Kim Chi

Fresh from my Korea trip which includes a kim chi making session, here's how to make kim chi (to the best of my memory!)

Ingredients

1/2 Carrot, thinly sliced
1 tbsp Korean chilli flakes (normal chilli flakes will produce a bitter taste after fermentation, but Korean chilli flakes produces a sweetish flavour)
1/4 head of Cabbage
1 thumb sized ginger, grated
2 stalks green spring onion, finely chopped
ginger, grated
3 cloves garlic
1 big bowl of water (big enough to soak cabbage)
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp vinegar
1 tbsp sugar
Plenty of Salt

Method

1) Leaving the stem of the cabbage intact, separate out each leaf of the cabbage by carefully peeling it off. As you do so, sprinkle each layer liberally with salt and rub it in.
2) Leave cabbage to soak in fresh water for at least 3 to 4 hours, the longer the better.
3) Hang upside down to air dry and set aside.
4) Prepare the 'sauce' by combining the carrot, green onion, garlic and ginger with the fish sauce, chilli flakes, sugar and 1 tsp of salt (not too much as the fish sauce is salty enough)
5) Spread out all the leaves and hold them in your left hand, largest leaf-side down. Peel off the largest leaf and spread it on the chopping board. Smear some of the sauce onto the leave, making sure to cover the entire leaf. Proceed on with the next largest leaf until you have finished all the leaves.
6) Fold in half and use the largest leaf to encircle the bundle. Set aside to ferment, putting in the fridge only overnight. It will be read to eat the next morning.