by Shaun Van Laarhoven
Kimchi is a fermented dish made with vegetables and an assortment of different seasonings. Koreanculture is big on this side dish, making it their national dish and holding an annual kimchi festival. I had the opportunity to travel to Korea a couple years ago and sampled different types of kimchi each day – kimchi soup, radish kimchi, kimchi pancake, sweet potato stem kimchi, and their most popular, the napa cabbage kimchi.
Many cultures have adopted kimchi into their cultures and have adapted their own recipes. Kimchi is very healthy – low in calories, high in Vitamin A, C, riboflavin and lactic acid bacteria. We make and store many different kinds at RTB which we eat daily.
Basic Kimchi Recipe
*2lbs. of Napa cabbage – trim end and cut into 1″ strips
*1/2 c. kosher salt
*2 daikon radish peeled & cut into matchstick size pieces
*4 scallions cut into 1″ pieces
*1 head fresh garlic – peeled and minced
*1/4 c. peeled & minced fresh ginger
*1/3 c. Korean Red chili flakes or 4-6 fresh Thai bird chili peppers chopped.
* Place all ingredients into a large mixing bowl, food grade plastic bucket or crock. Using your hands agitate everything together and store in an airtight food grade bucket weighting the kimchi mixture down with a plate and seal the bucket. Set aside to ferment in a cool, dark area and check every week until it is to your liking.
