Yes, thank you! I’ll have to order an ingredient or two, but I’ve been curious for years.

quote:

Originally posted by Beancooker:
Mind you, she doesn’t only use it as a side dish, but she makes “kimchee jee gay” (best way to spell it in English).

Ask her if she'll make you budae jjigae some time.

And then give me her recipe, because it sounds so horrible and so awesome that I actually kind of want to try it.

Thanks for the kimchi recipe, I think I may actually give that a go. I told Mark that thinking kefir tasted like nasty socks indicated that he did not have a refined palette, but then I discovered he'd only tried Lifeway and decided that was excusable. I miss the "European" (read: Russian) grocery stores we have back in the PNW. They have the real deal stuff, and a variety of it, too. Baked Russian kefir? Amazing. Ayran dogh? Took some getting used to, but also damned good. I'm getting tired of yogurt, all the stuff we have here tastes like sour cream. Time to try kimchi.

You can make kimchi with not just cabbage but also daikon, radish, cucumber, even the whites of watermelon rinds. These is also mul kimchi which is nice and refreshing for summer and goes well with korean style cold buckwheat noodles. You can even make takuan at home. Lots of variety with just the simple basics. My favorite uses shiso leaves (japanese word, not sure what the korean word is).

Maybe more recipes from beancooker to come?

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
My favorite uses shiso leaves (japanese word, not sure what the korean word is).

깻잎 (kkaennip) Korean Perilla leaves

quote:

Originally posted by DoctorSolo:
Are those proportions for one average-sized head of cabbage or a couple?

I'm sure the environmental yeast has a part in the equation, like it does with sourdough? Not that you can control that.

I'm not gonna lie, I am going to try this, and I am going to be a little nervous when I eat the first bite, haha.

Silly white man with very (south)western food preparation habits here, BUT THANK YOU FOR SHARING!

The rice flour has most to do with the fermentation, that’s what really kicks it off.

I would say that recipe is good for four heads of Napa cabbage, maybe a little more.

One thing that I should have mentioned, when picking out cabbage, you want heavy cabbage. It sounds silly, but compare size and weight. The denser the cabbage, the better it’ll come out. The lighter cabbage has less moisture and it greatly affects the outcome of your product.


As to Konata and James suggestion of other veggies, yes, you can make kimchee with just about any moisture rich, dense veggies. You also don’t have to add the gochugaru chiles. There is some summer kimchee she makes that has no chile and is pretty clear. Closer to sauerkraut, but she usually makes it with radish.

The perilla leaves… I have 50 or so plants growing. It becomes the “new lettuce” in my house. She wraps everything in them. And yes, she makes a kimchee of sorts with them, but it is less fermented and extra heavy on the gochugaru.
She also makes a soy sauce gochugaru, garlic, green onion mix and soaked the leaves for a few days in the fridge, then uses the leaves for just about everything.

Also you can make a fermented kimchee with the leaves, lots of gochugaru, and a bunch of dried anchovy. After a few days it gets pretty ripe and if that is a flavor you prefer, it is supposed to be good. Her friends rave over it. I can’t get it close to my nose/tongue.

Noah,

I'm sure you've probably had it already, but I really enjoy the pickled Perilla leaves.

깻입장아찌 (kkaenip jangajji)

Absolutely fantastic when they do the tangy soy marinade and you wrap it around a piece of samgyupsal.

quote:

Originally posted by OttoSig:

깻입장아찌 (kkaenip jangajji)

Absolutely fantastic when they do the tangy soy marinade and you wrap it around a piece of samgyupsal.

Yes! And also with rice and mentaiko (again, not sure the korean word). Nom, nom, nom. I could eat that everyday.

quote:

Originally posted by Beancooker:
The perilla leaves… I have 50 or so plants growing.

Wow!!! Envy. I only have 2.

Mine get a little dry in the summer heat. How do you keep yours green and moist?

They are all planed under a big mesquite in the backyard, a side of the three on the front porch. The ones on the porch avoid the afternoon sun, otherwise they would have perished. The ones under the mesquite have a fair bit of shade.
Aside of that, a ridiculous amount of water. I have a 5gph drip end at each plant, and they get around 30 minutes every other day. There is also a mister that sprays all of them and keeps the dust and bird shit cleaned off the leaves. It runs when the drip system runs.
Basically, shade and an obscene amount of water.

I discovered Kimchi in Korea in 1957 and it reeked in my nostrils for 13 months. It was the most awful smell in the world.
I have NO plans to revisit that "dish" or the smell or the country..

I've settled a mixture that includes beets and carrots. It's becoming very popular amongst my friends. Finding good, fresh ingredients to make it has been my problem. 1 day in the brine, 1 week in the crock, and 1 week in the jar refrigerated. Amazing on nearly everything from eggs to brats, to tacos. If I eat some every day I notice a significant difference in my health.