As a Korean, I cannot help but love kimchi, one of Korea’s representative foods.
When traveling around the world in my 20s and 30s, I was busy eating whole new and delicious local food where I was, so I didn’t miss or look for kimchi at the time.
Now while working and living here in Malaysia, simply making kimchi myself is becoming a part of my life, like once or twice a month.
In fact, it takes a few days to prepare traditional kimchi made by grandmother and mother.
Especially in winter in Korea, at least 20 kg of kimchi is made. The process of making kimchi from long oval cabbages or cabbages can literally take a few days to prepare and make kimchi.
The whole house is filled with the spicy aroma of kimchi.
I don’t prepare or make kimchi like my grandmother or mother. Despite cherishing their efforts to provide amazing kimchi to their loved ones and having enjoyed delicious kimchi in Korea, it is purely to not spend my time on the whole process.
In Malaysia, I tend to make kimchi in a quick and simple way. However, according to my personal kimchi results, ten out of ten I make is all very delicious, so there is no failure. Haha! ^^????
Napa cabbages mixed with coarse red pepper powder, garlic, salt, and fish or squid sauce etc. matures as the day passes. In other words, the taste is deep and fermented, so the kimchi is very strong and the sour taste occurs naturally.
And as kimchi is fermented, the spicy taste of the red pepper powder weakens. Instead, you can taste the salty, sour, and spicy flavors of kimchi all at once with the sharp aroma of kimchi.
Kimchi can be fermented at room temperature, or if you don’t want it to ferment quickly, you can keep it in the refrigerator. And it can be eaten easily for a few months to a year or more.
Here, my kimchi cooking is so simple that anyone can easily follow along.
I am making kimchi using round cabbage that can be easily purchased in Malaysia. I don’t typically buy and use napa cabbage for kimchi, which is much more expensive here.
First, I cut a 2 kilogram cabbage in half and cut it all roughly into pieces the size of a hairpin. I put all the cut cabbages in a colander and rinse thoroughly under cold running water. Then, I put it in a large bowl and sprinkle about 2 tablespoons of kosher salt or any coarse sea salt. Then, I soak the cabbage submerged in cold water and leave it for about 3 hours at room temperature.
If I check the cabbage about 3 hours later, the stiffness is completely subsided. So, if I touch the stiffest part of the cabbage, I can feel it slightly soften on my fingertips. Then the cabbage for kimchi is ready.
I place all the cut cabbage in a colander, drain all the brine and rinse again with cold water to remove the saltiness. And before mixing all the ingredients, I make sure to squeeze out the excess water from the cabbage.
I put the cabbage in a large bowl, then add 2 tablespoons of coarse red pepper powder, 2 tablespoons crushed garlic, 2 big carrots prepared by chopping them into pieces about 2 inches long, a pinch of salt, and 2 tablespoon fish sauce(or squid sauce), and finally 1 tablespoon of sugar.
And mix all ingredients evenly. When mixing, do not mix too hard and mix the cabbage and carrots with the seasoning ingredients of garlic, red pepper powder, and fish sauce to coat them gently.
As it is already mixed, the whole house is filled with spicy red pepper powder and a sharp smell of garlic that pokes your nose.
Even when garlic is peeled and crushed by a garlic press tool or knife, the whole house already feels a sign of making kimchi.
I made kimchi by dividing it into two large bowls. As can be sees in photos here, my kimchi was made twice the amount of the measurements mentioned above in the end.
I taste it right away as I make it. The slightly salty and spicy taste shows the state of my favorite freshly prepared kimchi. The crunchy texture still exists, and the garlic scent fills my mouth with a strong spicy taste. The fish sauce, which is essential when making cabbage kimchi, also adds a slightly salty taste to the kimchi.
In particular, Koreans keep lots of various kimchi(cabbage, cucumber, radish, perillar leave etc) at home and consume it a lot, within a short period of time because we make many different dishes with kimchi.
For example, kimchi stew, kimchi dumplings, kimchi pancakes, kimchi egg rolls, kimchi kimbap, kimchi fried rice, kimchi tofu dishes, and so one.
So kimchi is an indispensable dish for Korean diet.
Refer to the process of making kimchi through my video. It is very easy and simple to make than anyone would think.
It is a time to try making kimchi, a delicious and healthy fermented food at home. It doesn’t have to be complicated, it’s simply made and stored in the refrigerator, perfect for side dishes when you want to eat for a long time.
Let’s give it a try!
<Ingredients>
1 round cabbage 2 kg
2 large carrots
1 whole garlic
2 tablespoons of corse chilli powder
2 tablespoons fish sauce(or squid sauce)
1 tablespoon of sugar
2 tablespoons of salt for brine
pinch of salt to season