Kim Chee/ Kimchi

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Mochiko (rice flour) should be available at any asian mart. If you can't get a hold of korean radish, you can use daikon which is pretty similar but larger also found at asian marts. I wouldn't recommend subbing the rice flour but if you absolutely must I think the closest would be corn starch but I haven't tried. Otherwise you can forgo the radish all together or try something similar (i.e. red radish, carrot) though it won't be the authentic flavor profile you are going for. Good luck.
 
juvinious said:
Mochiko (rice flour) should be available at any asian mart. If you can't get a hold of korean radish, you can use daikon which is pretty similar but larger also found at asian marts. I wouldn't recommend subbing the rice flour but if you absolutely must I think the closest would be corn starch but I haven't tried. Otherwise you can forgo the radish all together or try something similar (i.e. red radish, carrot) though it won't be the authentic flavor profile you are going for. Good luck.

Thanks for the advice. I found some info and tapioca starch was also suggested as a sub? Our Asian mart is a shelf or two in the grocery mostly stocked with kikomann products:( I will have to make some subs but I'm sure it will be ok.
 
I am just starting the batch. I decided to comit a retired fermenting bucket to kimchi. It should fit in my kegerator for now as I'm out of homebrew:( I've got a lot of chopping ahead of me. Here we go!
 
Hey Ischiavo, the only thing holding me back from doing this is the smell.
I already know that I can't open a bucket of this inside the house...

EDIT: Do you think you'll get a strong aroma from the fermenting bucket itself (during fermentation)?
 
Well, I'll let you know. This is my first attempt. I plan to keep the bucket refrigerated and take out small amounts to experiment with fermenting. I have read that it will ferment in the fridge but more slowly.
 
It's done. About 3 hours with a lot of interruptions. Hopefully I can get the pics through alright from my phone. Salted the cabbage about 2 hours then rinsed. I used instant tapioca as a sub for sweet rice flour. Subbed in plain old radishes. I did have Korean pepper flakes though and the paste smelled wonderful. I weighed the batch at 15 lbs. Probably about $20 worth of ingredients.

Pics:

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Ready for a three day weekend! Its 95 so I'm getting a little sun on the beer belly while the kids are playing with water. Anyway, here is the kimchi that had been siting on the kitchen counter since I made it. Wow! Does it go great with a hot day and a cold beer. It is starting to bubble a bit but still tastes pretty fresh.

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Yooper said:
Oh, that looks great! I wish I was there for a sample- make sure you save me a taste!

Did you make it spicy?

It's spicy. Not extreme but just about right. Next time I'm adding the extra 1/2 cup of pepper flakes. I have a pound or two reserved for you and Bob.
 
here's some that i made probably 4 months ago. it's aging quite nicely. i don't eat kimchee a ton, but i love having some around. i based my recipe off the one in Wild Fermentation, which is a great book if you haven't checked it out. i also love doing naturally fermented sauerkraut and my wife and I made some fermented salsa a few times, it's good, but kinda weird with the fizzyness from the co2 that gets released.

DSC00991.jpg
 
android said:
here's some that i made probably 4 months ago. it's aging quite nicely. i don't eat kimchee a ton, but i love having some around. i based my recipe off the one in Wild Fermentation, which is a great book if you haven't checked it out. i also love doing naturally fermented sauerkraut and my wife and I made some fermented salsa a few times, it's good, but kinda weird with the fizzyness from the co2 that gets released.

That looks great! I just love cabbage. Add some spice and sour and I'm in. Next project is sauerkraut.

I just took the primary bucket out of the fridge. It's too cold to ferment. I was planning to put it in the ferm chamber at about 55. That should be close to in-ground temperature?
 
when i've done sauerkraut, i just let it sit at room temp and it seems to sour up fine. it takes a few weeks for it to get good n' sour though. i think the koreans like to set their fermentation fridges around 55 though, so i'm sure it would be fine, just might take a little longer.
 
Out of curiosity, do you guys/girls prefer a certain type of beer or food with your kimchii?
 
android said:
when i've done sauerkraut, i just let it sit at room temp and it seems to sour up fine. it takes a few weeks for it to get good n' sour though. i think the koreans like to set their fermentation fridges around 55 though, so i'm sure it would be fine, just might take a little longer.

Thanks for the advice. I think I will leave the bucket on the garage floor for a while. It stays 70 and below. I'll watch that for a few days and see what develops. I'm having a hard time keeping my mits out of it...reminds mean of my first batch of beer....
 
scotched said:
Out of curiosity, do you guys/girls prefer a certain type of beer or food with your kimchii?

Not much experience here but it was great with a BMC lager the other night. I had some with some ramen and for breakfast with eggs. Most has been consumed in small samples though so far...I just can't walk by without a taste.
 
Out of curiosity, do you guys/girls prefer a certain type of beer or food with your kimchii?
Not sure how to answer this. Kimchi is a side dish for us. We usually have rice, some protein dish, and then a bunch of sides but always with kimchi.
My new favorite protein is spicy pork dish. You can substitute with thinly sliced chicken if you want. Thinly sliced pork, marinated in the following. Coke (like the soda), korean finely ground red pepper flakes, black pepper, kochijang (korean pepper paste), garlic, ginger, sesame seeds and sauce, soy sauce, and brown sugar. Marinade over night.
Cooking is easy. Lg onion, 2 carrots, slice and put in big skillet. low-med heat, toss meat on top. Lid and let cook until done. No stirring necessary.
Get some red lettuce for wraps and your kimchi.
 
Thanks for the advice. I think I will leave the bucket on the garage floor for a while. It stays 70 and below. I'll watch that for a few days and see what develops. I'm having a hard time keeping my mits out of it...reminds mean of my first batch of beer....

i may have missed it earlier, but you are doing a full bucket full of sauerkraut? if so, NICE!
 
android said:
i may have missed it earlier, but you are doing a full bucket full of sauerkraut? if so, NICE!

Right now I'm doing kimchi in a bucket. The batch weighed in at about 15 lbs. I think this fall I may do some sauerkraut when we get the deer cabbage. I usually do a creamy cabbage soup too.
 
It's spicy. Not extreme but just about right. Next time I'm adding the extra 1/2 cup of pepper flakes. I have a pound or two reserved for you and Bob.

Thanks! It seems to be getting better all the time. I will definitely try those recipes. Pork and kimchi sounds like a great combo!

We got home last night, and there was a jar of this on my dining room table! :rockin:

It was great. We ate 1/2 the jar with dinner last night (cornish hen, kinda weird, I guess.......) and the other 1/2 today with lunch! Bob and I both loved it.

Now, I have to make this recipe.
 
Caught a reference to Kimchee on Futurama last night. Character mentioned eating Kimchee during an emergency. Then he explained that Kimchee was their translator.
 
Just made my first batch of Kimchi. I know it is kinda cheating but I used thishttp://www.nohfoods.com/htdocs/Products/koreankimchee.htm
It is very spicy. With it being in a package it was very easy to make. If I don't like it I will make my own mix next time. If I do my grandma will send me more from Hawaii:)

That doesn't look like a bad option. I probably would add some other veggies. Leeks, carrots, radish. I imagine the garlic and ginger are in the mix. Post some pics when its done.

I am going to use up some garden cukes and make cucumber kimchi from the video posted earlier. I also need to do another batch of cabbage kimchi. The first one really didnt last too long.
 
do any of you all use a page from our brewing book for fermenting foods? this isn't my picture, but i have fabricated 4 lids like this to do naturally fermented pickles (which rock the socks off any mass produced ones), sauerkraut, and kimchi. and i know all of you have extra airlocks and grommets lying around! ;)

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I made kimchee with my mom a few times something like 20-25 years ago, but it really stunk up the house. I'd like to make it again, but don't want my wife to kill me. She likes to eat kimchee, so we sometimes buy it at the various Korean markets around here, or sometimes just get gochujang and add it to the pot with fresh veggies when we make kimchee-nabe. Maybe I can stick it out on the back patio or something.


In the meantime, I do have a couple pounds of sauerkraut fermenting away in the kitchen that's been going for a week or so. I really like the airlock idea, so I will probably go out and pick up some grommets soon and transfer from my crock (really just using the rice cooker bowl right now) into a pickle jar.
 
Tony Bourdaine did an episode of No reservations about Korea and he went to a factory that produced the stuff. Hundreds of earthenware jars the size of a large fermenter buried in the ground fermenting heads of cabbage. None of it was chopped up, just like the cucumber in the above pic it was quartered but not cut the whole way through and then left to ferment in the ground in the spice mix.
I'm not a huge fan of it, but it's certainly not bad when I go to the Korean restaurant as a side to the delicious Bulgogi.

Tony Bourdaine rocks, i wish there were more episodes of No reservations, he goes beyond the cookery thing and spends some time getting loaded, gotta appreciate that :)
 
Here is my second batch:

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I had a bad craving the other day and could not not make some.

This one is double the last batch because it did not last very long. Yeah, 20 lbs of cabbage (18 trimmed), 5C pepper flakes, 4 large leeks, one huge ginger root, a pound of carrots, a bag of radishes and a sore finger from chopping everthing up...about 4 gallons and 39lbs at the final tally:rockin:

I found tapioca flour this time (instant tapioca last time). I could not believe the snot I made with 1C tapioca flour and 6C water. I'm certain this is what they use in movies! It made a perfect porridge when all mixed up though.

I'm putting it in the chamber now at 65...and salivating...
 
Wow, that's a lot of kimchee. I love eating the stuff, but I haven't quite been able to replicate the flavor of the real stuff. I'm told by my korean friends that you need to use korean chili paste and oysters! I got a hold of the chili paste, but I'll pass on the oysters...
 
Here is my second batch:

2012-06-09_21-49-46_922.jpg


I had a bad craving the other day and could not not make some.

This one is double the last batch because it did not last very long. Yeah, 20 lbs of cabbage (18 trimmed), 5C pepper flakes, 4 large leeks, one huge ginger root, a pound of carrots, a bag of radishes and a sore finger from chopping everthing up...about 4 gallons and 39lbs at the final tally:rockin:

I found tapioca flour this time (instant tapioca last time). I could not believe the snot I made with 1C tapioca flour and 6C water. I'm certain this is what they use in movies! It made a perfect porridge when all mixed up though.

I'm putting it in the chamber now at 65...and salivating...

Oh, I hope that it comes out as good as your last batch. I've been thinking about this since you mentioned it Friday night. Bob and I are more than willing to be your guinea pigs, er, quality control testing agents. :rockin:
 
I can be there in 30 hours if I start driving right now...

I think that's a reasonable drive for homemade kimchee.

Besides I haven't been to the UP in a while.
 
Wow, that's a lot of kimchee. I love eating the stuff, but I haven't quite been able to replicate the flavor of the real stuff. I'm told by my korean friends that you need to use korean chili paste and oysters! I got a hold of the chili paste, but I'll pass on the oysters...

I never had any "real" stuff so I am probably way off but what the heck, I like it. I don't think I will ever add oysters either or the squid that this recipe calls for. I did have Korean pepper flakes though.

Oh, I hope that it comes out as good as your last batch. I've been thinking about this since you mentioned it Friday night. Bob and I are more than willing to be your guinea pigs, er, quality control testing agents. :rockin:

You know I had you guys in mind when I doubled it this time. The cabbage tasted nice and sweet to me so that should not be an issue. I think they thought I was nuts with the cart load of produce I checked out.

I can be there in 30 hours if I start driving right now...

I think that's a reasonable drive for homemade kimchee.

Besides I haven't been to the UP in a while.

Sounds reasonable to me. Take a spin on over. I have a decent lager on tap that will go nicely too.
 
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