Life of a Substitute Teacher

My heart is at home, but my spirit wanders the world!

Just got done watching Anothony Bourdain's No Reservations on the Travel Channel, and I have to say that I am once again struck by the beauty and simplicity of a foreign culture (is the word "foreign" easier to spell in another language? What about "language?"). He had a travel guide this time from his office in New York, and she was my age about, so he ended up doing a lot of the things she wanted to do: party, play in arcades, karaoke (he didn't sing though - or at least they didn't show it). They showed a kimchi factory. Beautiful. That mixed with some crab and some raman noodles, and add some onion and celery too, and you have a meal. Love the stuff, but don't think I'll be making it anytime soon - I don't trust my cooking that much (and I've seen my relatives try sauer kraut - same method/basic principle, slightly different culture/ingredients).

Kimchi Recipe (if you dare!) from http://www.davidtinney.net/korean-kimchi-recipe.html. There are many varieties, and if in doubt, just go to your nearest oriental grocer.

Kimchi Recipe:
2 Chinese cabbages
5-10 spring onions
Sea salt or other non-iodized salt, at least 100 g
4 heaped tablespoons (about 20 g) Korean chili powder
2-3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tablespoonfuls sugar, any kind
Tablespoonful kim chi sauce
Small piece of ginger (5 g), crushed, or teaspoonful powdered ginger
Half an onion (optional)

Method:

Rinse the cabbages, then quarter them lengthwise, discard the stems, and then chop the cabbages laterally, which should leave you with the largest pieces measuring perhaps 5 cm on a side. Don't get too carried away while doing this.

Now that we have lots of little bits of cabbage, it's time to salt them. Place the cabbage in a clean plastic bag or equivalent and sprinkle salt over each layer. The best kind of salt is sea salt, although non-iodized table salt will do. This will create a brine solution with the cabbage juice.
To ensure the cabbage is properly salted, sprinkle salt onto your wet hands, then rub it into the cabbage pieces. Press the leaves in your hand to squeeze as much water out of them as possible. Once finished, tie up the bag and set it aside for 5-6 hours. Check it after three hours to ensure that everything is all right, stirring the mixture if necessary.

Take the cabbage out of the salt solution and rinse it if necessary. It should be a lot softer than it was. Again, remove surplus water. Place cabbage in a sealable plastic box. Add the spring onions, chopped into small pieces. Crush the garlic and ginger in a press and mix in. You may also add half an onion, finely diced, if you wish.

It is also recommended to add kim chi sauce. This is the only ingredient that you can't always buy at a non-Korean supermarket. There are several different kinds, many of which contain fish or other seafood such as oysters. You only need one tablespoonful.

Add the chili powder. It is possible to use other kinds of chili powder; if you use hot chili powder, you should reduce the amount. Add two tablespoonfuls of sugar.

Mash the chili powder into the leaves as you did in much the same way with the salt. If the color doesn't seem dark enough, add more chili powder. It's a good idea to wear gloves while doing this.

Put the containers aside for three days.

Finally the kimchi is ready. It should be soft in consistency, but not too mushy, with a little crunchiness left in the larger pieces. You can eat it as is, or use it in your favorite Korean recipes and it makes a great stir fry, too.

posted by Amanda @ 10:22 PM