michelle picker cooks

I decided to make some kimchi again, this time using a more traditional method from this recipe.

To split a Napa cabbage without losing any leaves, make a short cut in the base and tear the cabbage in half. Repeat and make quarters and even eighths, depending on the size of your cabbage. Dunk the pieces in water to wet them and allow them to drain. For one cabbage you will need 45g (½ oz) of natural sea salt. Sprinkle the salt evenly between all the leaves of the cabbage and let the cabbage rest in a bowl for 2 hours, turning every 30 minutes or so. Meanwhile, prepare the rest of the ingredients. First combine ⅓ of a cup of water with 2 teaspoons of glutinous rice flour in a small saucepan. Mix well and cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes until it starts to bubble. Add 2 teaspoons of sugar and cook for 1 minute more, stirring. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. When cooled, pour this slurry into a large mixing bowl and add 8 finely diced cloves of garlic, 1 teaspoon of minced ginger, 1 small diced onion, 4 teaspoons of fish sauce, and ⅓ of a cup of Korean hot pepper flakes (gochugaru). The recipe included chopped fermented shrimp but as I didn’t have any I soaked a few dried shrimp, chopped them and added them with their soaking water. Mix well until the mixture is a thin paste. Add ⅓ of a cup of radish matchsticks, a small carrot cut into matchsticks and 2 chopped spring onions. Mix well. When the cabbage is soft, spread some of this paste between each of the leaves of the cabbage and when each piece is finished, fold it into a parcel and put it into your fermenting jar or container. Try some of the kimchi fresh  – it’s delicious. Allow the rest to ferment for 3 days before transferring to the fridge. Serve it as a side dish or use it to make meals like fried rice, stew or pancakes.

This kimchi stew was made with chicken. Cut 3 chicken thighs into pieces, add 1 large chopped onion, 2 sliced carrots and 1 cup of chopped kimchi. Sweeten with mirin or sugar and add soy sauce and salt to taste. Put everything in your pot together and cook over medium heat until the chicken is cooked and the carrots tender. If the sauce needs thickening use a little cornflour mixed with cold water. Serve with steamed rice. 

Kimchi pancake is a popular snack in Korea and a good way to use old kimchi. Mix 1 cup of chopped kimchi with a little of its liquid, ½ a cup of flour and 1 egg and season to taste. Fry over medium heat until crisp. Garnish with chopped spring onions and serve with a dipping sauce of soy sauce, sugar and rice vinegar.