Woman - the longer you keep her, the better she gets! The same goes for wine, whisky and ohh...kimchi (김치) - with the right mix of ingredients and time, it can be pretty tasteful.
Imma show you how to make RM80 worth of simple homemade kimchi [using ingredients easily found in Malaysia) and save roughly RM350 from dining [8xRM18 Kimchi chigae, 5XRM16 Kimchi pancake, 8xRM15 kimchi Fried rice & countless combi of panchan (side dish) or snack] for less than RM15!
You don't have patience
You hate kimchi
You don't have 5-7 hours of time
You don't have a kitchen or fridge at home
You're a kimchi maker/manufacturer
You're a kimchi maker/manufacturer
Ingredients:
Different recipes will yield different taste, depending on your ingredients & method of preparing.
- 1 Chinese Cabbage (Typically Koreans use Napa cabbage, but it can be costlier & harder to find in KL at times)
- Salt
- 1/2 Onion
- 1 tbsp Garlic
- 1 tsp Ginger
- 2 tbsp Sesame Seed
- 1/2 Radish
- 1/3 Carrot
- 1/2 Apple (substitutes Korean pear due to cost & is available all year round)
- 3 tbsp Flour
- 1/3 Fish Sauce
- 1 1/2 cup Red Pepper Flakes
- Water
The green onions weren't that pretty & my chives 'layu' the day after so I skipped them.
 'Dehydration' process: 4-5 hours long |
Add 1/2 cup salt to 10 cups of water in a big bowl. Cut your cabbage into 4 equal portions. Sprinkle sufficient amount of salt in each layer for the 'dehydration' process. Once all done, soak your leaves in the bowl for 4-5 hours. I soaked mine for 5 hours long.
After 5 hours, your cabbages would have shrunk about 1/3 in size, so rinse them thoroughly for 2-3 times. Let it rest & drip of excess water while you prepare for your kimchi seasoning.
After 5 hours, your cabbages would have shrunk about 1/3 in size, so rinse them thoroughly for 2-3 times. Let it rest & drip of excess water while you prepare for your kimchi seasoning.
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| Seasoning - Fish Sauce, Apple, Ginger, Garlic, Radish, Carrot, Flour, Red Pepper, Sesame Seeds & Starch |
Once the leaves are done, start preparing for your sauce/marinade. Julienne your radish & carrots. Cause I hate biting into ginger, garlic & onion bits, I threw all + apples into a blended and problem solved. As for starch, combine 3 tbsp of water & 3 tbsp of flour, heat it on a pan till it bubbles & let it cool down. Once done, add starch, blender mix, radish, carrot, fish sauce, 2 tbsp sesame seeds & the pepper flakes. Taste it, and adjust taste accordingly. I ended up with 1.5 cups of pepper flakes cause I like my kimchi spicy.
Tip: If mixture tastes bit salty or spicy, it's normally okay cause the aftertaste will be totally different.
Fact: In Korea, Kimchi taste varies because of the change in seasons, ingredients, places & containers used. Not all kimchis are red in color, there are even white kimchi and radish kimchi variants.
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| Kimchi Seasoning - Mix it all under 3 minutes |
Slowly & carefully, apply seasoning onto each layer, ensure evenly spread because it will make a difference in the final outcome. Use gloves cause things can get really messy. Store it well in containers. Remember to put a layer of cling wrap before sealing with lid & store it for one full day under cool, covered areas for the "magic" to happen. After a day, store kimchi in your fridge. In fact, you can eat your kimchi there and then, 1 day after, but the flavor will get more intense in time.
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| That's Monkey, my kimchi-eating Schnauzer. |
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| How I eat my kimchi: Kimchi Jjigae (김치찌개), Kimchi Fried Rice (볶음밥) & Snack (Sweet Potato & Kimchi) |
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