Kimchi Attempt: Success

When I don't work for money, I fill my time each day by trying things I don't get to do when I work 80 hours a week. The activity selection process went like this:

• I like Korean food.
• I like making food on the cheap.
• I once saw a TV show about making kimchi. 

My genius husband found http://www.maangchi.com after listening to me prattle about making kimchi.** The recipes are clear, she's adorable and it has links to helpful videos (the latter being unusual for me to like--videos are often too slow for my attention span). I believe the site name translates to "tiny hammer." Free band name!

Kimchi Recipe and My Notes 
http://www.maangchi.com/recipe/napa-cabbage-kimchi

An actual Korean person said it was good kimchi. I may quit while I'm ahead. 

Notes from my experience:

• It's ready to eat right away, if you like. Instant gratification--hooray! 
• I did not use squid in my recipe, but I stuck to the instructions otherwise.
• I also included the daikon, though it ferments much more quickly and looses its crunch. 
• 3 large heads of Napa cabbage and a large daikon make a lot of kimchi. 
• I stored the kimchi in a mixture of leftover plastic containers that would seal (ex. plastic yoghurt pots) and stored them in the back of the fridge. The lids expand, so you can see when you need to burp the kimchi. Next time, I will probably cut the leaves smaller so it's easier to get in and out of containers.
• Kimchi--contrary to what some people might think--is refrigerated. It's not a baking-and-fermenting-the-sun thing.
•  If you use glass, it can explode. I used a couple glass containers, but I checked them frequently, let them off-gas and ate them first.
• All of the ingredients I didn't have were available at Uwajimaya, though we also have a Korean market in town. If you look suitably non-Asian at Uwaji, a clerk will scurry up to you and point out what you need.
• I might try the easy kimchi recipe next time.
• No, our house didn't get stinky. 
• The kimchi has stayed good for over a month. In a couple weeks when it's getting too fermented to eat without cooking (at least for us), I'll make kimchi jigae, Korean kimchi stew.

After successfully completing kimchi and kakdugi (same paste but with daikon, included in recipe cited above), I tried making ssam jaang ("dipping sauce") and bulgogi ("delicious korean beef deliciousness on which to stuff your face"). I may post those notes in a separate entry, as they were also successes. It's definitely worth making Korean food at home if you like to cook and don't mind stocking a few extra ingredients.



** Finding constructive activities for your restless wife is a key husbanding skill, especially if you want to be left alone to play Skyrim instead of, say, remodeling a bathroom.

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