Started some kimchi today!

[pepperhead212]

I did this with some bok choy and mizuna, since that is what I had to trim from my hydro garden, and I've seen a number of brassicas used for kimchi. Anybody here have any experience with this? I cut everything up, instead of leaving large chunks, since that is what is usually done with it when it is used. As usual, what looked like a lot, reduced to very little, after salting.

12 qt bowl full of bok choy and mizuna by pepperhead212, on Flickr


Chopped up bok choy and mizuna with salt. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

After salting for 1 hour. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Amazing how much this reduces!
After salting 3 hours. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Drained, salted vegetables. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Spice mix for kimchi - hot peppers, garlic, ginger, dried shrimp, fish sauce by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Mixed spices and vegetables for kimchi. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Kimchi, ready to ferment, with pressure release valve. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

 

[buckytom]

Nicely done!

I was going to ask you where did you get your/what kind of gochugaru you used, but I see you made your own.

Do you have a recipe? Specific peppers, maybe?

I wonder how it tastes as compared to commercial stuff (hint hint).

 

[pepperhead212]

Here's the general recipe - I weighed the greens, and used about as much of the other things that other recipes seemed to have, in relation to the greens in those, though they varied greatly. I used a combo of Thai peppers and jyoti - an Indian variety sort of like Thai and Korean, but milder than Thai, which is why I used a bunch of it

572 g bok choy and mizuna, cut up into chunks
3 tb kosher salt
1 large cucumber, peeled, seeded, and cut into 2" sticks
1 large carrot, peeled, and julienned

All of this was salted for 3 hours, stirring frequently, then rinsed, and drained.

Spice mix - combine in FP:
about 1/4 c pepper flakes, about 2/3 jyoti and 1/3 Thai
3 large cloves garlic
1/4 c dried shrimp, soaked, when drained
1 1/2" ginger, sliced against the grain
1 tb fish sauce

Process until crumbly, scraping the container a few times. When the greens are drained, combine the two mixes, then place in a qt jar, with a pressure release valve, to ferment.

 

[pepperhead212]

Just the 3rd day, and I'm definitely smelling that kimchee! At first I thought that I had opened a can of the Szechwan preserved vegetable I just bought, but forgot where I put it, then I realized where the smell was coming from.

I might have to put it downstairs...too cold to put it outside yet.

 

[buckytom]

My Korean American friends have a separate refrigerator in their garage just for kimchi. I've seen them labelled as such for sale in H Mart in Ridgefield.

My old neighbors did it the really old way. The year after they moved in, the 2 grannies saw me turning over my garden one morning, so they asked me to help dig several deep holes in their garden (mostly by taking me by the hand into their yard and using hand signals) At first, I didn't know what it was for, but later watched as they buried their clay jars of kimchi.

It was pretty neat, and they shared the results with me as a thank you. Freakin delicious!

I hope yours works out just as well.

 

[pepperhead212]

That kimchi is probably fermented enough. I went to suck the air out (I have one of those Galahome lid kits, to vacuum seal the jars, but let the gas escape) of the jar for the third time (first time, I was just noticing the aroma before re-vacuuming it, the second time there was still some negative pressure) and very little sucked out, but it was potent, what did come out! This was just over 2 weeks, which is about normal, from what I read. I'll put it in the fridge, and figure out what I'll do with it later. With almost no more pressure building in the jar, I don't think that I'll have to worry about the aroma!

I did take it out to my deck each time, when I wanted to suck out the gas, and I was glad that I did! lol

 

[pepperhead212]

I bumped this up because I started some again today, with all those greens I harvested, and about 1/2 c of julienned radish. I had a 2 qt jar filled to the top, but I kept pressing down, to get the air out, and some of the water out of the greens, and I eventually transferred it to a 1 l jar, and it fit fine. This time I had a weight to put on it, to keep it under the water. Now, I just wait.

This isn't the traditional kimchi, since it has all those different greens, but it is made with many kinds of vegetables. One time I tried to make it with just cubes of daikon, but after brining the cubes for just a few hours, the jar smelled like they were soaking in Clorox! That was really strange.

I didn't take a photo of the salted greens, as I had gloves on, and was a bit messy at the time!
Garlic, ginger, pepper, and fish sauce paste, to make kimchi by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Salted greens and chili paste, in jar, with a weight on it. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Vacuum lid, for kimchi, and other fermented foods. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Kimchi, in a few days. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

 

[CWS4322]

Always have a 1/2 gal. of Kimchi on the go. I add whey from yogurt to mine when I pull together the "juice."

 

[pepperhead212]

Good idea for the whey, CWS. I put a tb of cooked rice in mine, to speed things up - not sure what it is with rice, but it speeds up fermentation in Indian things, like some iddlis and dosas, that are soured overnight, before cooking.

That jar is already fermenting well, and I can already smell it!

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

Would a little sour kraut provide the cultures required to aid in fementation? The rice helps as it is full of carbs that the yeast loves to eat. Rice-wine vinager is a product of femented rice. Lliek sour dough, the wild yeast is more acid resistant and produces enouogh acids to gve that intense, sour flavor we so love. A dairy-free kefer might help as welll, and for the same reason.

Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the north

 

[MostlyWater]

Naturally fermented? Perfect weather for it!!!

 

[CWS4322]

Good idea for the whey, CWS. I put a tb of cooked rice in mine, to speed things up - not sure what it is with rice, but it speeds up fermentation in Indian things, like some iddlis and dosas, that are soured overnight, before cooking.

That jar is already fermenting well, and I can already smell it!

I save the whey from yogurt and from the goat milk I get from a friend. I freeze it in ice cube trays.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

My eldest son was stationed in Korea on the DMZ for two years. In that time, he made friends with multiple Korean families. He mentioned that he loved Kimche. I told him that I had tried it while in Pusan, Korea. He then told me that I just hadn't had the right Kimche, and that every family had their own recipe, each tasting a bit different.

From watching this thread, I would think that it would be like sour kraut, but with multiple veggies, and some pepper to add a bit of heat. I'm looking forward to your taste description of the final product. I suppose, that as it has to be brined, like soour kraut, I can't have it due to a high sodium content. Watch your blood sugars, folks. Don't end up like me, with such a limited diet compared to what I used to enjoy.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

 

[larry_stewart]

I made a batch a few weeks ago, tossed it in the outside fridge so it wouldn't take up too much room inside. Forgot about it, until I went outside to get something. Pheeeewww!! It amazes me how the smell of the kimchi was able to penetrate through the glass jar it is kept in and the fridge it is in. I dont mind cause I like kimchi, but boy did my wife have something to say about it.