This video is about White Cabbage Kimchi quick and easy!
This is a seriously easy kimchi recipe, perfect for anyone that is beginning to experiment with kimchi or anyone that loves cabbage kimchi!
When my mom first told me the instructions I was a bit skeptical because it sounded too easy. But it works and it is very tasty! It's also great to cook with in pancakes, fried rice or soups.
The recipe below is based on 500g of cabbage, which is about 1/2 a head in most cases. It makes about 1.5 litres of kimchi. The best part is that it takes 10 min to throw together. Leave to ferment at room temperature for a few days before eating.
What you need:
White Cabbage - 500g
Red pepper flakes (Gochugaru) - 2 to 3 Tbsp
Garlic - 5 cloves (2 generous Tbsp minced)
Ginger - 1 thumb size (2 generous tsp minced)
Onion- 1/2 small onion or 2-3 stalks of spring onion
Apple - 1 medium sized
*Carrot - 1/2 a carrot (1/2 c julienned). This is optional and largely to add a bit of colour.
Salt - 3 tsp (15 g = 3% weight of cabbage)
Fish sauce: 1.5 tsp (half the amount of salt)
Cooking tools: Air tight Container w/Lid, 1 Big Mixing Bowl, Blender (optional), Cling wrap if you are making a batch you want to keep for a long time.
Remove outer layers, the core and other the hard bits.
Chop the cabbage: You can chop thinly about 1/4 centimetre wide and 2-3 inches long OR into bite size blocks about 1 inch by 1 inch. Style of cabbage chopping is purely up to you!
Put Cabbage into the big mixing bowl and make sure all layers are separated.
Add the Red Pepper Flakes - how much you add really depends on the spice level you want OR colour that you want. I usually add 2-3 Tbsp for this amount of cabbage. Mix the Cabbage and Red Pepper Flakes making sure all pieces of Cabbage are evenly coated. Check the colour and add more if you want. Set aside.
Moving onto other ingredients.
2 different ways to do this:
1. Blender:
Core the Apple, peel the Garlic and Ginger, peel the Onion. Throw it all into a blender and pulse until minced. Add it to the bowl of white cabbage. Julienne the Carrot. If you are using Spring onion instead of Onion, cut the Spring Onion into blocks of about 2-3 inches and slice in half OR chop them into thin slices. Up to you! Add these to the big bowl too.
2. Knife:
Peel and mince the Garlic and Ginger.
Thinly slice the Apple and Onion, julienne the Carrots. If you are using Spring onion instead of Onion, cut into blocks of about 2-3 inches and slice in half OR chop them thinly. Up to you.
Add everything to the bowl.
Time to season:
This recipe doesn't call for pre-salting the white cabbage so this time we will use a bit more salt and go for 3% of the weight of cabbage. For 500g, add 3 tsp salt (500g x 0.02 = 15g salt) and 1 1/2 tsp fish sauce to the bowl. Note fish sauce is 1/2 the amount of salt.
Mix it all up!
Toss in the large bowl or use hands (wear gloves if you use your hands!!). Make sure everything is mixed together well - you will start to see a little liquid but not much. The key is mixing well so all the cabbage is seasoned. Separate any remaining layers of cabbage. If you taste the 'sauce' off the side of the bowl, it will be quite salty, this will lessen as the kimchi ferments. If you taste a piece of kimchi, everything will be a bit raw and sharp especially the cabbage at this stage. You can eat it now if you like that taste. As the kimchi ferments, the cabbage will soften and all the flavours will mellow out and start to become zingy.
Transfer kimchi into an airtight container with a lid. Press everything down to get rid of any air pockets. Get a sheet of cling film and stretch it across the top of the kimchi tucking it in around the kimchi before putting the lid on. This helps to prevent oxidation and keeps the kimchi safe from bacteria! This is important especially if you plan to eat the kimchi over a longer time or making a larger batch.
When fermenting, leave at room temperature out of direct sunlight and in the shade. Taste kimchi every 12 hours or so and when you like the taste, put in the fridge to slow down fermentation. Fermentation is weather and temperature dependent. Warmer weather speeds up fermentation. In about 10 degree C UK spring weather, I leave this kimchi at room temperature for around 4 days before putting it in the fridge because I like it when the kimchi starts to get a bit zingy.
*MyMommyKim Tip:
1. ALWAYS use a CLEAN & DRY spoon. Be careful not to drop any water or introduce anything 'new' to the kimchi as this can grow a fungus.
2. Make sure that the lid is back on properly after tasting.
3. Never add back kimchi you've taken out. Keep it separately.
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