Kimchi

Ingredients

  • 1 large Chinese leaf cabbage (700g), washed, quartered and cut into 3–4cm/1¼–1½in-wide slices
  • 50g fine sea salt
  • 4–6 garlic cloves (20g), peeled
  • 20g fresh root ginger, peeled and thickly sliced
  • 20g gochugaru (Korean chilli flakes)
  • 150g mooli (Chinese radish), peeled and cut into 3mm-wide strips that are around 5cm/2in long, you can use english radish as substitute
  • 5 spring onions, cut into 3mm-wide strips that are around 5cm/2in long
  • 100g (approximately 1 medium) carrot, peeled and cut into 3mm-wide strips that are around 5cm/2in long
  1. Put the cabbage in the clean mixing bowl and separate using your fingers. Arrange in layers, with a little salt sprinkled between each layer. Cover the bowl with a plate and leave to stand for 2–3 hours. The cabbage will soften and become limp, and should be sitting in a pool of water when you return to it. It will have reduced in volume by about a third.
  2. Drain the salted cabbage in the clean colander, then return to the bowl. Cover with cold filtered water and swirl the cabbage around, then set aside to soak for 10 minutes. Drain in the colander and return to the bowl. The cabbage should taste slightly salty.
  3. In a blender or pestle and mortar, grind the garlic, ginger and chilli flakes to a paste.
  4. Add the mooli, spring onion and carrot to the cabbage and tip in the chilli paste. Wearing disposable, or clean, new, rubber gloves (to protect your hands from the chilli) thoroughly massage the paste into the vegetables. You can do this with a spoon, but it is less effective.
  5. Spoon the cabbage mixture into the clean jar until it comes up to just under the top of the jar. There is no need to pack it too tightly but you don’t want too much air to reach the surface of the vegetables. Cover with the lid and fasten securely.
  6. Leave in a cool, dark place at room temperature (around 18–20C) for 2–3 days. If your room is warmer, the kimchi will ferment more quickly. Taste the kimchi. If it tastes spicy, sour and slightly cheesy with a good umami flavour, it can be transferred to the fridge to slow down the fermentation process.