Saturday, November 23, 2013

Kimchi and Kkakdugi



Ingredients

1 Medium size cabbage
1 large daikon (optional)
2 tbsp of sugar (optional)
1 cup of Salt
1 tbsp of sugar
1 tbsp of glutinous rice flour
¼ cup of water
1 carrot
6 spring onions
6 garlic cloves
1 knob of ginger
1 cup of chili flakes/gochugaru
¼ of a large onion
¼ cup daikon juice
¼ cup dried opossum shrimps
¼ of an asian pear

1. Cut the cabbage into quarters. To do it, simply slice the stem in half and use your hands to separate the cabbage into half. Then slice the halved stems into half and separate again. This is to help the cabbage leaves keep their natural form and makes it easier to work with.

2. Soak the cabbage in a big pool of salted water. About 10 cups of water for 2 tbsp of salt. Make sure that each leave is well soaked. Then remove the cabbage from water after 2 or 3 minutes, then sprinkle salt to each leave and specifically at the stem. Having salt well spread would make the cabbage crunchy. The amount of salt may sum up to 1 cup. Let it sit for 2 hours.

3. (if you want to prepare Kkakdugi) Peel the daikon and cut it into 1 inch wheels. Leave two wheels aside for the kimchi paste later. With the other wheels, cut them into cubes for making Kkakdugi. Then add 2 tbsp of salt and 2 tbsp of sugar. Let it sit for 2 hours.

4. After 2 hours, shake the cabbage and daikon. Let it sit for another hour. This process serves to dry out all the water from the vegetables, making them crunchier.

5. Rinse the cabbage at least 3 times to remove the excess of salt. Then let it aside for all the water to drip. As for the daikon, pour out ¼ cup of the juice that comes with it. Then, rince the daikon at least 3 times to get rid of the excess of salt. Let it drip.

6. Meanwhile, cut the carrot, the two wheels of daikon and spring onions à la julienne. Leave them aside. Then, finely chop, garlic, ginger, pear, and onion altogether and blend them in a food processor, then add in the chili flakes and julienne cut vegetables to the puree. Manually mix them.

7. Then, in a sauce pan, prepare the rice porridge by boiling water, sugar and glutinous rice flour. Stir until the solution becomes white and reaches a smooth and slightly thick consistency, remove it from heat and let it cool for a minute.

8. Add fish sauce, shrimps, daikon juice and the mix of chopped vegetables in the porridge, this will be the kimchi paste.

9. When the paste is ready, spread the paste to the cabbage, then put it in a container. Make sure that each leave is well spread. Then with the rest of the paste, mix it with the cubed daikon. Put them in another container. For both the Kimchi and Kkakdugi, leave them in a place at room temperature, away from sunlight for 12 to 24 hours. The longer it stays outside, the more it becomes sour.
Jars of Kkakdugi and Kimchi

10. Serve it or leave it in the fridge!

It is suggested to consume the kimchi within a month or two. Enjoy!



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