Pickled cabbage

No need to fight -- they're both good

I love my kimchi and have developed a deep respect for sauerkraut, which ought to have a standing in Australian culture like that shown by Koreans for their "pickle" (but that might be a subject for another post).

One of the things that surprised me about Sandor Katz's book The Art of Fermentation is how he listed kimchi in the sauerkraut section.

Of course, it makes sense after he linked the process of cultivation of lactobacillus.

It also has me pondering what other cultural traditions might be brought into flavouring brassicas. 

Covid-19 vs ferments

Krautchi

I'm taking a further step toward merging kimchi and sauerkraut by substituting Chinese cabbage with ordinary cabbage

Since wombok are currently $19 each, I'm hoping the result will be tasty and will use fennel and horseradish again.

Cabbage requires weight as well as salt to squeeze the water out of the leaves, so I'm using myself and possibly contributing microflora in the process.

Fermenting

Initially I was surprised to see Sandor Katz lumped kimchi with sauerkraut in his book

It made sense when I read it though.

Today I decided to run with the idea and add fennel and horseradish to my latest batch of kimchi.

I've also made a paste of fermented green chilis, which is another recipe Katz has in The Art of Fermentation.

You can see these have been blended and I've added smoked paprika and ginger.

Kimchi

Made a new batch of kimchi today

Something brewing

Do you know those times when you sense resonances across disparate subjects?

I've been having a few of those recently and it's surprising how, after reading across seemingly unrelated subjects, patterns start to form between them.

For example, I've mentioned my interests in fermentation starting with Kimchi to lately brewing beer, as well as Star Wars.

While reading Stephen Harrod Buhner's Sacred and Herbal Healing Beers: The Secrets of Ancient Fermentation, I've been learning about the mythology that informs -- as well as, in a sense, scripts -- the process of fermenting.

Many cultures describe the god-like figure that shared the first recipe for beer, gruit, mead or wine as being one who also returned from the dead or the underworld, possibly also as being a fertility figure with plants literally growing as a result of this heroic potency.

The stories explain processes like bacteria growing and seeds germinating, these illustrate how human culture grows with agriculture.

Both are demonstrated in beer-making too, particularly yeast and malt.

The respect for the ability to cultivate life underscores religion, just look at Jesus' bread and wine.

So, why was I thinking about Star Wars?

Recently there was news of a conversation with George Lucas, creator of Star Wars, when he described his idea for the trinity of films that have been developed by Disney:

"...they were going to get into a microbiotic world."

George Lucas' space opera draws on mythic themes, particularly the apparently spontaneous inception of Annakin Skywalker as a parallel with the virgin mother Mary.

Then there's Skywalker's return from death as Darth Vader.

I guess his siring of the twins Luke and Leia might also be significant too.

Now that I think about it, it's significant that Star Wars has become a new kind of May Day in recent years.

Now the idea of Darth Vader as a fertility figure seems a bit weird, but as I read how indigenous cultures display few of the negative effects of alcohol, I pondered if he demonstrates the dark side of our relationship with fermentation.

Did Skywalker's anger lead him to misusing the sacred Force or did this antisocial tendency develop as a result?

Those Sith Lords seem like a bunch of lonely guys, right?

In contrast Jedi seem very social.

Does Darth Vader embody toxic masculinity?

Kimchi

After being frustrated by the price of wombok cabbages, I've settled for making a massive batch of kimchi using savoys

Polygamous pizza

Tonight I married two of my loves 

Kimchi and purslane on pizza

Kimchi snacks?

Following on from the last couple of posts, I googled "Kimchi snacks" and they exist!

Kimchi

Another thing I'm grateful to have in my life is kimchi

I remember being attracted to this pickled cabbage for the spice, ginger and garlic.

Then I started making my own and soon found I wanted to eat it everyday.

One of my favourite lunches to pack for work is kimchi, rice, apple, capsicum and a little oil -- either sesame or olive.

More recently I asked Tania from Glam And Cheese Toasties for her recipe and she kindly directed me to Maangchi's Youtube Channel, which is delightful.



Last week I wasn't sure why there was a puddle of reddish liquid in the bottom of the fridge.

Last night I opened my jar of kimchi made using Maangchi's easy recipe and the contents started to leap out of the container.

Even though I hadn't left the kimchi out overnight to start fermentation, it was bubbling and a little fizzy to taste.

Otherwise it was great though, with the leek and carrot adding a lovely soft flavour and the fish sauce increasing the complexity.

Glam And Cheese with Kimchi

The second toastie shared by Glam & Cheese sees Ash and Chase joined by Tania, who brings the spice.

Homemade bread with homemade pickle

Kimchi hyperlapse

The Junto had us documenting a recipe with the option of adding a tonal accompaniment. I considered an idea to document an activity that wasn't cooking food but really wanted to make kimchi. I've raved about it on here before.

Below is a photo of the kimchi after two days in the fridge. I ate this for lunch today with apple, celery and capsicum. Sesame oil too, it's a must.

Kimchi is best

Kimchi is such cheap and satisfying food.

The pictured dish was rice, kimchi, capsicum and a little sesame oil and it was sensational.

And the icing on the cake was finding wombok on special at the supermarket this week. This kimchi recipe is great.

Kimchi recipe

Kimchi is a Korean food and probably my favourite pickle. Here's the recipe I use.

1. Cut up a cabbage (wombok is best but regular will do)
2. Add a couple of tablespoons of salt and seal in a container and put in the fridge.
3. After a day or so, drain the cabbage. I usually loosen the lid, turn it upside down and let it drain while sitting on the edge of the kitchen sink for 10 minutes.
4. Add 125ml rice wine vinegar, 125ml soy sauce, couple of teaspoons of chilli powder, couple of teaspoons of cayenne pepper, couple of cloves of grated garlic, a few centimetres of grated ginger knob, few tablespoons of sugar. Adjust the ratio of everything but the liquids to suit your preference or spice tolerance.
5. Reseal the container and put it in the fridge. It'll keep for four weeks but is ready to start eating within an hour or two.
   
6. Add cut up shallots when serving it up and you can drizzle a bit of sesame oil on too or sesame seeds. I often add the shallots to the kimchi in the container after a day or two when the cabbage has shrunk after absorbing the liquid.
   The process leaves you with about half the cabbage you started with, after it's lost water and broken down in the brine.
   

Red capsicum is the best thing to have with it. Kimchi is great stir fried with vegies and noodles or rice or you can add it to salad leaves. It's great with fried food like fish, bacon or calamari rings -- the vinegar cuts through the grease and it's good for digestion.



Here's my kimchi salad with capsicum, grated ham, mixed leaves and sesame oil.