I usually buy Kimchi from our local Korean grocery store but I find that making them at home has many advantages. It's cheaper, you can control what goes in, like leaving out the fish sauce, and you can pretty much make anything into kimchi. Although, napa cabbage kimchi is the most famous and familiar, the word "Kimchi" just means pickled and there's over 200 different kinds to make. The recipes are pretty similar, so if you understand the process, you can pickle it!
This recipe is suuuuper easy and quick. It's more like a salad. That made you feel better, right?
What you need
Ingredients
1 bunch of mustard green
1/4 cup sea salt or kosher salt (brine, 1/2 tbl for seasoning)
4-5 cloves of garlic (grated)
1/2 Tbl of fresh ginger (grated)
2-5 Tbl of
Gochugaru (Korean red pepper flakes- found at local asian market)
3-4 scallions (green onion) diced
4 Tbl water
Equipment
Large bowl
Colander
Cutting board and knife
Jar for storing kimchi
Instructions
1. Cut the greens into 2" pieces. Wash and rinse- repeat if necessary. Salt the greens. Place in large bowl, salt and cover with water for 2 hours. Rinse and drain the greens 3-4 times. Let stand in colander and wash the bowl.
2-3. Kimchi paste. Use the washed bowl: combine the garlic, ginger, salt, pepper flakes, scallion, and water. Mix into a smooth paste. You can adjust the Gochugaru to your spice level.
4. Toss it all together. Mixing it with your hands is the best way so, put on some gloves if you don't want your hands to smell like garlic for a week.
Taste it and add more salt to your preference and pack it down into a jar. Now, you have a very healthy salad for the next couple of weeks.
