Kimchi

[AlwaysAgnes]

"Champagne of pickles" Ha. Mommy Tang's video with the CEO of Mother-in-Law's Kimchi, making two kinds of kimchi. If you don't like spicy/hot, you can make it white without the Korean red pepper.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDyhlTybVMM

[JuicerJohn]

That was a great recipe video! I just haven't gotten around to making it yet. But it's definitely on my list.

[AlwaysAgnes]

I'm making kimchi today, two big ol' napa cabbages worth. Cross your fingers it's edible when I finish.

Here are a few more kimchi links showing other variations.

http://www.koreanbapsang.com/2016/10/vegan-kimchi.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuLPYIzFUOY
http://www.beyondkimchee.com/vegan-kimchi/
http://minimalistbaker.com/easy-vegan-kimchi/

[greentea]

I'm making kimchi today, two big ol' napa cabbages worth. Cross your fingers it's edible when I finish.

Here are a few more kimchi links showing other variations.

http://www.koreanbapsang.com/2016/10/vegan-kimchi.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuLPYIzFUOY
http://www.beyondkimchee.com/vegan-kimchi/
http://minimalistbaker.com/easy-vegan-kimchi/

I'm making some tomorrow. Hopefully I can fine Korean red pepper. If not I'll improvise with something else. BTW, love the mommy Tang video, that was really informative.

[JuicerJohn]

I'm making kimchi today, two big ol' napa cabbages worth. Cross your fingers it's edible when I finish.

Here are a few more kimchi links showing other variations.

http://www.koreanbapsang.com/2016/10/vegan-kimchi.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuLPYIzFUOY
http://www.beyondkimchee.com/vegan-kimchi/
http://minimalistbaker.com/easy-vegan-kimchi/

Do you inoculate the ferment with some sort of probiotic to start it off in the tight direction?

[AlwaysAgnes]

I'm making kimchi today, two big ol' napa cabbages worth. Cross your fingers it's edible when I finish.

Here are a few more kimchi links showing other variations.

http://www.koreanbapsang.com/2016/10/vegan-kimchi.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuLPYIzFUOY
http://www.beyondkimchee.com/vegan-kimchi/
http://minimalistbaker.com/easy-vegan-kimchi/

Do you inoculate the ferment with some sort of probiotic to start it off in the tight direction?

Inoculate the ferment? Sounds kinky. No, I didn't add any probiotic to it. I pretty much followed what they did in the Mommy Tang video, but I added 1 tsp of sweet potato starch to the water (nuked a minute and stirred, 3 minutes total, then cooled) and 1 tsp mushroom soy sauce and 1 tsp sugar to the 1 big onion, 6 cloves garlic, approx 2 tbsp ginger, and 1 McIntosh apple. I also added 1 Tbsp sea salt. That all was blended pretty smooth in the blender and poured over the salted, wilted, rinsed, drained cabbage along with 1/2 cup of Korean red pepper. My 2 big cabbage ended up making a couple cups more than 1/2 gallon. So, I have an almost full 1/2 gallon jar plus an almost full quart jar. I'll leave them on the counter until they start to ferment. I sterilized the jars with boiling water, so between that and the salt, hopefully there shouldn't be any funky unwanted bacteria. Knock on wood.

http://www.mrskimskimchi.com/fermentation-101/

[JuicerJohn]

It is probably just paranoia on my part, but generally, when I am making sauerkraut I add a little juice from a previous batch when I am starting a new one, just to give the good bacteria a head start.

I need to just take the plunge and start a batch of Kimchi!

[AlwaysAgnes]

It is probably just paranoia on my part, but generally, when I am making sauerkraut I add a little juice from a previous batch when I am starting a new one, just to give the good bacteria a head start.

I need to just take the plunge and start a batch of Kimchi!

I think this is the 3rd time I've made cabbage kimchi. The last time was probably about 4 years ago. Just have to be in the mood, I guess.

Here's one more cabbage kimchi. Long leaves. http://crazykoreancooking.com/recipe/ki ... ed-cabbage
Here's one for radish kimchi. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5NXchQKy-s
Just omit the fishy stuff, and/or sub soy sauce or mushroom soy sauce or use vegetarian fish sauce. (I don't like fishy stuff.)

Here are a couple for fresh cucumber kimchi. No fermentation required.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApQUENQbgiY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTCOwG7idZc

[greentea]

AlwaysAgnes, is there enough liquid to submerge your kimchi? And do you put the lid on the jars? I only made it once, probably 5 years ago so i don't remember what I did. I think I may have tracked down some Korean red pepper. I've been all over town looking for it.
Oh, also, what does does adding the potato starch do?

[AlwaysAgnes]

AlwaysAgnes, is there enough liquid to submerge your kimchi? And do you put the lid on the jars? I only made it once, probably 5 years ago so i don't remember what I did. I finally think I may have tracked down some Korean red pepper in town. I've been all over town looking for it.

I had quite a bit of paste to coat everything, but it's not liquidy. If that makes sense. I don't think you want it too watery. Squish/pack it into your jar or container to make sure there aren't air pockets. I have a pretty good gap at the top of my jars, so when it starts to ferment or expand it shouldn't bubble out. You can put plastic wrap over the top and then the lids. That's what I did this morning. Yesterday, I just put the lids on loosely.

If you can't find it locally, it's available through Amazon. I found the Korean pepper powder at Lee Lee's International market here. Assi brand. It's a pretty big bag (1 pound), but the smallest one I saw there. One of those links said you can freeze it and it will last a long time. I think the next time I'll try making the radish cube kimchi. They have the Korean radish at Lee Lee's. Hope it doesn't stink like daikon when it's pickled.

Here's a quick pickle, daikon and carrot, using white vinegar.
http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/vi ... t_pickles/
and one using rice vinegar
http://plantbasedonabudget.com/recipe/p ... h-do-chua/

[greentea]

Great info, thanks! I didn't know there was such a thing as korean radish. I know what you mean about the stink.

I made some carrot/daikon pickle last weekend. It is so refreshing. I love having it as a snack. I usually make it when we are going to have some banh mi.

[AlwaysAgnes]

Oh, also, what does does adding the potato starch do?

Almost missed that question.

Some kimchi recipes use water thickened with sweet rice flour. I just figured I'd thicken my water a tad with the potato starch. It wasn't near as thick as some of the recipes I saw, though. I only used one teaspoon in a cup of water which I then used to puree the onion, garlic, ginger and apple. The starch probably wasn't necessary in the puree, but I don't think it hurt anything. The veg puree would have been thick enough to cling to the cabbage without the starch.

[AlwaysAgnes]

Great info, thanks! I didn't know there was such a thing as korean radish. I know what you mean about the stink.

I made some carrot/daikon pickle last weekend. It is so refreshing. I love having it as a snack. I usually make it when we are going to have some banh mi.

The korean radish is shorter and rounder than daikon, and the skin has more green on it.

http://www.maangchi.com/ingredient/korean-radish
http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/ingredient ... ean-radish

[AlwaysAgnes]

I came across this today (or it came across me).

http://www.livehappy.com/self/nutrition ... -your-mood

There are a couple of fermented food companies linked in the article with some interesting products that might spur some ideas for different flavors in your fermentation experimentations. Wildbrine's Thai kimchi sounds interesting. Ingredients: Napa Cabbage, Onions, Carrots, Pineapple, Water, Sea Salt, Garlic, Ginger, Mint, Basil, Lime Juice, Chili Pepper, Lemongrass, Spices. Bet it would taste great with rice.

[greentea]

Kimchi is in the jars. I thought I had sweet glutinous flour, but it was just rice flour, I mixed some with water and nuked it for a minute, and added some more water because it was super thick. I used some of it just to see. I'll find out soon enough, LOL!