| Veggies sweating in the bowl |
I’ve been reading about the health benefits of eating fermented foods like Kimchi and sauerkraut. I’d never eaten kimchi, but I knew the hubs had made some before for a catering. I started emailing my friends and one send me multiple links of recipes and how to guides for making your own.
The actual making of the kimchi doesn’t take long, however the fermenting is what takes a while. I wasn’t looking for that kind of food commitment, so I looked a little further and found what could be considered a “quick” kimchi that doesn’t take long to ferment and then is refrigerated once ready.
| Wish I could capture the bubbles rising! |
I tweaked it a little to match what I had on hand, and was very pleased with the final product. Added bonus – my carrot loving dog enjoyed a healthy treat of the carrot peels from my cooking!
Easy Kimchi
½ head Napa cabbage – shredded
½ yellow onion – chopped
1 carrot – peeled & grated
2 ½ cloves garlic – minced
1 ½ Tbsp fresh grated ginger
½ apple peeled & julienned
1 tbsp kosher salt
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 ½ tbsp paprika
1 tbsp sugar
2 sheets nori – cut into thin, short strips
- Prep all vegetables as directed, place in large bowl with spices, nori, fish sauce & sugar
- Sprinkle with salt
- Massage the veggies for about 10 minutes, either with your hands or a large wooden spoon
- Set veggies aside for 10 minutes – the salt helps draw water out of the cabbage
- Massage veggies for another 10 minutes, until all vegetables are softened and a few tablespoons of water have been released
- Place kimchi mix into large wide mouth mason jar(s)
- Press mixture down until air bubbles have been released and some liquid has moved to the top of the jar
- Seal the jar loosely and place in a warm spot for 4-5 days – the recipe I found said if you start to see foam, you can open the jar and skim that off. After 4 days, taste the kimchi (use a clean fork for EVERY TASTE) and decide if you want it to ferment any further
- Once it’s ready, seal the jar and store in the fridge – it should keep 2-3 months
| Mr Dog loves his carrots |
