Good Morning friends! Happy Friday! I hope this finds you well and that you have had a beautiful week.
I am here to share with you today another guest blog from my new friend Jane from Wholefood Family. I met Jane a few weeks back when I attended her Cultured Food Workshop – Jane’s knowledge and passion excited me to get even further into cultured food. Today Jane is sharing with you “KIMCHI” …. here she is … enjoy!
I’m a mum of three gorgeous boys and passionate about delicious food that nourishes my family’s bodies. Nutrition and good food really interests me and I love finding new ways of using ingredients and adding them to our diet. Fermentation has been a part of our diet for years; over that time I have enjoyed learning new techniques and recipes. I enjoy adapting and simplifying methods so I can incorporate cultured foods easily into my family’s meals and into the time I have available. My workshop Simply Cultured is way I can share with others the amazing ancient art of culturing at home and the great tastes and benefits cultured foods can have on health and daily nutrition.
The aim is to demystify fermenting and bring it into daily life like it has been for thousands of years.
Kimchi: This is where my culturing began a few years back with the fascination of different cultures (the geographical kind). Now, kimchi recipes are one of those family things where each family swears theirs is the best, the most traditional, and the only one you should make, a little like Christmas cake. Like everything in culturing, its up to you as to what sounds, smells and tastes good for you and your family.
Kimchi can contain rice flour, fish sauce, pureed squid, raw oysters, the list goes on, but from what I know it always has cabbage, ginger, garlic and chilli. Historically this was made and put into and earthen ware pots and placed into a hole in the ground where it was left for months on end, the lower temperature meant a slower fermentation and a great way to preserve food for winter months. Traditionally made from cabbage and beef stock, the chilli part was introduced in around 1500.
So why Kimchi? What’s so great about it and why do I love it so much and feed it to my family?
Along with being voted one of the top 5 Healthiest Foods from Health Magazine
Kimchi is rich in:
Fibre
Carotene
Vitamin C
Vitamin A
Thiamine B1
Riboflavin b2
Calcium
Iron
Attributed to:
Reducing Cancer
Aiding Digestion
Reducing gastric Cancer
And my favourite, apparently according to a study in the Seoul National University chickens with the H1N1 virus ‘chicken flu’ actually recovered after eating the bacteria found in kimchi.
Kimchi- by Wholefood Family
- 1 large wombok cabbage, coarsely chopped
- Salt (good quality salt without iodine)
- Spring, chlorine free water.
- 1 daikon radish, cut into batons or coarsely grated (optional)
- Carrot, cut the same at the daikon (optional)
- Bean sprouts (optional)
- 4 green spring onions stalks sliced
- 4 garlic cloves
- 2 cm peeled ginger
- Korean chilli powder 1 tbsp.
Cut the cabbage into bite size pieces, removing the core and any discoloured outer leaves. Place into a large bowl and cover with a brine so the cabbage is completely submerged, use a plate or clean river rock to push it down. Brine is a mixture of water and salt. I use a 5% brine meaning 50g of salt per 1L of water.
Leave for 4-24 hours on your bench covered to keep away little bugs that might be curious, can be left for longer if you want.
When you’re ready, drain the cabbage, reserving a little liquid in case you need it.
Make up your chilli paste by grinding ginger; garlic and Korean chilli powder together then massage it all over the cabbage. Pack the mixture tightly into a glass jar with a lid, add a little water or some of the brine if you want a little juice and leave it on your bench, out of direct sunlight, for 3-7 days until its to your liking. You’ll need to open the jar daily to release any built up gas from the fermentation process and to taste it. Once it’s sour enough for you, then pop it in the fridge and enjoy as a condiment or in a salad or next to BBQ meat.
Additions to the chilli mixture
1 tbsp. Fish sauce
1 tbsp. sugar
3 Tbsp. of rice flour with 2 cups boiling water, mix to a paste and leave to cool, then add to the chilli, ginger, garlic mixture.
Pureed squid and oysters are also quite common but Ill leave that to you.
WOW! How GREAT does this look! I know what I am making on the weekend!
Please make sure you pop over and say HI to Jane at Wholefood Family on Facebook where you will find out more information on her workshops as well as more Cultured Food Inspiration.
Wishing you all a truly wonderful weekend … happy cooking!
Take Care of You,
Collette x
Instagram:
Kimchi!
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