Kimchi

[Broke 0]

Anyone have a good recipe for Kimchi? I have been told it is very tastey.

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Anvil Brother 84
SCR 14192

[Icon134 0]

Kimchi kind of covers a broad spectum of things... as it basically just appetizers (and is more or less spicy pickled vegitables.)

There are a bunch of them shown here...

http://www.lifeinkorea.com/culture/kimchi/kimchi.cfm?xURL=types

My recommendation would be to find a local Korean market or resturant and have some with dinner (which since it is typically included... will be hard not to...)

Livin' on the Edge... sleeping with my rigger's wife...

[Orchid 0]

Ingredients:

1 Large Chinese cabbage
1/2 cup Sea salt
1/2 teaspoon Cayenne pepper
5 Spring onions, finely chopped
2 cloves Garlic, finely chopped
5 cm Fresh ginger, grated
3 teaspoons Chopped fresh chili
1 tablespoon Caster sugar
2 1/2 cups Cold water

Method:

Cut the cabbage in half, then into large bite-sized pieces. Place a layer of cabbage in a large bowl and sprinkle with a little salt. Continue with layers of cabbage and salt, finishing with a salt layer. Cover with a dinner plate that will fit as snugly as possible over the top of the cabbage. Weigh down the plate with cans or a small brick and leave the bowl in a cool place for 5 days. Remove the weights and plate, pour off any liquid, then rinse the cabbage well under cold running water. Squeeze out any excess water and combine the cabbage with the cayenne pepper, spring onion, garlic, ginger, chili and sugar. Mix well to combine before spooning the cabbage into a large sterilized jar. Pour the water over the top and seal with a tight-fitting lid. Refrigerate for 3 to 4 days before eating.

Note: Kim Chi is an accompaniment eaten with Korean main meals and with steamed rice. For an authentic flavor, use 3 tablespoons of chili. Bottled chopped chili can be used instead of fresh chili.

The spicier the better. Have you tasted Kimchi? Very spicy.

"Love is doing small things with great love."

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[Broke 0]

The problem is the nearest Korean place from where I live is I would have to guess about 80 miles.

Edited to add:
The fun thing about Korean food is when they say it is hot they aren't joking around.

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Anvil Brother 84
SCR 14192

[Icon134 0]

ouch... that sucks...

What orchid described is about right... for a basic Cabbage Kimchi.

Livin' on the Edge... sleeping with my rigger's wife...

[Broke 0]

Not a very large Korean population where I live. I also guess the spicier asian food hasn't cought on in this area either. It seems that a lot of Japaneese places are popping up, but there are only one Korean place I know of off the top of my head, and I think there are two Thai places. The Korean place we went to must have been good. My partner and I were the only white people in the place.

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Anvil Brother 84
SCR 14192

[LittleOne 0]

As an American of Korean origin, let me clue you in as to how the *real* Koreans make Kimchi:

They go to the store and buy it.

Making Kimchi is an art and is generally a painful, messy process. The recipe mentioned above should work but I recommend against Cayenne. I don't know exactly what kind of pepper is used but I know it is not Cayenne. Also, you have to add a fermented shrimp or fish paste. After you bottle it, you have to let it sit out at room temperature overnight to get sour. It will bubble over as juices and gasses are released. Then, you will have to buy a second refrigerator to store it in or else everything in your refrigerator will be contaminated with the smell. If you eat it, make sure your SO eats it too or you are going to have a lonely night.

As for me, I can't stand the stuff. Smells too bad. Go to 32 St between Broadway and Fifth Ave in NYC. It's worth it. Else, good luck and let me know how it goes. Mom, who gave up making it years ago, would love to know.

[arlo 0]

there are as many different kimchee recipes as there are people that make it. my mom would use the crushed red pepper that you buy at the oriental market. it comes in 1-lb bags. if you try to used "crushed red pepper" that you buy at the local grocery store, it'll taste like crap. my mom's kimchee was different than my grandma's kimchee. oh yeah, no ginger in ours, thankfully. but then again, i'm not a big ginger fan.

also she'd let the chinese (napa) cabbage soak in a brine for a while. this apparently helps with the flavor absorption. whatever the hell she did worked great because she made the best kimchee EVER.
best advice i've heard so far: go buy it. that's what i end up doing. fortunately there's a market 20 minutes away.

good luck with that. kimchee is yummy but it's definitely an acquired taste. use alot of it in ramen...it'll bring your ramen eating experience to another level. lol

[LittleOne 0]

Indeed, it is the perfect accompaniment to ramen. Since skydivers have been known to eat ramen from time to time, will Kimchee suddenly become popular at dzs? Do we really need another stink factor at the dz? Won't it hurt the tandem business if the TIs all reek of it?

[Gene03 0]

I posted my recipe a few years ago.

http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=1523993;search_string=Gene03;#1523993

“The only fool bigger than the person who knows it all is the person who argues with him.

Stanislaw Jerzy Lec quotes (Polish writer, poet and satirist 1906-1966)

[thegreekone 0]

I don't know exactly what kind of pepper is used but I know it is not Cayenne. Also, you have to add a fermented shrimp or fish paste.

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LO, I am glad you brought this up because my best friend in grad school said that the fermented shrimp is what gives kimchees its "depth" of flavor. I was lucky in that the Chicago Food Corp. was not far from where I lived and they had a "panchan" bar 3 times the size of any salad bar I have ever seen. Every kind of kimchee and panchan you can think of.

Biggest kimchee surprise? Tuna and kimchee fried rice. When my friend, Yun-jong, looked through my cabs and took out everything I was sorta nervous. After we ate I was extremely grateful.

Wow, a kimchee thread on dz.com, kewl!

• Quote

[livendive 8]

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As an American of Korean origin, let me clue you in as to how the *real* Koreans make Kimchi:

They go to the store and buy it.

I was under the impression that brewing kimchee was the source of that godawful smell in urban areas. You mean they make something else that smells that bad??!

Blues,
Dave

"I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!"
(drink Mountain Dew)

[wingnut 0]

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I don't know exactly what kind of pepper is used but I know it is not Cayenne

it's aptly called "korean red pepper" or atleast that's what the korean laddies called it that used to work with my old roomate...

______________________________________
"i have no reader's digest version"

[waltappel 1]

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Anyone have a good recipe for Kimchi? I have been told it is very tastey.

I'm not trying to slam anyone's taste here but kimchi that is tasty? Are you serious?!!!!

I have always heard it is truly heinous stuff for the average westerner. I tried some store-bought stuff one time and it was indeed rank.

Can someone please explain it to me? Is there a certain way of making it or eating it that is best? I *love* asian food but my limited experience with kimchi is not good.

Walt

[swedishcelt 0]

Yum!! Thanks!!

[Orchid 0]

Yum!! Thanks!!

[arlo 0]

walt, kimchee is definitely an acquired taste and it's not for everyone. "normal" grocery stores have crap kimchee. seriously. that stuff isn't worth the jar it's packed in. do yourself a favor before totally writing it off and go to an oriental grocery and buy some there. if in doubt, stick to the groceries that have "kim" or "choi" in the name. kim bros in tampa rocks. anyway, a good rule of thumb is if there are words misspelled on the jar then you can bet it's gonna be okay. koreans spell phonetically so good luck with that.

kimchee is made to eat as a side dish with rice (real rice that's starchy, not uncle bens) and whatever. i prefer kal-bi (short ribs) with my kimchee and rice. :)

anyhow, kimchee can also be made into a wicked good soup called kimchee chigae (pronounced "JI-gah"). when done correctly, this isn't for the faint of heart. take the spiciness of kimchee and then thermally heat it with left over stuff (pork, rice cakes, green onions, tofu) into a tasty almost stew-like soup. Oh. my. god. i could live off this stuff - but people around me would drop like flies.

oh yeah, not mentioned before - if you eat enough kimchee you'll reek of it for a day or so afterwards.

and another thing - if you don't like the kimchee, don't let it discourage you from eating korean food. it is NOTHING like other asian cuisine. the seasonings are different and of the tons of friends i (and oren and laura, the filipino/a) have introduced to korean, i know of 2 that didn't like it so much.

my recommendations if you find a korean restaurant:

bulgogi - thinly sliced beef, not spicy at all, sweet marinade

kal-bi (sp) - short ribs. YUMMY.

kimchee pancake - lots of green onions in there but it's really good.

yakimandu - the REAL eggroll. these are similar to the japanese "gyoza". thing is, these recipes are like kimchee - each person makes it a little different. use the dipping sauce.

kimchee chigae - that soup i spoke of above.

kimbap - these look like sushi rolls but have daikon radish, egg, bulgogi, carrots inside. make sure to get the YUMMY dipping sauce for it (made of soy sauce, sesame oil, red pepper, etc). this shit rocks.

...but not all of this at one time...unless you're in a group. we eat out at the korean restaurant average once a month and leave as poster children for gluttony.

kamsahamnida,
a

p.s. if you're ever in FL near deland or zhills, we'll make sure there is a contingency to introduce you to korean food if you haven't done it by then. of course, i might be a touch biased...although most of my round-eyed friends love it almost as much as i do.

[livendive 8]

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oh yeah, not mentioned before - if you eat enough kimchee you'll reek of it for a day or so afterwards.

When I was in Korea, the working girls would frequently come up and sit on our laps and start making small-talk while trying to convince us to pay their bar fine. The smells coming out of their mouths not only ensured that we would not oblige them, but that we would actively try to shoo them away. It was freaking awful!

I'm sure that frequently having a piece of sweet alfalfa hay sticking out of one side of your mouth takes care of the breath issue... AND it matches the bibs.

Blues,
Dave
ABG#1

"I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!"
(drink Mountain Dew)

[arlo 0]

i KNEW that you would not be able to get by without throwing something in the mix. lol

for the record, i was quite balanced out growing up. mom being korean and dad being from the south, it was a common thing for our dinners to consist of fried chicken, rice and gravy, kimchee and greenbeans.

btw, a little chihuahua as an appetizer will help eliminate some of that kimchee smell. and ginger, don't forget about that.


edited to add: overalls, dave. they're not "bibs", they're "overalls."

and...OREN! LA! where are you guys??!


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[livendive 8]

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for the record, i was quite balanced out growing up. mom being korean and dad being from the south, it was a common thing for our dinners to consist of fried chicken, rice and gravy, kimchee and greenbeans.

This is news? FYI - I haven't thought affectionately of your amerasian redneck yuppy geisha ass for all these years for nothing!

Blues,
Dave
ABG#1

"I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!"
(drink Mountain Dew)

[LittleOne 0]

Where are the Korean restaurants near DeLand and ZHills hiding? I go down there regularly and wouldn't mind having some Korean (minus the kimchee) from time to time.

[arlo 0]

there are two korean restaurants about 30 minutes from deland. both are located within .25 miles from each other in longwood (between deland and orlando). this is the perfect pitstop between the tunnel and the dz. it's really easy to get to:

I-4 westbound to exit 94 (SR 434 Longwood)
turn left (east).
1.5 and 1.7 miles on the left.

Korea Garden is the first one. it's alright.

korea house is the second and preferred one. mostly koreans in there eating everytime i go. that's always a good sign. :) keep in mind this one's closed on tuesdays.

in tampa, the place used to be called Seoul House but i think they've changed their name. Oren and/or Laura will be able to confirm the name. this is located on south hillsborough a couple miles south of the tampa int'l airport (and maybe 4 miles from kim brothers grocery ;).

also, there's a second one La told me about that i haven't tried in tampa yet.

hope this helps! :) hey, we're ALWAYS looking for an excuse to go eat there, so if you're around and want a group outing, give us some notice and we'll try to scrounge up a trip. :)

edited to add: and dave? that would be MISS redneck yuppy amerasian korean florida transplant to YOU.

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[wingnut 0]

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kimbap - these look like sushi rolls but have daikon radish, egg, bulgogi, carrots inside. make sure to get the YUMMY dipping sauce for it (made of soy sauce, sesame oil, red pepper, etc). this shit rocks.

i've had this before, tis the only name of anything that my old rromate would bring home, that i can remeber... i liked it alot!!!!!

______________________________________
"i have no reader's digest version"

[LittleOne 0]

Thanks for the info! Don't know exactly when I'll be there next but with my schedule, it could be any day now.