Iam a Bohemian girl, through and through. My ancestors came from theCzech/Slovakia area and traveled to Ellis Island long before my time tosow their roots in the wonderful United States. They came from a placecalled “Paa Town”, so when they arrived here in the US and were asked asurname, they removed town and went with Paa. I sure do get a lot ofquestions about my last name….it is very unique. If I get married someday, my plan is to change my middle name to Paa so I am able to carry itwith me forever. I grew up in New Ulm, a small, full fledged Germantown along the Minnesota River in southern Minnesota. It surely is abeautiful place that is packed with history – Hermann the German, The Glockenspiel, Faschinand Schell’s Brewerythe second oldest family run brewery in the United States! As a littlegirl you could often find me wearing a drindl and requesting just aplate of sauerkraut for dinner, maybe a couple of my grandma’s pillowysoft potato dumplings as well. I am still in love with sauerkraut as anadult and recently made my own through lacto-fermentation for the firsttime. It is so yummy and full of probiotics! I even find myself eatingit for breakfast some days.
My adventures in fermenting have not stopped there. With all thebeautiful cabbages and asian vegetables overflowing at the farmer’smarket, I decided I wanted to try and make kimchi. Kimchi is a theKorean version of sauerkraut, a very spicy condiment with a basic baseof cabbage, garlic, salt, peppers. It is loaded with vitamins A, B, andC, along with healthy bacteria (lactobacilli). I looked through severaldifferent versions online before I began, and even asked a few of theAsian vendors at the market for some tips. I found this websiteto have an excellent video on the process of making kimchi! Once I feltlike I had enough knowledge to create my own kimchi, I gathered all theveggies and the madness began!
Here is the step-by-step recipe for homemade kimchi:
1. I gathered about 6 1/2 lbs. of napa cabbage and one large daikonradish. Core the napa cabbage just like a regular cabbage. Cut in halflengthwise, then in half again so you have four quarters, then removethe core from the bottom of each quarter. This picture is the napacabbage chopped into about 1 to 1 1/2 in pieces and the daikon radishjulienned. As you can see, kimchi has a much chunkier texture comparedto sauerkraut.
2. Place into large bowl that you will have enough room to cover withbrine and submerge the mixture. Dissolve 4-5 tablespoons of sea saltinto about 10 cups of filtered water to create your brine. Pour over cabbage and daikon, then press down with plate that barely fits insidecontainer so that brine rises above mixture. I used a heavy pot filledwith water to keep the plate in place and the mixture fully covered.
3. Let this rest for about 8-12 hours. In the meantime, I julienned 5carrots and 1 green pepper and thinly sliced 2 leeks including greenparts.
4. To make the paste above I pureed the following in a food processor:
-4 cloves of garlic -3/4 tablespoon of dried, ground alpeppo pepper -1 1/2 tablespoons of freshly grated ginger -1 tablespoon sugar -2 tablespoons gluten-free soy sauce or tamari (which is naturally gf) -1/4 cup filtered water
5. Once I had let the cabbage/daikon mixture rest in brine for about12 hours I drained all of the brine off into a separate container tokeep in case I needed a little extra after packing the jars. Then Isqueezed all of the brine out of the mixture. To this I added theadditional veggies that I had chopped.
6. Then for the fun part – I poured the paste on top of the mixtureand thoroughly worked it in, coating every inch of it! It is a good ideato wear rubber gloves for this part because of the strength of thepeppers.
7. Finally tightly pack into a crock or glass jars (I like to use THESE) so the brine risesabove the top of the kimchi and put cover on. If you are not gettingenough brine from pressing the kimchi down, feel free to add some of thebrine you drained off.
8. Let ferment on the counter for about 1-2 days, (if roomtemperature is around 70 degrees F), depending on how you like it totaste. Some people put it in the refrigerator right away because theylike a milder version, however you will not get any of the probioticcomponents by doing this. I taste mine every 12 hours or so to make sureI like how it is coming along. Be careful when opening the jar thoughbecause the live bacteria will cause lots of bubbles and fizz!
9. Once the kimchi meets your taste standards, place in refrigerator,where it will last 4-6 months and continue to slowly ferment.
Kimchi is great as a small side dish or condiment on a tasty burger. Need other inspirations to how to use it? Check out these kimchi recipes,everything from kimchi pancakes to fried rice. The nicething about this recipe is you can really adapt it to include whateveryour favorite Asian veggies are and modify the spice level to yourliking. The only things that are a must are having the right cabbage andat least one root vegetable in the mixture. Let your creative juicesflow!
this blog is supported by affiliate amazon links, which i may make a small portion from if you decide to purchase.
The kimchi fermentation process is very short in comparison to making sauerkraut. Kimchi ferments at room temperature in only 1-2 days or more slowly in the refrigerator.
Homemade kimchi often offers a fresher and more vibrant taste since you can control the fermentation process and adjust the level of spiciness, tanginess, or other flavors to your liking. It can also provide a sense of satisfaction and pride.
Why make your own sauerkraut/kimchi? There are so many reasons! COST: making your own fermented veggies is WAY cheaper than buying them at the store! FLEXIBLE FLAVORS AND SALT LEVEL: making your own fermented veggies allows you to put whatever ingredients, flavors, level of salt or hot pepper that you want.
Homemade kimchi must be kept refrigerated and will last for up to 1 month. Store-bought kimchi that remains unopened can be kept at room temperature for 1-3 months. If you have store-bought kimchi that's been opened, it will be good for 3-4 days at room temperature and up to 6 months when refrigerated.
If you leave kimchi outside of the fridge, over time it will become over-fermented and won't taste so great anymore. What are the health benefits of eating kimchi? People have known about the health benefits of eating kimchi for thousands of years.
Stand it in a cool, dark place until it starts to ferment (48-72 hours), then refrigerate. Though the kimchi will be tasty after 24 hours, it will be better in a week and at its prime in 2 weeks and still good for up to a month, though it will become funkier as time passes.
But if you're looking to whip up a dish with Kimchi, we recommend using fermented Kimchi because it has a stronger flavour. If you need your Kimchi to ferment faster you can leave it out of the fridge for a couple of hours.
Kimchi should only be fermented for a few days at room temperature and then put into the refrigerator. It will continue to ferment at a cool temperature. If kimchi over-ferments, it will have a very vinegary odor and taste. It is not pleasant to eat raw, so it is often used for soups and stews.
Kimchi is traditionally made with napa cabbage, but there's nothing to stop you from using another cabbage! Napa cabbage, Chinese cabbage, green cabbage, savoy cabbage, white cabbage, red cabbage, and bok choy (we could go on and on) are all part of the very large cruciferous family (Brassicaceae).
Why does my Kimchi taste bitter/salty? Your Kimchi has probably not fermented enough. Freshly made Kimchi from Korea is known to be slightly bitter and more salty! But this will change overtime to a tangy and umami flavour as it ferments in the fridge.
Researchers found that kimchi helped people lose weight by boosting their metabolism. They attribute this to the probiotic bacteria in kimchi. These bacteria assist in breaking down food and extracting more energy from it. Furthermore, kimchi is rich in fiber, which may induce satiety after eating it.
Kimchi is more spicy and has a distinctively more 'pickle like' taste. Our Kimchi is blended with ginger, garlic, Chinese radish, apple, onion, spring onions and chilli. Both dishes use fermented cabbage but kimchi is made with Wombok cabbage (Chinese Cabbage) and is flavoured totally differently.
The rise in the price of the main ingredient for kimchi is also pushing up the price of packaged kimchi, at a time when more people find it economical to buy the ready-to-eat product than make the Korean staple at home. Thanks to such high demand, packaged kimchi is sold out on many online e-commerce platforms.
Kimchi can be made from a variety of vegetables, and even fruits, but the most recognized version — baechu kimchi — is made with cabbage. Alongside cabbage, it often contains radishes, scallions, carrots, garlic, ginger, chili flakes, and other flavorings. Kimchi has a sour, salty, savory, and often fiery taste.
As a way of preserving the harvest just before winter, Koreans would first salt then tightly pack their cabbages into large clay urns, burying them underground to avoid the frost. The resulting fermented product took on a delicious flavour, and Kimchi began bubbling up across the whole country.
Taste. The biggest difference between fresh and fermented Kimchi is the taste. Fresh Kimchi is more like a salad, so it taste more raw, fresh and crunchy. Fermented Kimchi is softer and tangy.
Kimchi is a traditional Korean method of salting and fermenting vegetables such as Cabbage, Radish and Cucumbers, this helps the vegetable last longer. Fresh Kimchi starts off salty and gets more sour as it naturally ferments over time.
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