Friday, July 3, 2009

Kimchi ME !!!!

I have a bit of am obsession with pickling things. It started off with pickling cucumbers and have now moved on to other items. Last week i salted two heads of nappa cabbage and let them sit over night. The salt pulls out the excess liquid from the vegetable and starts that first step in the preservation process. I have always heard about the long, pain staking preparation of kimchi. The large clay pots siting in some sacred field in a secluded part of Korea. These pots look like tombs filled with the little heads of stink. I got together some kimchi recipes from book i had and the internet. Most of the recipes call the same staple ingredients... chili paste, fish sauce, shrimp paste and vinegar. I did not have shrimp paste and the fish sauce was a no show. So i improvised. Vinegar, soy, anchovy paste and chili paste. I mixed the ingredients together and threw in some chopped ginger and garlic. I then rubbed my fishy concoction all over the cabbage. I placed the cabbage in a 1/6 pan and weighed it down with another 1/6 pan on top. I then wrapped it tight in plastic wrap so the cabbage was weighed down. I placed it in the back of the fridge in a dark spot. I forgot all about it. Today i found it and with a very scared nose i opened it. HMMM no stink, ok thats a good sign!!! I then took it out of the pan and sliced off a leaf. I am happy to report that i have made kimchi!!!! It taste just like the stuff i get in the jar... if not better. I am sooo proud of my kimchi skills, its killing me!!!!!! I do need to do a little work on the recipe (i forgot to write the recipe down, so i need to make it again) but i'll post it here and on my website in the next few days. Hmmmm maybe i'll start a pickling company!!! "Princess Michael's Pretty pickles" or "Pickled Pleasantries from Pickling Princesses" LOL
MVP