Wednesday, December 26, 2012

KimChee 101, courtesy of Teddie

 There is a huge Oriental Market only 2 miles from our apt, so I drove over there before turning in the car at 2 pm today.  Teddie gave me a KimChee Cookbook for Christmas and I found all the ingredients to make my first batch of kimchee.  I love this Korean food!!
 Step 1:  make a glue like substance out of rice flour and water.  Cool in an ice bath.
Step 2:  (not pictured)  Brine the bok choy.
 Step 3:  while bok choy is brining, make a past with crushed red chili peppers, anchovy sauce, fresh ginger, fresh garlic, sugar and a bit of that rice/water gluelike substance to thicken it.  Let it sit a while.
Step 4:  After 45 minutes of brining bok choy in salt water, rinse it 3-4 times and dry well.
 Step 5:  Using a non metal dish, toss bok choy and paste with your hands, coating well.  ( I added carrots and slivered green onions.  According to a Korean friend of mine, you can add anything!)
Step 6:  Let it sit on the counter, covered for 24 hours, then eat or refrigerate.  Kim Chee is a fermented food and has a semi carbonated twang to it, along with a little zip.  It goes with everything and is eaten with every meal in Korea. 

1 comment:

Deb Kaz said...

Did you know that in Korea, people have separate refrigerators just for kimchee, due to its vile odor. Philip informed me of this after he funked up our frig with kimchee after he left South Korea.