I however, decided to do things my way. First of all, having sat around a while, I had to pick out a lot of the bok choi that was no longer viable. So I supplemented it with napa cabbage, carrots and daikon radish from the asian market to make a mixed-veg kimchi.
I used a mandolin to slice the carrots and daikon radish and then added chopped bok choi and napa cabbage to the bowl:
I next brined the vegetables by starting with a little water and a generous amount of kosher salt in the bottom of a large bowl. Then I layered the mixed vegetables with the kosher salt and repeated the layers until I used up the veg. After that I poured about a cup of water on the top, placed a plate and weighted down with a heavy object. I placed it in the fridge overnight to brine.
The next day, I took out the brined veg and gave it a rinse in cold water to remove much of the salt and drained them in the colander until I got the spices together. In a large bowl, I added: chopped garlic, grated ginger, crushed dry red chili, scallions, some sugar, a tablespoon or so of fish sauce, black sesame seeds, a little chili-garlic sauce and a few drops of sesame oil. My friend Andy who makes this amazing Korean pork dish (Bo ssam pork) had given me some spices from that recipe- ssamjang (a fermented bean and chili paste) and kochujang (sweet Korean hot-pepper paste)- that I added a bit of each to the bowl. I whisked the seasonings together (Dan says it should be fairly dry) and tossed the vegetables in it until well mixed.
We the packed the kimchi into glass jars to ferment a day or two. I left mine out for about 3 days before putting a couple jars in the freezer and a couple in the fridge. Of course, Dan and I exchanged a jar of each other's kimchi.
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| Dan's bok choi kimchi in the middle and my mixed-veg kimchi on the sides |
The kimchi can be used in a number of recipes, one I featured on a previous post for kimchi omelets as well as for Bo ssam pork recipe above. Here are some other great kimchi recipes:
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