Khimchi

Recipe by Tara Deshpande

Korea´s signature dish, this may seem simple but it is far from that. Khimchi masters are revered in South Korea for their skill and patience. They spend a lifetime making different kinds of Khimchi. This salad like dish does not employ vinegar or lime juice, it ferments slowly over time. In the old days Khimchi was buried in ceramic jars in the earth for varying periods of time. Now most families have Khimchi fridges set at 2-3 degrees C to allow the slow development of flavours. A variety of fish sauces are also used- derived from anchovy or other kinds of fish. I was amazed how many varieties of fish sauce there were and how different their aromas and flavours were. While Napa Cabbage only came to Korea in the 19th century Khimchi is one of Korea´s oldest dishes dating back to 40 B.C.

Ingredient
2 kg whole Napa cabbage or Chinese cabbage
1 cup kitchen salt
10 cups clean drinking water, at room temperature
100 gms Korean radish
1/2 pear
2 bulbs green onion or scallion

For the Sauce
10 tbsp Gochujaru or Korean chilli powder
1 tbsp Jeotgal or salted shrimp
8 tsp fish sauce
2 tbsp garlic, ground
1/2 tbsp ginger, ground
1 tsp golden honey
5 tsp glutinous rice, powdered
Method

For the sauce
Combine all ingredients.
Cut the Napa cabbage vertically into 3 equal pieces. It must be cut lengthwise so that the inner leaves can be plied with the spices. Each cabbage head should give you 2 or 3 lengths depending on its thickness.
Place in an oversized bowl filled with water.
Add the salt and let the cabbage sit in the water for 3-4 hours until softened.
Boil the glutinous rice flour in 1 cup of water and keep stirring till you have a thin smooth paste.
Cut the radish, pear, onion into strips.
Cut the scallions into thin long pieces about 5 cm long.
Mix thin strips of cut vegetables with sauce.
Rub an even layer of the Kimchi paste mixture on each inner leaf starting
from the bottom part.
Carefully layer every part of the cabbage with sauce inside and outside.
Place in a large sealed ceramic pot and let sit at 2-3 degree celsius for upto 1 month.