Posted by Taps (673 days ago)
A basic kimchee recipe:
1/2 cup salt
1 head Chinese cabbage
1/3 of a smallish white radish cut into julieened strips
1~2 tbsp of minced ginger
2~8 tbsp of dried Korean red pepper flakes(adjust how spicy you want your kimchi)
1~2 head of minced garlic(according to personal preference)
2 green spring onions, julieened
1 tbsp sugar
2~3 tsp of Philippines sauteed shrimp paste(available in Asian food stores)
Cut the cabbage in chunks. Mix salt with enough water to cover the quartered cabbage chunks making sure all parts are submerged.
Leave it from 2~4 hours, leaving it wilted,supple and salty in taste. Drain the cabbage, I usually use muslin cloth and wring it carefully to take the excess liquid from the cabbage.
In the meantime prepare the (daikon) radish and red pepper sauce. Mix together daikon, red pepper flakes, minced garlic, minced ginger, julienned spring onion, salt, sugar and the shrimp paste.
Use gloves when mixing and avoid touching your eyes.
Put some of the daikon and pepper sauce into the cabbage chunks making sure each stalk has some of it.
Pack into the container, the mixture will have more liquid as it sits.
Either keep the cabbage outside to let it "ripen" more quickly or store in the fridge tightly covered.
The taste will change as it ripens, initially like salad, then when it ferments the taste becomes more sour.
To remove the piquant taste of daikon, I also put some salt in it, let it sit for a few minutes and wring with muslin cloth, the result adds a different taste to the kimchi.
(I am based in Guangzhou)
