Kim Chi

Ingredients:

• 1 small head of napa cabbage, ½ inch sliced
• 1 head baby bok choy, ½ inch sliced
• 1 medium sized daikon radish, julienned
• 1 bunch green onion, sliced coarsely
• 2 jalapenos, sliced thinly
• 2 Tbsp fresh ginger, grated
• 3 – 4 cloves garlic, minced finely
• 1/4 – 1 tsp cayenne pepper, or ground red peppers
• 1 – 2 Tbsp of good quality mineral salt – Celtic or Himalayan sea salt, or Real Salt

Directions:

Measure out about 2 tsp salt per pound of vegetable (for this quantity of vegetable that will likely be around 2 tablespoons).

Scatter the salt on the chopped veggies and toss to distribute. Cover with a kitchen towel and leave it for and hour or two. When you come back the vegetables should have released their liquid.

Massage a little with your hands to help the process along. Stuff the mixture into one or two quart mason jar as needed, leaving about an inch space above the vegetable, and lay a grape leaf over the top of it if you have one. Liquid should rise above the level of the vegetable. Cap jar tightly.

Leave jar on your counter or in a cupboard for 3 – 7 days. Burp the jars daily to make sure the pressure doesn’t build up too intensely. If the ferment looks very active to you, open it slowly over a sink, or wrapped in a kitchen towel – they can spray pretty hard! Press the vegetables down with a fork or spoon. Taste.

When the kim chi tastes tart and sour to your liking, put it in your fridge or cool basement. The flavors will continue to develop over time. Enjoy!

This entry was posted on Friday, July 15th, 2011 at 7:18 pm and is filed under Recipes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.