Baechu Kimchi

A Korean Sauerkraut....

Autumn in Korea is Kimjang, and that means Kimchi making time! Kimchi, along with rice, is the bedrock of Korean cuisine. Koreans have been salting vegetables in one form or another for over thousand years as a way of preserving the harvest for the hard Korean winters. The flavor depends on ingredients, condiments, the amount of salt, and level of spice used in each region. I love it raw, fried, stewed, boiled or even with the typical Malaysian maggie mee.

There are over hundreds type of Kimchi in Korea, everything from cube raddish to scallion to cucumber but the most common is cabbage (Baechu kimchi). Hundreds of types are made and each family has its own favorite recipe.

So what are you waiting for? Let’s start making our own Baechu Kimchi.

Ingredients
200g coarse salt or sea salt
8 liter of water
2 medium Chinese or Napa Cabbage
4 bulb of garlic, cloves separated and peeled
4 inches of young ginger
90ml fish sauce
300g Korean chili powder
1 ½ tablespoon of sugar
1 Asian radish, peeled and grated
1 bunch of scallion

Method
1. Dissolve salt into the water. Soak cabbage in the salt water for 6-8 hours
2. Combine garlic, ginger and fish sauce in a food processor or blender until finely minced.

3. In a large bowl, add chili powder to the blended mixture. Then add in sugar, radish and scallion. Toss gently and thoroughly

4. Remove cabbage from water and rinse thoroughly. Drain cabbage in colander, squeezing as much water from the leaves as possible.

5. Take cabbage and stuff radish mixture between the leaves, working from outside in. Do not overstuff but make sure radish mixture fills the leaves adequately and evenly.

6. When the entire cabbage is done, take one larger leave and wrap tightly around the rest of the cabbage. Keep in a jar.
7. Store in cool dry place for 2-3 days before serving. Remove kimchi from jar and slice into 1 inch length pieces. Refrigerate after open.

Notes:
- You can vary the amount of seasonings according to your taste. Some people recommend cayenne or red pepper flakes to substitute Korean chili flakes, but the flavor won’t really be the same.
- In Korea pieces of seafood such as oysters, anchovies or salted shrimp are often added to the kimchi to give it a rounder, more pungent flavor. Try adding 2-3 tbsp of ground dried shrimp if you like.
- While fermenting, the kimchi gives off carbon dioxide and you may need to open the container lids periodically to relieve pressure.
- Kimchi stored past 1-2 weeks gets softer and more pungent and is good in soup and stews.