Lately we have been enjoying eating our fermented foods and with the addition of Kimchi to our batches, we have really stepped up the heat around here. This is a nice warming dish to eat, to compensate for all our cold, snowy, winter weather.

Ingredients:

2 pounds of cabbage

1 Tbsp salt

1 cup Korean Red Pepper Powder

1 cup of water

1 Tbspn brown rice flour

2 Tbspn brown sugar

1 Tbspn GF Soy Sauce

1 cup Daikon radish (or round red radish)

1 cup carrots

1 bunch green onion

1/2 cup parsley

1 Asian Pear (Nashi)

1 whole head of garlic

2 tsp ginger

1 medium onion

Method:

Wash all of the vegetables and finely slice. Sprinkle salt over just the cabbage and stir in very well.

Let the cabbage rest for 2 – 3 hours or until there are enough juices to cover well. Turn cabbage every 30 minutes. Save the brine that forms, to later top up the jars.

While the cabbage is wilting in the salt, prepare the paste.

Combine the water and the brown rice flour in a small pot, mixing with a wooden spoon to make a smooth paste. Cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes until it starts to thicken. Add the sugar and cook 1 more minute. Remove from the heat and let mixture partially cool. Then add in ginger, garlic, soy sauce and red pepper powder. This is very hot, so reduce the amount of powder if desired.

Add the radish, carrot, and green onion and mix well. Lastly grate the Asian Pear and add to the mix. This adds a nice touch of sweetness and extra juice.

Pack the Kimchi into a sterilized, wide mouth Mason jar. Push mixture down with a wooden spoon to remove any air pockets. Cover top with a Pickle Pipe or a loosely fitting lid for gases to escape.

The Kimchi will begin fermenting in a day or two at room temperature, but this will depend upon the weather and warmth of your house. It will ferment faster in hotter weather and it will begin to taste slightly more sour. The top of the Kimchi must stay under the brine, so as it does not dry out or grow mould. You may need to add a little extra salt water brine.

Extra brine – Dissolve 1tsp of salt in half a cup of water.

Once the Kimchi has fermented to your taste, store in the fridge to use as needed. This slows down the fermentation process and it will keep for months. Our Kimchi went into the fridge after two weeks.

Kimchi is great to eat on its own, or mix with rice for some extra flavour and heat, or add to noodles or meat dishes. If you do cook the Kimchi, it will lose a lot of its beneficial bacteria. Either way, it tastes good.