[Closed] Homemade kimchi. Anyone done it?

Yeah - that will all work. I mean it'll be more like a spiced sauerkraut as the gochujang paste adds a very specific taste, but it'll be all good.

I've never got past the thinking-about-it-but-not-actually-doing-it stage, so I'm keen to know how you get on!

Yes. Gochugaru flakes are pretty mild - and are there for colour as much as spice, so maybe don't go 1:1. Put what you like in TBH.

Watch what you put in the fridge with it as it does smell and taint food.

When you have made some, make kimchi jjigae https://mykoreankitchen.com/kimchi-jjigae/

This for the best copied off a jar in my fridge. Sure if you have normal cabbage with fish sauce with normal chilli flakes instead of Korean special it will make up for it and give you some intense flavour.

Chinese Leaf Cabbage, Water, Daikon (Chinese Radish), Spring Onion, Carrot, Fish Sauce, Onion, Sea Salt, Garlic, Salted Shrimp, Cane Sugar, Ginger, Gochugaru (Chilli Flakes), Glutinous Rice Flour.

Yep, always have some in the fridge. Though we do an ersatz vegan version here (more like a chilli sauerkraut), with chinese leaves, paprika, chilli flakes and grated apple instead of sugar.

was thinking about this too - our local asian supermarket hasn't had the big bags since start of lockdown and I'm craving Kim-cheese toasties.

Anyone bought any https://www.redrickshaw.com/products/ajumma-republic-red-pepper-paste-500-g?awc=18038_1587657812_5e352cb9030750f7451825c30f521385&utm_source=awin&utm_medium=affiliate type stuff?

I have a jar of the paste from Waitrose in the cupboard. I keep meaning to making some but never do.

I have a jar of the paste from Asda in the cupboard. I keep meaning to eat some but never do.

Yep, almost always have a jar or two on the go. I’ve found the easiest recipe is the mak-kimchi version here: https://www.foodiewithfamily.com/easy-fast-kimchi-mak-kimchi-recipe/

The only change I make is to use a kimchi base rather than faff about with making the sauce myself. It takes about 2 hours to prepare plus three days at room temp to kick of the fermentation. After that it stays in the fridge but gets better and better the longer it’s left.
Just about the best thing to have on a bbq’d burger.

finbar - would you care to elaborate on that, there are not many fish eaters in our house and I quite fancy trying some. Thanks.

I've made a couple of efforts at This recipe , using Gochujang paste (from morrisons) and using soy sauce instead of fish sauce.
The last lot made with white cabbage and it tastes ok.

bought some of the Korean chilli flakes. Will give it a whirl.

does it stink out the fridge / house?

My local Asian supermarket has been on lockdown for weeks, otherwise I would have a jar of kimchi on the go.

Ingredients list as per sillysilly's post.

But we are a largely veggie / vegan household. So for umami, replace the fish sauce and shrimp with:
Miso paste (a strong, dark one),
Sesame oil (I throw lots of sesame seeds in there, too), and
Dried seaweed. Rubbed between hands (watch out, it's hard and sharp!) to make tiny bits, which then expand quite a lot once submerged.

Amazing stuff. Yes, it smells a bit (saurkrautists will be used to this). Either vent the storage jar to account for fermentation, or just stand well back each time you pop it open. We store ours outside. Kimchi is the only thing I've made that's managed to eat the rubber seal on a Bormioli Fido canning jar and also embed its smell into the glass. Is that even possible? Not sure. But bleach doesn't help. And, two years on, and we can still only use that particular jar for kimchi.

The critical thing (as you probably know) it to use more salt (at first) than seems reasonable. This provides the right environment for those "good" organisms needed for lactic fermentation.

Ingredients aren't critical. We tend to think of one type of kimchi (largely cabbage and chilli), but the basic fermentation technique is used for numerous different variants. So just go for it with whatever you have to hand.

PS: Give it a day or so before tucking in, once fermentation has started and the lactic microbes are dominant. Otherwise, in its raw, unfermented state, it can have quite explosive results (think Picolax-esque).