves shrink and become wet and limp (but are still crunchy), 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
• Rinse the cabbage: Fill the bowl with cold running water and swish the leaves around to rinse them of their salt (and to clean off any dirt). Lift them up out of the water and transfer to a colander. Repeat once or twice until the cabbage leaves still taste discernibly salted, but not too salty that you can't eat it like a salad. Rinse out the bowl.
• Make the sauce: To a food processor, add the apple, onion, garlic, ginger, sugar and process until very finely chopped into a fluffy purée. Transfer the sauce to the empty bowl and stir in the gochugaru and fish sauce. Cut the scallions into 1-inch-long pieces and add to the bowl. Cut the carrot into matchsticks: slice crosswise into 1-inch lengths, then thinly slice lengthwise, stack the slices and cut lengthwise again into thin strips. Add to the bowl, along with the pine nuts, if using. Stir to combine. Add the drained cabbage to the sauce and toss with clean hands until well combined.
• Transfer the sauced cabbage to a clean 1/2-gallon jar, using your hands to gently pack it down. (A few air gaps are fine; they'll fill with liquid over time.) This amount of cabbage should leave about an inch of room at the top of the jar. Top the jar with any remaining sauce left behind in the bowl. Loosely close with a lid (see Tip). Wash your hands and rinse off the outside of the jar at this stage.
• Let the jar of kimchi begin fermenting on the kitchen counter at room temperature for 2 to 3 days, "burping" it every 12 hours or so, which just means opening the lid to let out any excess build-up of gas. After this, the cabbage should have released even more of its liquid; it's OK if the liquid doesn't completely cover the cabbage at this point, though it may. Refrigerate the kimchi to finish fermenting until it's sour, 2 to 3 weeks and up to 6 months, at which point it will be very, very sour and should be eaten or turned into jjigae. Check (and taste!) the kimchi every 2 to 3 days both to familiarize yourself with the fermentation process but also to allow gas to escape.