"Clean out your fridge" Kimchi

It is important to note that this recipe is not a traditional, authentic Kimchi recipe, rather what we like to call our “clean out your fridge kimchi” So with no disrespect to an age old practice, the focus on this recipe is ease and using what you have in your fridge to create a fermentation process with a delicious and more diverse flavour profile than Sauerkraut.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup of pink rock salt
• 1/2 Wombok cabbage sliced (or any cabbage you have)
• 1/4c Korean red pepper (we use 1tbs cayenne pepper and 2tbs of smoked paprika- not traditional but in the pantry... use more or less to taste)
• Starch gravy (1/2c Rice/white/tapioca flour whisked into 2c of water on the stove top to make a gravy AKA Kimchi glue consistency)
• 1/3 cup of bone broth (Veg stock for vegan option)
• 1/4 cup fish sauce (Red miso paste for vegan option)
• 1Tbsp Korean Plum Extract (Honey, date or rice syrup)
• 1 Tbsp Salt brined Shrimp (we omit but add if you like)
• Optional 1tsp of sugar (we use monk fruit sweetener, can use brown sugar, honey or other sweetener of choice)
• 8 spring onions, thinly sliced
• 8 Garlic cloves
• 2cm of ginger, grated
• Bunch of radish, thinly sliced.
• Small carrot, thinly sliced
• 1/4 onion thinly sliced
• 1/4 pear or apple

Method

• Salt the cabbage. Hand rub the salt all over the sliced cabbage. Gently massage and rub all over the sliced pieces. Then place into a bowl of room temperature salty water submerged. Leave to soak for as long as you can up to 10-12hours.
• Once the cabbage is soft and malleable gently rinse off the salt under running water. The aim is to ensure the cabbage isn’t too salty. Leave to drain while you make your paste.
• Combine the starch gravy (Kimchi glue), garlic, Shrimp, pear/apple, and blend to make a thick paste. Add this and all remaining ingredients in to a large bowl. Gently combine all ingredients together and make a nice vibrant red paste.
• Once combined add drained cabbage and cover all the cabbage in your kimchi paste. Transfer to a sterilised jar leaving a gap at the top. Leave in a nice cool place checking and tasting each day until desired level of fermentation has been achieved. Pop into the fridge and stored properly it can last 3-6months.