Kimchi and Kimchi Soup

One of the enduring things I brought back from my time in Korea was a love of Kimchi.  In Korea there are many types of Kimchi but the most common and the one I enjoy the most is made with cabbage, Tongbaechu Kimchi.  Luckily for me, there is usually at least one Korean grocery store and an affiliated restaurant close to any Army base.  I started making my own Kimchi to try a recipe in a Korean cook book and kept making it because not all Kimch available at Korean stores was acceptable to us.

Kimchi was made as a way to keep vegetables through the winter by preserving them by fermentation.  Kimch making in the Fall was an all hands affair for the women of the family/village.  Many still make it in the traditional manner though there is lots of commercially prepared Kimchi used in Korea as well.  The basic ingredients are cabbage, brine, pepper, and fish sauce/shrimp paste.  There are other things put in to boost flavor.  Kimchi is an excellent source of vitamins to keep you healthy during the winter months. 

The Kimchi I make tends to be a bit hotter than most but we like it that way obviously.  Besides being a side dish one of our main uses for Kimchi is to make Kimchi Soup.  Kimchi Soup is an almost guaranteed way to clear your sinuses and keep you going through the cold months.  I ate Kimchi Soup at least twice a week during the Winter I was there and never got a cold or sinus infection.

Kimchi - My way

1 head Nappa Cabbage
1 - 2 bundles green onions
1 - 2 Tbs minced ginger
course Korean pepper flakes
1 - 2 Tbs fish sauce
kosher salt
1 medium carrot
1 cup julienned Daikon radish

Cut the cabbage into quarters and remove the core.  Cut the quarters in 2 inch sections.  Put into a large bowl and sprinkle heavily with the kosher salt.  Cover the cabbage with warm water and let stand for 4 hours.  While the cabbage is soaking julienne the carrot and cut the onions, including the green portion, into 1 inch pieces.  Drain the water and check the cabbage, it should be a bit wilted.  Add the rest of the ingredients to the cabbage and mix thoroughly.  Put the mixture in a large jar and seal it.  If you don't  have a large jar, leave it in the bowl and cover with cling wrap making sure it contacts the kimchi and goes up the sides of the bowl.  What you are wanting to do is cut off the oxygen.  Let it set at room temperature for at least 3 days.  Start tasting it each day to check the sour level.  If it is not sour enough then re-cover and sit for another day or two.  Once it has reached the desired level put it in the refrigerator.


Everything mixed together ready to cover with cling wrap

Full jar after fermenting 4 days

 The traditional method is to quarter the cabbage and salt it then let it sit for a few hours.  After it has wilted a bit, they smear a mixture of all the other ingredients between each leaf and on the outside.  Then the quarter is folded in half and put in a jar/crock and allowed to ferment.  Koreans prefer to serve the quarters to show that it is fresh from the crock if they are in their home.  Restaurants have it already cut up.

1 gallon jar of Cabbage Kimchi

I now have a 1 gallon jar that was purchased at Grand Mart, my favorite Asian market, so the next batch of Kimchi will be packed in it after it is mixed.  The gallon jar will then serve as the fermentation crock and storage once it has reached its desired level of fermentation.

Kimchi Soup

4 cups chopped Kimchi
1 cup Kimchi juice
8 oz pork, belly, chop, or cutlet
8 oz tofu
1 bunch green onions
2 Tbs Korean pepper paste or pepper powder
1 - 2 Tbs Sesame oil
noodles, optional

Make sure the Kimchi is chopped in easily eaten sizes.  Put in large pot.  Add Kimchi juice.  Bring to boil then reduce to a simmer, cover the pot while simmering.  Cut pork into strips.  Season with salt and pepper and fry in Sesame oil till browned all over.  Put into pot with the Kimchi.  Cut the tofu in half to reduce the thickness.  Cut the two sides in a grid pattern the same size as the thickness of each side to have uniform cubes.  Chop green onions into 1/2 inch pieces, both the white and green parts.  Add tofu and onions to the pot.  Add the Korean pepper paste/powder to the pot if you think it needs additional heat.  If using noodles, use the minimum necessary water to cook them and add Korean pepper paste/powder to the water.  Once the noodles are done, cut them into smaller lengths and pour them, water and all, into the pot.  Stir everything together and bring back to a simmer.  Serve with rice and fried dumplings.

Yaki Mandu(fried dumplings), rice, Kimchi Soup

 This turns out to be more of a stew than a soup though once you eat all the Kimchi, pork, and tofu from your bowl there will be plenty of juice left.  We like to dump our rice in the remaining juice to let it soak up the flavors and finish it that way.  We get the dumplings from the Asian market as they have a wide variety of fillings available.

OK, here's a bonus recipe.  This is for Cucumber Kimchi.  It is a fresher and not as hot style of Kimchi and is a good introduction to Kimchi for someone that is hesitant to try the cabbage Kimchi.  It is an excellent side dish with grilled meats as well as with Korean dishes or even as a snack.

Cucumber Kimchi

1 1/2 lbs cucumbers, about 4 inches long
1 Tbs + 1 tsp kosher salt
4 - 6 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 Tbs minced ginger
2 Tbs Korean pepper flakes
1tsp sugar
2 Tbs fish sauce
3 green onion, chopped in 1 inch pieces
2 Tbs water

Trim the ends off the cucumbers.  Stand them on one end and being sure to leave 1/2 inch at the bottom cut each cucumber into quarters.  Stand cut cucumbers in a bowl, open end up and sprinkle with the 1 Tbs salt.  Let sit for 30 minutes.  Combine the rest of the ingredients in a bowl and stir to make a thick paste.  Once the cucumbers are done sitting, stuff each one with the paste being sure to get some into each section and on the outside.  Lay the completed ones in a bowl or in a jar.  Continue until all are stuffed.  Any remaining paste should be poured on top of the cucumbers and evenly spread out.  At this point you have the option to eat fresh or to ferment first.  If you want to eat them fresh, put them in the refrigerator until chilled through and enjoy.  If you want fermented, cover them and let them sit at room temperature for 24 hours.  After the 24 hours, put in the refrigerator and chill completely. 

Freshly made and ready for the short ferment

So, now you have 3 ways to enjoy some healthy spicy food and experience the food of other countries.  The Kimchi could also be done without the pepper flakes if you absolutely can't stand heat but like fermented vegetables.  If you can find a Korean restaurant close by, I'd encourage you to give them a try.  Most Korean restaurants haven't Americanized their dishes as much as the Chinese places have so you have a better chance of getting authentic flavors.  You never know, you might find you're a fan also.

Uncle T