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Mystical Kimchi

 The tought

Many cuisines from different cultures around the world have a particular component that immediately points to recognition , a Baguette tells you French food, pasta means Italian, soya sauce and wasabi is Japanese, read tortillas and you know it’s Mexican. Korean food has Kimchee as Kimchi is also spelled.

What is it that makes these typical components so characteristic to a cuisine? Why is Baguette associated with French food, while Coq au Vin one of the most famous classic French dishes is better known as a chicken stew in red wine sauce.

 Dishes or Components?

Perhaps the explanation lies in the fact that these characteristic components, almost always, come with every meal and were therefore easier recognizable when cuisines from different cultures started to travel and reached other parts of the world, compared to the dishes of the cuisines itself. I say almost always, because the probability doesn’t meet the pizza/ pasta recognition for Italian food.

We know that Kimchee is associated with Korean food, Koreans eat Kimchee with everything. For Westerners is eating bread with a meal something that makes sense in a way, but eating fermented cabbage (that’s what Kimchee is) with every meal, sounds somewhat odd when you ask me.

Then what makes Kimchee so mystical, how come we all seem to have heard about Kimchee and only little about Malaysian Tempoyak for example or Indian Kancha Aamer chutney, served with banana leaf rice meals to millions every day.

Little History 

Marketing is a good guess, but maybe history also provides some answers, references to ancient Kimchee date back as far as 2600 to 3000 years ago and making Kimchee was just a way of preserving vegetables to overcome harsh winters.

Originally Kimchee’s were radishes dipped in brine or fermented soya bean paste, later accompanied by other veggies like eggplant, mushrooms, mustard leaf, bamboo shoots and then the white Chinese cabbage (Nappa cabbage) we know today as Kimchee.

Korea has had quite a few military encounters with the Chinese and Japanese in ancient times, many culinary exchanges have taken place during these years as well and Korean cuisine is then also greatly influenced by these two cuisines.

Korea, a country locked out from the rest of the world, except for China and the Japanese, had little to no access to outside ingredients; the Japanese traded however with the Portuguese and brought foods into Korea from the Americas, potatoes, sweet potatoes and also chili peppers which were never part of making Kimchee, if chili peppers came from the Americas or were introduced by the Chines is still debated, fact is that chili peppers made a significant change to the fermentation method and appearance of Kimchee.

Kimchee as we know this Mystical food component today was first introduced around the 1800’s and only found its way around the world after the Korean War separated North and South Korea in 1953.

The mystery surrounding the popularity of Kimchee may remain unknown, buying Kimchee is easy, but making Kimchee and see if you can duplicate a food product that has been hidden in a country for 2000 years or so and has only entered our lives 70 odd years ago is a must do one day for the lover of making your own food.

 Recipe 

Here is a recipe that you can keep for at least a year from the day of produce and serve every time you have Bulgogi.

Traditional Kimchee

Ingredients:

9 lbs Nappa cabbage (whole) this is about two large cabbages

1 lbs radish (the long white type)

2 cups raw coarse sea salt

2 tbsp rice flour

2 cups water

1 ½ cup red chili flakes

½ cup anchovy fish sauce

½ shrimp fish sauce

5 green onions (cut in 1 inch pieces)

1 medium onion (finely chopped)

2 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp garlic (minced)

1 tbsp young ginger (minced)

Method:

The key to making good Kimchee is the brining or salting of the cabbage, correct brining or salting ensures the cabbage will not rot or mold during the fermentation period.

1. Use coarse sea salt, a fine type of salt will decrease the crispiness of the leaves.
2. Cut the cabbages length wise in half and make an incision at the bottom of each half.
3. Submerge the cabbage halves under water so the leaves are wet in and out.
4. Remove from the water and sprinkle the salt, (1 cup per cabbage) in-between the individual leaves.
5. Place the cabbage halves in a container and allow to sit for 4 hours at room temperature, flip them over and allow to sit for another 4 hours.
6. After 8 hours of salting the volume should have reduced and the leaves have softened.
7. Wash the cabbage halves two or three times to remove excess salt, the washing process also determines the saltiness of the final Kimchee. Taste a piece of leaf, it should taste saltier than you like.
8. Tear the cabbage halves via the incision in the bottom into quarters, place the quarters in a strainer or on a cooling rack and allow to drain for 2 hours or so.
9. In the meantime, combine the rice flour with the water and bring to a soft boil, simmer until a cream soup consistency, allow cooling. Peel and shred the raddish.
10. When the flour water mix has cooled down, add all the remaining ingredients and combine.
11. Rub this mix in-between each leave of the drained cabbage and on the outside as well.
12. The outer leaf of each quarter of cabbage will be soft enough to fold, allowing making small packets.
13. Place the ‘packets’ in a container and cover with a piece of cling wrap, best is to place a little weight on top, like a plate and a small container with water.
14. If the Kimchee will be eaten soon after preparation, leave to ferment at room temperature for 2 days before refrigerating, if not refrigerate immediately.
15. After fermenting for 2 days the Kimchee should have a pleasant sour taste.
16. Keep the Kimchee refrigerated and serve when you like by cutting a quarter length wise and then cross wise in small pieces.