Today we are making a Korean style Saurkraut
called Kimchi.
And if you like spicy this one is for you!
These are the ingredients you are going to
need.
I got the Korean Chili Flakes off of Amazon
and they are better than most.
I picked up the daikon at an asian market
for $3 after checking 3 different grocery
stores.
This is enough to make many batches.
The rest of the ingredients should be available
at any standard grocery store.
Let’s prep everything.
Start with the Napa Cabbage.
Peal off any wilted outer leaves and set them
aside for later.
Then cut it in half and again into quarters.
You’ll want to remove the tough core as
well.
Remove any leaves on the inside that you wouldn’t
want to eat.
Then cut each quarter lengthwise into two
or three pieces and chop the cabbage into
bite size pieces.
Put the pieces in a large bowl and wash well.
I once missed a fly in a salad and have never
lived it down.
On the plus side, I haven’t been asked to
wash lettuce since.
Next add the salt to the cabbage and set it
aside.
This will start pulling the liquid out for
the brine while we prep the other ingredients.
Here is the daikon after it was pealed.
Cut it into matchstick size pieces.
Do the same for the carrots.
Chop the green onions.
Grate the ginger.
And since you are tired of watching me chop
things, you’ve got to mince up some garlic
too.
Grab a handful of cabbage and give it a good
squeeze.
This will help get more of the liquid out
of the cabbage and speed up the process.
It’s also a good time to look for flies
because you’ll want to make this a second
time.
You can stop once you gets some liquid in
the bottom of the bowl.
Now you want to toss everything else in the
bowl.
The daikon, carrots, green onions, ginger,
garlic, and 3/4 cup of Korean pepper flakes.
You can use more or less chili to taste, but
most people seem like it about this hot.
Add the fish sauce if desired.
Then mix everything together using a spoon.
Make sure you wear gloves if you use your
hands or your fingers will burn like the sun
for hours.
I’m using a half gallon canning jar, which
is almost big enough for this recipe.
The next step is to cram as much in the jar
as you can like it’s a clown car at the
circus.
You’ll be amazed how much you can fit.
Cramming it in makes it so you need less brine
to cover all the veggies.
Smash it down and give it a shake.
Because Anything above the brine will be turn
brown and not be appetizing.
Remember that wilted leaf you set aside?
Cut a piece off of it and put it on top.
That helps keep everything down.
The shot glass is optional, but it helps keep
things in place and the brine from going in
the airlock.
I have a link in the description the the bottle
lid and the airlock to do this at home.
Put the airlock on top and let it sit for
about a week to ferment.
So the ideal temperature for kimchi is around
65 degrees farenheit.
My house in the summer time is warmer than
that.
I'm going to keep it down in the basement
where it is a lot closer.
Now if you can't get it any lower or if it
is going to be higher than that, then you
should shrink your ferment time a little bit
and it might have more of a sour flavor because
of it.
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more videos about grilling and smoking, specifically
my Korean beef rib recipe that is coming up,
hit subscribe and there are more videos to
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