This recipe is one of the few that we cook on constant rotation (every other week or so). My knowledge of Korean cuisine is pretty limited, so I had never heard of it before I came across the recipe. It’s best with really old, extra sour kimchi, but is good with fresh kimchi too.
BTW, Koreans know how best to use tofu. That is, with plenty of pork.
Will be doing this one soon!
i just started my first kimchi last night. i’ve never had it before. i used david chang’s recipe from momofuku.
I’m kind of afraid of making my own kimchi. I’ve heard it gets pretty stinky while it’s fermenting. I tried to make soy sauce once, and it got super gross (extra-vomit smell), but I think that was operator error.
I’ve never made my own kimchi either, but it’s on my list (if I ever successfully get a crop of cabbage past the damn cabbage loopers). I have always been under the assumption that it would just smell like a spicy saurkraut when its fermenting. Are the bugs much different that make the kimchi? I wonder why it would smell much worse than kraut…
I’m not really sure why it’s supposed to smell bad. Maybe it’s not any worse than sauerkraut. At the Korean grocer I used to go to in Denver they had these crazy Kimchi fridges for making kimchi at home with like, sealed compartments inside.
They also sold a bunch of different kinds of kimchi there. They had a mixed one with cabbage and green onions that was really good. It was labeled “gutjori” but I don’t know what that means. I didn’t care for the radish kimchi, although I like radishes.
this is the recipe i used from david chang…
Ingredients
1 small to medium head Napa cabbage, discolored or loose outer leaves discarded
2 tablespoons kosher or coarse sea salt
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
20 garlic cloves, minced
20 slices peeled fresh ginger, minced
1/2 cup kochukaru (Korean chile powder)
1/4 cup fish sauce
1/4 cup usukuchi (light soy sauce)
2 teaspoons jarred salted shrimp
1/2 cup 1-inch pieces scallions (greens and whites)
1/2 cup julienned carrots
Preparation
Cut the cabbage lengthwise in half, then cut the halves crosswise into 1-inch-wide pieces. Toss the cabbage with the salt and 2 tablespoons of the sugar in a bowl. Let sit overnight in the refrigerator.
Combine the garlic, ginger, kochukaru, fish sauce, soy sauce, shrimp, and remaining ½ cup sugar in a large bowl. If it is very thick, add water 1/3 cup at a time until the brine is just thicker than a creamy salad dressing but no longer a sludge. Stir in the scallions and carrots.
Drain the cabbage and add it to the brine. Cover and refrigerate. Though the kimchi will be tasty after 24 hours, it will be better in a week and at its prime in 2 weeks. It will still be good for another couple weeks after that, though it will grow stronger and funkier.
Serving Size
Makes 1 to 1½ quarts
i’m storing it in quart mason jars in the refrigerator. i’ve heard about so many techniques and recipes. seems like this one will be low on the smell range, until the jars are opened.
I’m gonna have to try that. I’ve got a quart or so of hot sauce I fermented last year that I don’t know what to do with. That calls for less salt than I’ve seen, but there’s quite a bit of salt in fish sauce and soy sauce, so that probably makes up the balance.
That actually sounds a lot like the “gutjori” kimchi I used to buy all the time. I remember there being a lot of garlic and scallions. The carrots are interesting, I don’t think I’ve seen that before.
When I made my hot sauce, I started with 3 quarts. 2 of the jars got a nasty clostridium(?) infection, even with a good deal of salt. I only ended up with 1 quart that was usable. I’m a novice when fermenting foods, but IIRC there are lacto bugs that like low temps, and there are lacto bugs that like higher temps. I guess fermenting at low temps would help inhibit the bad bugs until the pH can drop enough?
After the pepper incident, I’m leery of trying to ferment things without using a culture or pre-souring it a bit. In the one jar of hot sauce that worked out, I added 2tbsp of vinegar and 2tbsp of kimchi juice. I didn’t add any bugs or acid to the other two.
Luckily there are about 5 Korean grocers within 3 miles of my house. They expertly make it themselves. Good stuff.
I skeert to do it myself.
should i be scared?
Kimchi can be pretty stinky. It is similar to a spicy sauerkraut, but there is some other stuff (fish sauce) in there that is a bit funky.
Just as a heads up, if you throw some kimchi with (Asian Style) grilled meat, you get some real tastiness. Slightly charred kimchi is awesome, one of the only ways I enjoy cabbage.
Also, Kochukaru (Korean chili Powder) and Kochujang (Korean Chili paste) Have a lot more flavor than heat, and I like to use it in many of my dishes that need a bit more chili flavor, whether they are Asian or not.
Here is my standard Korean style barbecue recipe. I use Kalbi-style short ribs or thin cut top round steak.
Soy Sauce
Rice Vinegar
Toasted Sesame Oil
Sugar, Honey, or Brown Sugar
Kochukaru
Minced Garlic
Grated Ginger
I mix all of that in a mixing bowl until it tastes like I want it, and then marinate the ribs or steak for 2-6 hours. Grill the meat 2-3 minutes on each side, along with some slices of onion (I just slice the whole onion about 1/4-1/8 inch thick and throw the whole slice on the grill) Kimchi goes great on the grill too, 1/2 - 1 minutes depending on the grill heat.
I know that was all kind of off topic, but I figured it was a good place to throw some more info on kimchi.
So, it turns out I’m an idiot. I fermented some peppers last year, so I was going to sub the chili paste from that for the chili powder in the David Chang recipe. Since all the other ingredients are wet too, when I was done, it was way too soupy. I looked up subs for Korean chili powder, and a few people just used Mexican chili powder. But the chili powder I had wasn’t just chili powder, it was spices too.
So I accidentally made Mexican kimchi. It actually tasted pretty good, so I didn’t dump it. We’ll see how it goes.
I also got what I thought was a large head of cabbage, so I doubled the recipe. It was actually not nearly enough cabbage, so I had to throw in a head of regular cabbage to get the right consistency.
This experience did give me some good ideas about what to do next time though.
I’ve gotten caught by the distinction between “chili powder” (a spice blend - usually with cumin and garlic) and “chile powder” (just powdered peppers) in the past myself. Couldn’t figure out why my chili came out so bland yet insanely hot.
Anyways, I bet chili powder will make a damn tasty kimchi in its own right.
The dumb thing is I’ve mixed up chili and chile powder at least once before, maybe more, I just forgot about it.
Mexican kimchi turned out pretty well. I’ve been putting it on hot dogs and tacos. I think I’ll try to recipe again without the chile powder and see how it goes.
I’m going to have to make the one you linked to, Nate. Looks awesome!
I’ve had best results with really old, extra sour kimchi. If your kimchi is fresh it’ll still be good, but won’t be as good as it could be. I’ve heard of people just leaving fresh kimchi out at room temp for a few days to sour it quickly but I haven’t tried that.