Kimchi

I know every hipster man and his dog is doing a weekend fermentation class these days but I’ve always been interested in that arcane area of the culinary arts. I’ve been making cheese for a few years now, albeit with varying levels of success, also yoghurt and bread, but I’ve never tried my hand at making any fermented vegetables. Because it’s winter now in Australia, things like cabbages and Chinese radishes (daikon) are in season, cheap and abundant, so I figured I’d have a go at making kimchi, the delicious Korean side dish made traditionally from cabbage. It’s easy as anything and because it’s pretty cool at the moment, the fermentation won’t get out of control as can happen if you try fermenting things in very warm temperatures.

Kimchi is synonymous with Korean food and is one of the dishes called banchan that appear when you sit down in any decent Korean restaurant. It goes really well with barbecued meats but it can also form the basis of a yummy fried rice, the recipe for which follows. However first to the kimchi itself.

The only special piece of equipment you need is a wide-mouthed container sufficiently sized to take the vegetables and brine (I used a large square food grade plastic box). It needs to be wide-mouthed because you want to expose as much surface area as possible to the air as this is where the bacteria will come from which will cause the vegetables to ferment. And don’t freak out about the word “bacteria”. The kind of bacteria in fermented vegetables are the same ones that allow you to make sourdough bread, brew beer, or to create cheese from milk. Even tea is fermented. Without these bacteria, we’d have a pretty boring diet.

Most fermented vegetables have as their base a brine, which is just salt and water. The amount of salt in the brine will determine how rapidly fermentation proceeds and the extent to which unwanted bacteria are controlled, although a really salty brine will actually kill the good bacteria too. For this kimchi, a brine based on a ratio of 3 tablespoons of salt to one litre of water seems about right, although you could go as little as 2 1/2 tablespoons but no less.

Kimchi
6 tablespoons salt
2 litres water
1 kilo Chinese cabbage
1/2 daikon radish
2 carrots
1 large onion – finely sliced
1 large bunch of garlic chives or spring onions, chopped into 2cm lengths
8 cloves garlic – finely chopped
a large knob of ginger (50-60g)- grated
3-4 hot fresh chillies – deseeded and sliced
2-3 tablespoons hot chilli powder or to taste

Mix the brine and salt together and stir to dissolve it completely. Chop the cabbage roughly, finely slice the daikon and carrot and cut into slivers. Put these three vegetables into the brine and let them sit overnight.

The next day drain off the brine but reserve it. Put the vegetables into a bowl and add the onion and garlic chives or spring onions. Combine the garlic, ginger and chilli powder in a small bowl and mix a little of the brine to make a slurry. Then combine this with the vegetables, mixing thoroughly.

Put the vegetables into your container pushing down to release any brine. Weight the vegetables down somehow. I used a flat piece of food grade plastic and then filled a couple of containers with water and sat them on top. You can also fill sturdy plastic bags with some of the brine (in case they leak) and use them as weights. You might need to add a little of the reserved brine if the vegetables aren’t already sitting under it.

Check the kimchi each day and poke any errant vegetables back down under the brine. It should be ready in about a week. Once it’s fermented to your taste, put it in a container in the fridge, where it will keep for some weeks, getting riper and more flavoursome.

Kimchi Fried Rice
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3 tablespoons peanut oil
250g fatty minced pork
1 tablespoon Chinese cooking wine
2 lap cheong sausages – finely sliced
3 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon grated ginger
1 cup kimchi, drained of any excess brine and roughly chopped
1 -2 hot red chillies, finely sliced
3 cups cooked, cold jasmine rice
2 -3 tablespoons light soy sauce
3 spring onions finely sliced, white and green parts kept separate
2 teaspoons sesame oil

In a large wok, heat one tablespoon of the peanut oil and pour in the beaten egg. Turn it round a few times to set the egg then flip it onto a plate and set aside.

Return the wok to the heat, add the remaining peanut oil and fry the pork mince until it starts to colour, then add the rice wine and let evaporate. Add the lap cheong sausage and stir around until the slices start to caramelise around the edges.

Now add the garlic, ginger, the white part of the spring onions and the chilli and fry till becomes fragrant but take care not to burn things. Throw in the kimchi and cook for another couple of minutes, stirring all the time. Add the rice, breaking it up up with your spoon so no lumps remain. Keep stirring so that the rice starts to catch a little on the bottom of the wok. Add the soy sauce, the reserved egg and the green part of the spring onions and combine, then turn off the heat and drizzle over the sesame oil. Eat straight away with a side of kimchi.

Squisito!