Hillside Kimchi
ADAPTED FROM FERMENTED
VEGETABLES BY SHOCKEY &
SHOCKEY
Serving Size
Ingredients
From your CSA box:
- 1 head of any firm leafy thing (calls for cabbage, bok choy worked great)
- 1/4-1/2 cup shredded or thinly sliced root veg (calls for daikon, every other radish worked)
- 1/4-1/2 cup some other root veg, shredded or thinly sliced (calls for carrot, can use parsnip or whatever)
- 1 handful coarsely sliced green shoots (calls for scallions, we used leeks and shallots)
From the kitchen:
- 1/2 gallon pure-ish water (well water was no issue, avoid city water)
- 1/2 cup salt (calls for unrefined sea salt, kosher will do)
- 1/4 cup red pepper flakes (calls for gochugaru, regular kind works too)
- 2 1-quart, large mouth mason jars (clean but pristine, no antibacterial soap or bleach residue. I just carefully swirl boiling water in them.)
- 2 baby jars with lids that fit inside the momma jars (1-1.5 cup mason jars work great)
From the green grocer:
- Cloves from 1/2 head of garlic, minced
- 1" ginger root, minced
Recipe Directions
- Mix the salt and water in a large mixing bowl ... POOF: it's brine!
- Clean, rinse, and trim, discarding dirty outer leaves, reserving 2 clean outer leaves, then halve or quarter the remaining head (remove core if cabbage)
- Submerge in brine, weigh down with a water filled Ziploc, soak for for 6-8 hours
- Drain, reserving at least 1 cup of the brine and setting aside the 2 whole leaves
- Roughly chop, and toss back into the empty mixing bowl
- Mix well the roots, shoots, ginger, garlic, and pepper flakes
- Dump the mixture onto the leaf pile, massage together thoroughly until vibrantly pink (nitrile gloves are a good idea)
- Pack into the mason jars, pressing out air pockets as you go, and adding brine if necessary to submerge (leave 2-3 inches open at the top, or it will bubble over)
- Cover with the reserved whole leaves, and weight down with smaller, water-filled jars
- Set in a cool dark place for about 10 days, checking every few days that it stays submerged (add brine if not) and that it's not making a huge mess.