Updated date:

Nov 11, 2020

Kimchee - a New Twist on Old Sauerkraut

Author:

Char Milbrett

Introducing Kimchee

Ingredients

For the Cabbage Mix - Room Temperature for 4 hours:

1 napa cabbage, chopped
1 bag matchstick carrots
3 teaspoons coarse sea salt, no iodine added

Rice Sauce - Heat and Cool:

1 1/2 tablespoons rice flour
1/2 cup water water
1 tablespoon sugar

For the Kimchee Sauce - Puree:

1 ripe pear, peeled, grated
1 cup vidalia sweet onion, grated
1 inch of bunch onion tops
2 inches piece ginger, peeled
5 garlic cloves
3 tablespoons fish sauce
1 package or 2 tablespoons pepper flakes for pizza
2 tablespoons smoked papricka

Use Turkey Cooking Bag for Convenience Purposes

Since the original people wanted this done in a stainless steel pan, or a glass jar, I opted for doing it in a heatproof, plastic oven bag. These bags are designed to resist heat, and they are leakproof, and once you are done with the fermenting, you just discard the bag. No cleanup. That works for me.

In turkey cooking bag, you will start by layering a bag of matchstick carrots, chopped cabbage and chunky sea salt. The picture shows a grinder salt shaker, but I took the top off and just used the salt whole.

Which amounts to putting handful of carrots in the bag, a handful of cabbage and sprinkling this with about a tablepoon of salt. Then repeat, about three times, until your cabbage and carrots are in the bag together.

Then, you twist the top of the bag closed and secure with a clothespin or a piece of scotch tape and let it 'work' at room temperature. The salt will draw moisture out of the cabbage and after a few hours, the cabbage will be wet and sitting in a watery liquid.

Salt, Carrots and Chopped Cabbage to Start

Matchstick carrots. Start with carrots for the first layer in bag.

Progress in Stages

Now that you have the salt, cabbage and carrots in the bag, set it aside and let it work for a few hours. I gave mine about 4 hours to work.

As you watch it, it will draw moisture from the vegetables. You will keep this liquid for the duration of the recipe. It does not get discarded.

Meanwhile - You Need to Make a Rice Paste Sauce

Since I was instructed to find a rice paste sauce, which my local stores do not carry, I just happened to have a bag of tempura mix that my sister-in-law had given me, and it seemed to work just fine. It must be a rice flour.

The flour, water and sugar were heated until they thickened and became a smooth, almost glassy substance. Then, poured into a plastic dish and set aside for later.

Make a Rice Paste Mixture

use whisk to stir rice flour, water and sugar.

The mixture will cook into a satiny, glossy mixture. That's all. Take off heat and cool.

The Cold Sauce Mixture

There are a few ingredients that need to be pureed and mixed with the rice sauce, and then, after the cabbage and carrots have wilted, these have to be all combined and left to ferment in a room temperature location. The eventual fermenting will take 48 hours to complete.

So, you will need to use a food processor to puree the following ingredients:

onion
garlic
ginger
pear
green onions
fish sauce
pepper flakes

It's All a Waiting Game at this Point

You are waiting for cabbage and carrots to wilt.

Waiting for rice mixture to cool.

Waiting to combine everything together.

The Following Ingredients Will be Pureed in a Food Processor

chop bunch onions to make easier to puree

ready to combine with rice paste mixture

Let it Ferment

Forty-eight hours.

Put the Kimchee in a Jar

Put in jar. At this point, you should taste a piece of cabbage. If it is tangy enough to suit your taste buds, put the jar in the refrigerator right away.

If, by chance, you decide it isn't tangy enough, just let the jar sit overnight and put it in the refrigerator tomorrow.

And that, is it. The kimchee is ready to eat, so, enjoy!