My neighbor makes the best kimchi, seriously we adore it, and we have a kimchi lesson set up this spring. But I need some for taco night & she's out of town - gasp! So I'm making my own quick-kimchi tonight!
Ingredients:
- 1 shredded cabbage, napa or regular white cabbage
- 1 bunch of scallions
- 3 inch section of fresh ginger
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 1/2 cup of sesame seeds
- 2 jalapeños
- 1 jar of roasted pepper paste
- 2 tablespoons of fish sauce
- 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons of kosher salt
Method:
- In a large non-reactive bowl, add the shredded cabbage and salt. Stir the salt in & let it rest for 2 hours
- stir occasionally
- Put the ginger, garlic, scallions, sesame seeds, jalapeños, pepper paste & fish sauce into a food processor & pulse until smooth
- After the 2 hour salt brine your cabbage is done, put it into a sieve, give it a short rinse under cold water and squeeze to get out the remaining water
- In a large canning jar, or fridge safe glass container* add you purée, half of your vinegar, and the cabbage. With a small spatula try to stir the cabbage into purée/vinegar mixture
- Right before sealing the jar for a minimum 2 hour rest, add in the rest of the vinegar
- Pop it into the fridge and let the flavors meld
*I'm really pushing glass here because, as delish as kimchi is, I don't want my entire fridge to smell like it.
Kimchi is great with a bowl of rice, on a taco, as a soup, etc... I'm really looking forward to learning the traditional kimchi method, but for now this is yum & just in time for taco night!