How to Make Raw Kimchi
Kimchi is a fermented food and used as condiment. It is very popular in countries such as Vietnam and the Chinese region. It has become popular now in the West as people begin to realise that fermented food contains large amounts of probiotics that aid digestive processes in the gut. It is also a raw food so it is full of nutrients that have not been damaged by heat or processing, so it is in its most natural state. It also tastes great!
While you can buy Kimchi from select food stores it is actually very easy and cheaper to make at home in your own kitchen. Making it at home also means that it is fresher and contains no preservatives, so you end up with a higher-quality food.
What you need:
I Napa cabbage (very fresh)
I large Daikon radish (Chinese radish, very fresh)
2 red capsicums (also known as red peppers, very fresh)
2 half cups of ground household salt
Cayenne pepper
Preserving jars that can sit in the doors of your fridge
2 large kitchen bowls
Preparation:
Rinse and cut the Napa cabbage into small pieces, around the size you see me using in the video, and divide into two halves in each of the large bowls. It is bulky so you will need the two bowls or one very large bowl
Pour half a cup of salt in each bowl and fold it throughout the cabbage and leave to soak for 1 hour to bleed the water out of the cabbage
Wash and peel and slice the Daikon radish into small cubes
Wash and slice the capsicums into small strips, disposing of the stalk, seeds and pith inside
Add 2 dessert spoons of cayenne pepper to 2 mugs of filtered water and mix together. If you do not like your Kimchi very hot, just use 1 dessert spoon
Mixing together:
After 1 hour, rinse the cabbage in a colander to wash off all the salt, then put it back in the bowls
Add the Daikon radish, capsicum and half of the cayenne pepper mixture into each bowl
Mix together
You do not need to add further salt as the salt in the cabbage will be sufficient to ferment the Kimchi
Spoon the mixture into the clean jars, pressing down in the jar so it is really compact
When the jar is full, be sure there is enough cayenne mixture covering the Kimchi, and place the lids on
Put in a warm place for four days in a deep tray or dish so it catches any excess exuding fluids the kimchi ferments
Twice a day clean the tray or dish
Once a day take off the lid and make sure that the fluid covers the Kimchi
If the fluid is low, add a little filtered water to top up the jar
After four days, the Kimchi will be ready
Storage:
Place the jars in the fridge door. The coldness of the fridge will dramatically slow down the fermenting process, it will not stop it, but it will slow it down. Every four days take the tops off the jars and check the fluid is covering the Kimchi. If the fluid is low, top up the jars with filtered water.
The Kimchi will store in the fridge four for about four months. If fungus appears of the top of the Kimchi, remove it and eat the content underneath.
