DISCLAIMER : If you are not *hot* for spicy food, then this post will make your eyes water!!! Enter as per discretion and let it be known that you are one courageous gourmet!! :)
Anyone who is not new to making pickles at home, will not be intimidated from making Kimchi. But then, if you have not made them before, this post will show you how easy and simple it actually is, to make this Korean speciality by your own, without having to grab the kimchi jar at your local supermarket. Kimchi, also spelled gimchi or kimchee is a traditional korean side dish(banchan) and is made by fermenting vegetables. This was originally done with the purpose of preserving vegetables as a means of storage for the winters. Because of its unique flavours and the preserving tendancies, it has come to be enjoyed by the rest of the world too.
There are quite a few variations of making Kimchee, spicy Baechu(cabbage) Kimchi being the most popular which is what I have made for this post.I have this recipe from an "Authentic Korean cooking" cookbook which I have adapted a bit to my taste and availibility of ingredients. I have blanked out on the name of the author and will update the post with the same once I recall/find the author's name.
You can adjust the ingredients according to your taste buds. :)
Method
Remove the outer leaves of the Napa cabbane. Cut of the edges. Seperate the leaves. Keep aside 3-4 leaves and then chop the rest into quarters.
In a large skillet, add the 10 cups of water along with salt. Give it a swirl and then soak the cabbage leaves for 6-8 hours.
After soaking, remove the leaves, wash/rinse in cold water and squeeze out any excess water. Set the salted water aside. Dont throw it away. Slice the daikons into matchsticks. Chop the mustard greens if using. In a bowl, add the ginger garlic paste and the chilli powder -
make it into a paste by adding about 1/2 cup of water.
To this paste, add the daikon,scallions,mustard greens and mix until blended. Gloved hands are your best bet.
now add the squeezed out cabbage and blend it along with the rest of the chilli mixture.
Take one of the leaves ( which has not been chopped), set it on the board. Put few spoonfuls of this spiced mixture on it.
Now place another cabbage leave as a layer above it and then repeat the process until all the leaves have been used.
Take a Jar and lift this napa-spice layers and push it down the jar. Pack it tightly.
Add any additional mixture to the jar on top.
Use the salt water (used for soaking the cabbage) and pour it down the jar to the brim.
Set aside this jar for 2-3 days ( for the process of fermentation) and then enjoy it with rice or any other korean main dish. There you just made yourself an authentic spicy korean vegetable preserve.
This post finds its way to A.W.E.D Korean hosted by dear PJ
