Homemade Kimchi

Kimchi is Korea's best known food. Koreans serve kimchi at almost every meal. It is also a common ingredient used with other ingredients to make lovely Korean dishes.

Cabbage which is the main ingredient for kimchi, is not only delicious but the fiber in cabbage also aids digestion, allowing smoother movement of food through the intestines and helps prevent constipation and intestine cancer. Red chili peppers and garlic used also help to lower blood cholesterol and aid in blood clotting. The nutrients and activities of the various micro-organisms produced during fermentation are also very beneficial to the human body.

Here is a little in-sight to the benefits of Kimchi by Health Magazine.
Kimchi is claimed as the World's Healthiest Foods.

It is rich in vitamins and perhaps even prevents cancer.
Since kimchi is made of various vegetables, it contains a high concentration
of dietary fibers, while being low in calories.

It also provides 80% of the daily required amount of ascorbic acid and carotene. Most types of kimchi contain common ingredients like onions, garlic and peppers all of which have well-known health benefits.
The vegetables being made into kimchi also contributes to the overall
nutritional value.

Kimchi is rich in vitamin A, thiamine (B1), riboflavin (B2), calcium and iron and also has active and beneficial bacterial cultures of Lactobacilli which results in a higher lactic acid content in the final product than in yoghurt.

Now…U know how wonderful kimchi is to our body? It is said that kimchi is the reason why Korean women has such smooth complexion.

The first time I tried eating kimchi I fell in love with them immediately.
To get good kimchi locally is extremely difficult. Those sold in supermarkets are just not authentic enough.
I eat kimchi with almost everything.
To compensate the lack of favours to those store bought…I learnt to make my own.
If I see good quality cabbage at the supermarkets, I will buy a head or two excitedly, drooling at the thought of the yummy kimchi I am gonna make from them.
And I am proud to say…my version is good, powerful kimchi. *grins*
So, U can always find kimchi in my fridge…. If not home made, store bought ones are good for me too.

Here is a little portion of my latest batch of homemade kimchi.

What U need:

• 1 large Cabbage - about 2kg
• 100g Sea salt
• 1 bunch Spring onions - sliced finely
• 1 large Carrot - shredded
• 2 large Onions - sliced finely
  
  
• 8tbsp Red pepper flakes
• 5tbsp Garlic - minced
• 2tbsp Ginger - minced
• 3tbsp Salted shrimp
• 2 tbsp Sugar
• 2-3 tbsp Fish sauce or Shrimp sauce

Method:

1. Cut cabbage into individual leaves.
2. Wash & drip dry.
3. Layer leaf by leaf with salt liberally…then leave the cabbage in a big bowl, press something heavy over it & let it sit for 6 hrs or overnight.
4. Then rinse cabbage & let it drip dry.
5. Prepare the paste by blending –
   
   · Pepper flakes
   · Garlic
   · Ginger
   · Shrimp paste
   · Sugar
   · Fish sauce or shrimp sauce
   
   
6. Mix spring onions, carrots and onions to the paste.
7. Coat paste thickly on leaves & roll tightly.
8. Place in air-tight jug.
9. Store at room temp for 2 days or until cabbage it's sour enough for your liking.
10. When ready … store in fridge & let it fermate another week but U can eat it once chilled.

Notes:

Do adjust the saltiness & spiciness accordingly.